Chapter 1 THE ORDINARY LIFE

Chapter 1 – THE ORDINARY LIFE

Kira Summers prided herself on precision. Numbers, spreadsheets, and balance sheets had always been her sanctuary. While the rest of the city buzzed with unpredictable chaos, she thrived in routine. Mornings were always the same: a strong cup of coffee, the soft hum of her laptop warming up, and the quiet comfort of her apartment overlooking the empty streets at dawn. To anyone else, it might have seemed lonely, but to Kira, it was freedom.

Her work as an accountant at Carter & Hayes was straightforward. She handled figures with meticulous care, finding mistakes others overlooked and delighting in the simplicity of logic. Life, she believed, was safest when predictable, and chaos-the kind that uprooted plans and caused sleepless nights-was best avoided. That was her rule, and she had followed it religiously.

On this particular Thursday, the office was as quiet as usual. The hum of computers and the occasional shuffle of papers were the only sounds. Kira sat in her cubicle, her eyes scanning rows of financial reports with practiced ease. Coffee in hand, she felt the comforting rhythm of numbers flowing under her fingertips. Each ledger was a story, and in those stories, there was no room for lies. Or so she thought.

Her phone buzzed with a text from a colleague, mundane and trivial. Kira smiled faintly, typing a brief reply before returning her attention to the spreadsheet. She liked small connections, little threads of humanity that didn't disrupt her world. Yet, she was careful. Personal life was optional. Emotional attachment was dangerous.

The clock ticked closer to lunchtime. Kira's routine dictated she would step out for a brisk walk, but today, the hum of the office felt different, almost... tense. She shook off the feeling. She had always been sensitive to anomalies, and this one didn't seem worth worrying over. Perhaps it was just the hum of the fluorescent lights or the unease of someone entering her space without warning.

Then the delivery arrived.

It was small, plain, and unmarked-nothing like the usual corporate mail. Kira frowned, curious. She rarely received packages, and this one bore no sender information. Normally, she would have left it for the receptionist to handle, but something about it felt... off. Her hands lingered on the envelope as if it contained secrets only she was meant to discover.

She tore it open carefully, revealing a small black flash drive nestled inside a thin foam case. A shiver ran down her spine, though she couldn't say why. No note, no instructions-nothing. She turned it over in her hands, examining it as though the answers might magically appear etched on its surface.

Curiosity won over caution. Kira slid the drive into her laptop. A folder opened instantly, filled with files she didn't recognize. Names, numbers, spreadsheets-but also encrypted documents labeled with terms that hinted at illegal activity. She frowned, scanning the headings. There were company accounts she'd never heard of, transactions that made no sense, and hints of offshore dealings far beyond what her accounting department would normally handle.

Her pulse quickened. Something wasn't right.

Kira's fingers hovered over the keyboard. She had a choice: close the files, dismiss this as a mistake, and return to her safe, predictable routine-or dig deeper and risk uncovering something that could change her life forever. The curiosity she had always buried behind logic and caution nudged her forward.

She clicked one of the spreadsheets. Numbers lined up neatly, yet the patterns made no logical sense. There were large sums moving between shell companies, transactions timed to coincide with audits, and codes that hinted at bribery or worse. Kira's mind raced. Her analytical mind sought answers, explanations, a mistake. But the more she looked, the clearer it became: someone was hiding something monumental.

Suddenly, the office lights flickered. Kira jumped, her heart leaping into her throat. She was alone-or she thought she was. The sensation of being watched crawled over her skin, making her skin prickle. Her rational mind tried to reason it away: flickering lights, a loose bulb, nerves-but the feeling didn't dissipate.

A knock at the door startled her further. "Kira?" a voice called, faint and unfamiliar. She froze. No one was supposed to be there. Only the cleaning staff, who wouldn't enter unannounced, and her colleagues, all on lunch break.

She quickly removed the flash drive and hid it in her desk drawer, forcing her hands to stop trembling. "Yes?" she called, her voice steadier than she felt.

No answer. Silence.

Kira's pulse thudded against her chest. She had always believed she could control her environment, predict outcomes-but for the first time, the world felt unpredictable. Dangerous.

Her mind raced with possibilities. What if someone knew she had the flash drive? What if it wasn't meant for her at all, and she was now in the middle of something she could never have anticipated? She tried to calm herself, to remind herself that panic was useless, but fear had a way of rooting itself deep inside, gnawing at reason.

With trembling hands, Kira packed her laptop, her heart heavy with unease. She left her office under the guise of an early lunch, the city streets outside bustling with oblivious life. To everyone else, it was another ordinary day. But for Kira, the ordinary had ended the moment she inserted that flash drive.

She barely noticed the man leaning against the corner of the street, too clean-cut, too still, watching her as she walked. Kira's instincts screamed danger, but she told herself it was paranoia. After all, she had lived safely for thirty years-why start now?

Still, the unease followed her, settling over her like a shadow. Her quiet, predictable life-the life she had curated carefully-was gone. Something she didn't yet understand had touched her, something dangerous, something that wanted to stay hidden.

By the time she reached her apartment, Kira knew she had a decision to make. She could lock herself away, ignore the files, and return to the safety of numbers-or she could confront whatever dark world she had stumbled into, risking everything she had ever known.

Her phone buzzed again. A text appeared, unfamiliar and unsigned:

"We know what you have. Don't make a mistake."

Kira froze.

The shadows of her ordinary life had vanished, replaced by threats she didn't yet understand. And for the first time, she realized: her life was no longer her own.

Her hand hovered over the flash drive. She had the key to a secret powerful enough to destroy people-and protect no one but herself.

And somewhere, in the shadows beyond her door, the danger had already begun its silent pursuit.

Kira is now aware that someone is after her, and the flash drive in her hands has placed her life in immediate danger.