Badass in Disguise (Shadow) novel Chapter 290

Badass in Disguise

Chapter 290

Compared to Ethan Haxton–a businessman who navigated corporate sharks dally—I was more naturally suspicious. I’d spent my previce life as Shadow, walking the razor’s edge between life and death, encountering more villains than most people could Imagine. I was implied to be a ghost, to infiltrate, to become someone else.

I trusted no one. Not even the dead.

There are no such things as coincidences in my world. When Silas Murphy suddenly appeared in my life with that face–that face so identical to someone I once knew–how could I not be suspicious? The likelihood that he just happened to look exactly like Dusk, that just happened to attend the same university as me, that he just happened to need tutoring… The odds were astronomical.

From the first moment, I’d been watching him, analyzing his every move, waiting for him to reveal his true purpose.

“Playing along with you was exhausting,” I said, circling him like a predator. “And incredibly boring.”

Silas’s eyes widened. “You were acting? The whole time?” His voice cracked. “Even with Ethan Haxton?”

I laughed, the sound sharp and cold in the quiet apartment. “You were taking too long to make your move. Ethan was actually getting jealous, and I was running out of patience.”

Of course it was all an act. After the second scene, Ethan had texted me on his way home: Did you have to bring up the age thing?

I’d replied: Getting too deep into character?

It’s the truth, hard not to take it personally, he’d written back.

Wasn’t insulting you.

How was my performance? Ethan had asked.

Dialogue was cheesy, I’d replied.

You were brutal. I’ll improve next time.

The entire “breakup” had been choreographed down to the last detail. Ethan had practiced his hurt expressions for days, perfecting that wounded look in his eyes. The rumor about him being dumped had spread through campus exactly as we’d planned, setting the perfect stage for Silas to make his move.

Silas stared at me, processing this revelation. “Chris Jensen too?”

“He said your hypnosis techniques were impressive.”

Silas couldn’t have known that while he’d been eavesdropping outside the door as Chris pretended to call me, reporting on Silas’s condition and even trying to play matchmaker, Chris had texted me immediately after Silas left: This guy’s hypnosis is legit. I almost fell for it. Be careful.

“He was never on the phone with me,” I added, twisting the knife. “That entire conversation was for your benefit, while he texted me warnings about you under the table.”

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8:18 Tue, Sep 30

Chapter 290

Silas looked like he’d been slapped. He’d thought his portrayal of Silas Murphy was flawless, convincing even Murphy’s parents. But he never suspected he was the one being played.

“I’m actually impressed, I said, leaning against the wall. “This is my first time meeting someone from Sleepers. I watched his face for reaction. “Your hypnosis skills really are exceptional.”

His expression shifted, the wounded victim mask falling away to reveal something cold and calculating. ‘What do you know about Shadow Organization? What’s your connection to Dusk?”

I moved closer, staring directly into his eyes. “Where is the real Silas Murphy?”

His face hardened, any pretense of humanity vanishing. “Dead, naturally.”

I froze, a chill running through me. “You killed Silas?”

“A killer killing someone. Is that so strange?” His voice was flat, emotionless.

“You bastard!” My voice shook with genuine rage. “He was your brother!”

Confusion flickered in his eyes. “Brother? Silas’s brother was Dusk from the Shadow Organization. He’s been dead for years.”

“You idiot!” I grabbed his collar, slamming him against the wall. “Why do you think you and Silas looked identical? Just a coincidence?” I snarled into his face. “Silas was your twin brother! Dusk was your older brother!”

The confusion in his eyes deepened. I could see him processing this information, searching for lies.

“When Mrs. Murphy was hospitalized, I got her talking,” I explained, releasing him with disgust. “She told me she had three sons. The eldest was taken from them—that was Dusk. Then she had twins. One of those twins–you–was sold by your father. It nearly destroyed her. If not for her youngest son, the real Silas, she might have ended her life.”

I watched the information sink in. “The son your father sold became her deepest pain. She couldn’t bear to speak of it. Even Silas never knew he had a twin brother.”

Mrs. Murphy had wept as she told me the story, her thin hands shaking with emotion. “My husband,” she’d whispered, “he was a gambler, worse back then than now. He owed money to terrible people. They were going to kill him.” Her voice had broken. “So he sold our child instead. My baby.”

Silas–or whatever his real name was–stared at me with cold eyes. “And so what?”

His face was identical to the real Silas’s, down to the smallest detail. Anyone would have wondered about such a perfect resemblance.

But for someone raised in the Shadow Organization from childhood, someone who had experienced nothing but brutal training where falling half a step behind meant death, someone numb to everything in the world–family ties meant nothing.

He had never wondered about his origins, never questioned whether he was kidnapped or abandoned. He didn’t yearn for family, friends, or a normal life. In his eyes, there was only the Shadow Organization, only training and survival.

The organization’s orders were absolute.

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