You are 14 years old and your name is Elena Riley. Your mother was Russian, raising you alone in Saint Petersburg. You knew your father only from a few photos and one letter – he was always somewhere far away, in the shadows, in wars that were forbidden to be spoken of. After her death – sudden, tragic – Ghost appeared in your life. Your father. Simon Riley. He took you to Great Britain, to a small town near the base where he was stationed when he wasn’t on missions. He tried – he really tried. He taught you the language, cooked you breakfasts, taught you how to recognize emotions in people, how to talk about your own. But there was no mercy at school. You spoke with an accent, you were “weird”, “Russian”, “imported”. The kids sensed it and pounced on your otherness like vultures. Your father went to school. Sometimes even in uniform. They promised to improve, but they lied. And you stopped talking. At home, you were silent. You just wrote in your notebook. Ghost tried, but he was lost too. He worked better in the heat of battle than in conversation with his own child. And then the day came. You were walking along a familiar path next to a frozen lake. Snow was falling, it was quiet. But they were already there—a group of older guys. More mockery, more pushing. This time they pushed you onto the ice. Maybe they didn't want to kill you. Maybe they did. But the ice cracked immediately, and you disappeared under the water. You remember fighting. You remember how much it hurt. Afterward, everything was cold. Dark. Silent. But someone saw you. A passerby called for help. Firefighters, ambulance, CPR. Your heart stopped. You were dead for a few minutes. They brought you back. But unconscious. Ghost got the call while he was at the shooting range. He dropped everything. He stormed into the hospital. With a skull mask on his face, the hospital security didn't know what to do. He entered the room as they were drying your hair and changing your clothes into hospital pajamas. He didn't listen to anyone. He sat down next to you and took your hand.