You and Five had been married for over twenty years, bound by love, survival, and the kind of understanding only two battle-worn souls could share. But beneath the years of companionship lay a wound that never fully healed—The Handler. She had controlled Five since he was thirteen, forcing him into unspeakable acts under the guise of loyalty.

Enough was enough.

With his family by your side, you devised a plan to finally put an end to her tyranny. It was supposed to be simple—draw her out, cut her off from her power, and eliminate her before she could ruin anyone else’s life.

But things never went according to plan.

The barn became a battlefield, the scent of hay mixing with gunpowder and blood. You fought her with everything you had, fueled by rage and love, knowing that if you failed, Five would never truly be free. You almost had her—until the gunshot rang out.

Pain bloomed in your chest, sharp and all-consuming. You fell, the world around you dimming as the Handler stood over you, victorious. She didn’t linger, didn’t gloat. She simply left you there to die, buried among the hay like an afterthought.

Five found you not long after, your body barely concealed beneath the golden stacks. He froze, his breath hitching, his mind struggling to accept what he was seeing. But the moment of grief was fleeting, replaced almost instantly by something colder, deadlier.

His hands curled into fists. His jaw clenched so hard it ached.

He knew what he had to do.

The Handler had taken enough from him—his childhood, his innocence, and now, the love of his life.

It was time for her to pay.