“I will guess you girls are here for a purpose, you need the money for school stuff and other things in your life, well I promise you all, if you go on this mission and succeed in it, you will be rewarded handsomely.”

  The man spoke, what he just said immediately trigger goosebumps inside me, I now overcome the fear inside of me and immediately sat erect in my seat and listen to the man.

  “If any of you are not up to the task, now is the time to leave.”

  His eyes scanned each of us one last time, and for a moment, I thought he might be waiting for someone to bolt from the room. But no one moved. Everyone stayed put, the tension thickening in the air.

  Without breaking the silence, he turned, walking toward a desk near the corner of the room. He grabbed a file and slid it toward us.

  “Inside, you’ll find the details of the operation and also you need to write your name and your age in the box's that are blank spaces provided.”

  He said, his tone flat, as though this was a simple task, just another formality.

  I reached for the pen, my fingers slightly trembling as I lifted it. The file felt cold against my palms, and for a moment, I hesitated, staring at the blank boxes in front of me.

  ‘What is it now, Elara?.’

  Amor’s voice was a whisper in my mind, sharp with concern

  I sighed quietly and muttered under my breath,

  ‘What’s the matter, Amor?’

  You’re not seriously going to write your real name, are you?.’

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Amor’s voice was tinged with disbelief, her words thick with hesitation.

  ‘You know better than that.’

  I glanced down at the blank fields, the weight of Amor’s warning settling heavily on my chest.

  ‘I don’t know... should I? What if they find out?.’

  ‘No.’

  She said firmly, her voice laced with urgency.

  ‘You cannot use your real name. Not here. Not with them. Keep your identity hidden. This is bigger than you think.’

  Her words settled deep within me, and I felt a chill crawl down my spine. She was right.

  I quickly scribbled a false name on the form, my hand moving with surprising steadiness, as though my pen was an extension of my resolve. The name was nothing special, just a shadow of who I really was, but it would serve its purpose for now.

  I glanced up at the other girls, their faces unreadable, each of them caught in their own internal struggle, just like me.

  I immediately stood up and went to his desk and submitted my file to him. He then took it and up it up.

  “Hmm, so your name is Purodence Kate.”

  The man spoke as he glanced through my files.

  “Alright, I have seen enough, hope you read through the document.”

  The man asked, his eyes still fixed on my file.

  “Yes, sir I did.”

  I responded, my voice laced with assurance as I stood asnd gazed at him.

  ‘You didn't went through the file, didn't you?.’

  Amor asked, her voice sharp with a hint of accusation.

  I winced at her words, feeling a pang of guilt strike through me.

  ‘ No, I didn't read through the entire thing.’

  I admitted silently, my heart beating a little faster. I had been so focused on keeping my identity hidden, on getting through the moment, that I hadn't really paid attention to the details of the operation.

  The man finally closed up my file and immediately took out a bag beneath his table.

  “Since you where the first to submit your file, you will be the first to go this mission, and remember this if you satisfy the client that you are about to meet and he sands me a six stars on my web, you will be paid even more higher .”

  The man spoke as he gazed at me with a smile on his face.

  “Like, how much are we talking about?.”

  I asked, my heart beating in an exciting way.

  “We are talking about five hundred thousand dollars and you will be going with sixty percent of it.”

  My eyes widened, and for a moment, the world seemed to freeze. Five hundred thousand dollars. My mind raced as I tried to process the number. Sixty percent of that would be three hundred thousand.

  Three hundred thousand. The thought was almost too surreal to grasp. The money could change everything. I would be able to pay my mother's creditors and get my father free from there hands and also get a new house and food for him.

  And best and for most I could pay for my enrollment in college fee and also pay for crystal.

  I felt so happy that I immediately took the bag from the man.

  “The client address is written on the bother of the bag and when you have finally satisfied your client, you will have to quickly get back here to get paid.”

  The man spoke, I nodded and immediately turned and walked out the door. Coming out from the old train station, I waved down a cabI climbed into the backseat, gripping the bag tightly. My heart raced as the cab sped through the neon-lit streets, the world outside a blur.

  All I could focus on was th

  e address on the bag,the lifeline pulling me toward something I couldn’t fully grasp, but the promise of the money kept me moving forward.