Felicia stared at the shadow for several seconds, trying to imprint every detail. Then, she picked up Carmen and, before the second gunshot, rolled with her into the building. Simultaneously, four trusted Glover family subordinates arrived, looked up at the building, and rushed inside to capture the hitman.

“Carmen, hang in there. Stay with me,” she whispered, taking out her needle case. She injected needle after needle, using every technique she knew, but Carmen had already stopped breathing. Her pulse and heartbeat had ceased.

Felicia covered her face, tears mixing with blood. “We were supposed to have dinner… I cooked your favorites…” The key she’d never given her lay bloodstained nearby.

Knelt on the floor, agony choked her. Her shoulders trembled violently, her cries hoarse and desperate. “It’s my fault… all my fault…” Her heart felt torn apart.

She remembered New Year’s Eve, Carmen bringing her food, drunken and energetic, saying, “I want to go sailing, to see what’s at the end of the sea.” She remembered Carmen being the first to help her escape the Glovers in Ablil, giving her a hand-sewn pouch of salt for good luck.

She took the pouch from her pocket; the stitching was crooked, spilling salt. She’d joked with Carmen, saying she’d never run out of salt. Carmen had insisted she keep it.

“Carmen, did you forget to prepare one for yourself? Or was being friends with me your biggest mistake?”

Felicia rose, placing the bloodstained pouch in Carmen’s cold hand. Her voice was hoarse. “Don’t be afraid. I will send those people to meet you and atone for their sins.”

People rushed in and out, their screams echoing. Finally, Tom and Alyson arrived. Tom was devastated, but when his son cried, he turned from Carmen to comfort him.

Felicia stopped them, handing them money. Tom frowned, but Alyson insisted, and he reluctantly agreed to relinquish Carmen’s body. As Felicia carried Carmen away, Tom asked, “Where are you taking her?”

“To the end of the sea,” she replied.

She bought a luxury yacht, hired a crew, and sailed with Carmen’s ashes to the place Carmen had dreamed of. There were no flowers or farewells, only stars and the vast ocean.

Four days later, back in Khogend, she found the four Glover subordinates. They expected questions about the sniper, but she said, “I want to see Maurice. Either he comes to me, or I go to him.”