A Man With Two Faces

The morning sun filled the university campus.

Students were laughing, talking, and rushing to their classes.

Ayra walked across the garden with a notebook in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.

She looked tired.

The black rose...

The mysterious note...

The strange chess piece...

None of it had left her mind.

She sighed softly.

"I need to stop thinking about this."

Just as she turned the corner...

Someone accidentally bumped into her.

"Oh!"

The coffee spilled across a bright white shirt.

"Oh my God! I'm so sorry!"

Ayra looked up immediately.

A tall young man stood in front of her.

He looked about twenty-five or twenty-six years old.

His soft brown hair moved gently in the morning wind.

A pair of round glasses rested on his nose.

His white shirt was now stained with coffee.

He wore light blue jeans, clean white sneakers, and carried a dark blue backpack over one shoulder.

He looked nothing like a dangerous man.

Instead...

He looked like an ordinary university student.

Kind.

Calm.

Easy to talk to.

For a few seconds, he simply looked at the coffee stain.

Then...

He smiled.

"It's okay."

"It's only coffee."

Ayra looked embarrassed.

"I ruined your shirt."

He laughed quietly.

"Coffee can be washed away."

He looked at the stain for a moment before adding,

"But some stains stay forever."

Ayra frowned slightly.

"What?"

He smiled again.

"Nothing."

"I'm Ian."

"Ian Vale."

He offered his hand politely.

Ayra shook it.

"Ayra."

"Nice to meet you."

"So..."

Ian looked at the books in her arms.

"Criminal Psychology?"

"You must like solving mysteries."

Ayra smiled.

"I want to understand criminals."

Ian nodded slowly.

"Be careful."

"Sometimes..."

"The closer you get to darkness..."

"...the harder it is to return."

Ayra laughed.

"You sound like you've lived that life."

For the first time...

Ian looked directly into her eyes.

"Maybe."

Before Ayra could ask another question...

His phone vibrated.

He glanced at the screen.

His warm smile disappeared for less than a second.

Then it returned.

"I'm sorry."

"I have to go."

"It was nice meeting you, Ayra."

He walked away.

Ayra watched him disappear into the crowd.

"Strange guy..."

She whispered.

She had no idea...

She had just shaken hands with the most feared man in the underworld.

•••

Thirty minutes later...

A black luxury car stopped inside an underground parking garage.

The friendly university student disappeared.

The rear door opened.

Ian stepped out.

He removed his glasses.

His smile faded.

His shoulders straightened.

A guard opened another door.

Inside waited a perfectly tailored black three-piece suit.

Five minutes later...

The man called Ian no longer existed.

Adrian Volkov walked out.

His black suit fit him perfectly.

His expensive watch reflected the cold white lights.

Every step was slow.

Confident.

Controlled.

People standing in the hallway immediately lowered their heads.

No one dared to speak.

No one dared to look directly at him.

The Devil had returned.

•••

At the top floor of the Volkov Syndicate Headquarters...

Victor was already waiting.

He stood beside the long conference table.

He was nearly six feet four inches tall.

His broad shoulders filled the black suit he always wore.

His dark hair was neatly combed back.

A thin scar crossed his left eyebrow.

It didn't make him look weak.

It made him look even more dangerous.

His face rarely showed emotion.

His sharp grey eyes carefully noticed every small detail around him.

Black leather gloves covered his hands.

A silver watch rested on his wrist.

Victor looked more like a soldier than a bodyguard.

He had followed Adrian for years.

His loyalty had never been questioned.

The office door opened.

Victor lowered his head immediately.

"Good afternoon, Boss."

Adrian walked past him without answering.

He stopped in front of the large glass window overlooking the city.

The room became completely silent.

After a few seconds...

Victor spoke carefully.

"We've finished deleting every camera recording."

"No one can trace last night's incident."

Adrian remained silent.

Victor continued,

"Our men are still watching Miss Ayra."

This time...

Adrian finally spoke.

"Distance?"

"Far enough."

"She hasn't noticed them."

Adrian nodded once.

"Good."

Victor hesitated.

"Boss..."

"May I ask something?"

"You may."

"Why didn't you eliminate the witness?"

The room became silent again.

Adrian slowly turned around.

His eyes were cold.

Emotionless.

He walked toward the chessboard placed on his desk.

Without saying a word...

He picked up the black king.

Then he moved it forward by one square.

Click.

"A game..."

"...needs more than one player."

Victor understood immediately.

No more questions.

He simply nodded.

"Understood, Boss."

Adrian looked at the city outside.

His voice was almost a whisper.

"Let's see..."

"...how far she can walk."

Far away...

Ayra had no idea...

That from the moment she spilled coffee on a stranger's shirt...

She had already become part of the Devil's game.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***