Chapter 1 Chapter 1 Agent Winters , are you prepared to take your fathers former position in deep cover ? Code name Silent Echo will be yours if you accept . Under the solemn eagle seal of the CIA , Hestia nodded firmly . Becoming a deep cover operative meant erasing every trace of her existing life . Hestia Winters would cease to exist . The Agency would stage her death , allowing her to emerge under a new identity , continuing her fathers unfinished mission . Fresh from CIA headquarters , Hestia hadnt even reached her bedroom door when she heard a womans soft moans from within . Her face remained expressionless as she mentally counted which number this was among the women Alaric Crawford had brought home . Three years of marriage , and every day brought a new woman who resembled her . He always left the master suite door open , flaunting his affairs his own brand of punishment for her supposed betrayal years ago . But tonight was different . The familiar voice from within made her frozen . The sounds of passion subsided . Alaric emerged , bare chested with a towel around his waist . His eyes held nothing but contempt . Perfect timing . Were out of condoms . Go buy some . He pulled out a thick wad of cash from the nearby drawer and threw it at her face . Keep the change . Isnt money what youve always wanted ? Her cheek stung where the bills had struck her , but she ignored the cash clattering to the floor . Why Lilia ? She was my best friend . Even vengeance should have limits . He knew Lilia was the only friend she had left . 09:36 My Ex Husband Went Crazy After I Left Him And Became a 0.0 % Chapter 1 Alarics features twisted into a sneer . Did you show me any mercy when you left ? Hestias chest tightened as memories came flooding back . They had been the golden couple at high school the popular cheerleader and the handsome athlete , the perfect couple everyone envied . Theyd promised to marry when they came of age . Then shed shattered everything , leaving him for a European tech mogul without explanation . The day she ended it , Alaric had chased her car through Manhattans rain slicked streets . The proud scion of old money , reduced to begging her to wait , promising hed build an empire worthy of her . He pleaded with her to wait , to be patient , to not fall in love with someone else . But she had remained cold , refusing to speak another word to him . Even as he got into a car accident while chasing after her , she hadnt turned back . The crash had left him critical , needing an immediate kidney transplant . Lying bloodied on the operating table , he had still struggled to call her . But every desperate call went unanswered . Love curdled to hatred . Within four years , Alaric had transformed into Americas youngest billionaire , his tech company rivaling Silicon Valleys giants . His first act after achieving wealth and power was to force Hestia to marry him , then parading an endless stream of women through their home . But only Hestia knew the truth : shed left him not for money , but survival . Her father , deep undercover in the Russian mafia , had his cover blown . After executing him , the organization had targeted his family . The CIA had rushed them into witness protection . To keep Alaric safe , she had to disappear . During their relocation , shed learned of his accident . Despite the risk , shed secretly become his kidney donor , slipping away before he regained consciousness . 1.3 % Chapter 1 Shed returned too late to find her grandparents , mother , and sister massacred . She was the only survivor . Remembering their broken bodies , Hestias eyes took on a haunted cast . Seeing her reddened eyes , Alarics cold voice held a hint of hope : What ? Are you finally going to tell me you had your reasons back then ? Coming back to the present , Hestia steeled herself . No reasons . You werent wrong about me . I was just shallow and materialistic . The truth had died with her family . It had to stay buried . She carried the burden of her familys brutal murder , knowing any future with him was impossible . These past years had been stolen time . Now , as operative Silent Echo , she would complete what her father started . Soon enough , shed likely reunite her with her family soon in death . , another fallen agent in the Agencys shadowed halls . Five-year-old Annie, who can understand animals, saved Landon Hawthorne, a wealthy businessman, from suicide. Now she's his whole world and he's her legal cheat-code against every villain fate throws ...