The rain whispered against the windows—soft, steady, like secrets begging to be let in.

At the center of the room: The Around Table.

A slab of dark wood, older than any of them. It didn’t shine; it brooded.

A place where power sat, smoked, and made decisions that never left paper.

Men in sharp suits with sharper eyes.They spoke in half-truths, smoked in silence,and laughed like killers.

Sembilan walked in like dust.Fine. Unseen. A quiet shadow in a room full of storms. She felt like a question mark in a sentence already ending.

She sat straight. Watched. Listened.But inside, the doubt clawed at her: Do I belong here—or am I just noise waiting to be silenced?

She didn’t belong.

Every chuckle felt like a warning.

Every glance, a test wrapped in velvet.

And when the meeting ended, there were no handshakes.Just a door that shut slow… and cold.

That night, Sembilan's thoughts were louder than the city.

The taste of the room still clung to her lungs.

Was she in—or just another ghost waiting to fade?

Then she found it.

Tucked inside her drawer like a whisper:

“Don’t sleep tonight. Your time starts at 00:00.”

 

No name. Just a deadline wrapped in threat.

She slid the note into her jacket.Took a breath that felt heavier than smoke.

The night was coming.And ash—never regrets where it burns.

Sembilan stood in front of the private room’s door. Her watch ticked sharp — 00:00.

Inside, Agripina Blankenship, owner of casino and its most discreet drug supplier, sat calmly. Surrounded by cigar smoke and dim violet light. In his hand, a glass of whiskey.

On his lap, a small book titled Freedom — expensive sarcasm.

Sembilan stepped in.No guards.No words.

“Alone?” Agripina Blankenship. asked, not even turning.

Sembilan drew a pistol from beneath her jacket.

Silence. Her hand didn’t tremble,but her mind screamed.

Agripina turned. Their eyes met.Tension thick enough to bleed.

Sembilan pulled the trigger.One bullet.One choice.

That night, there were no cheers.No applause.

Only one question haunted her:

“If I can kill for them… do I still own my life?”