Femme Fatale: The King's Deadly Temptress

Chapter 461: A Sliver of a Chance

Everyone's gazes were locked at Chris. Katherine and Styles exchanged a look and their brows were furrowed in utter bewilderment. As far as they knew, the agents in Shadow were all orphans and had no other family membersand that included Chris. So it was the first time that they heard about him having a sister. And the first time that they saw him with such an indescribable expression on his face.

"What do you mean you have a sister? You never talked about her," Katherine started.

"That's because I thought she died." Chris's face softened as he looked away, his eyes staring at the vast ocean outside the tall windows. He had a longing gaze that only he knew why and he uncomfortably rubbed his nape and squeezed it as if it would relieve his uneasiness.

For Katherine and Styles, he didn't look like the Chris they knew back then. So perhaps, there was some truth in what he said? But how? Then again, no one really knew a lot about Chris's past as he didn't like to talk about himself. They waited until he continued to speak.

"I was in an orphanage with my little sister for almost a year. One night, the orphanage was caught in a fire and everyone panicked as they tried to fight for their own survival. Since the boys and the girls' dormitories were separated, I had to fight my way to get to the other side of the building to look for her. I don't remember much about what happened as it was chaotic. The next thing I knew, I woke up and I was already in the hospital, then I was told that she didn't survive the incident." 

He ran a hand through his hair, he was clearly frustrated and perturbed about recalling the painful memory. Digging his hands into his pockets, he raised his head and looked at the stars, questions swimming in his head. He hadn't talked about the incident like this to anyone before. The only people who really knew about his situation was Parker as he was the one who recruited him into Shadow. But it wasn't a topic for discussion because he didn't like talking about his dead sister.

"I was supposed to protect her like a brother should do. In the end, I wasn't good enough and I failed to even do this simple thing. She was all that I had. I lost her and it was all my fault." Chris softly chuckled at his own failure. He could not believe he was talking about this right now to a group of people whom he had no plans of mentioning his sister to. Yet here he wasactually talking about the painful memory in his past. 

"So" Katherine started carefully, knowing the topic was quite sensitive for Chris. She hated him for everything he had done to her, but she wasn't heartless. She knew very well how much it hurt when one loses a family member. "How is it possible that Parker is holding your sister against you?"

Chris cleared his throat and rolled his neck as if he was trying to brush his thoughts away. Turning around, he answered, "Years ago, Parker sent me to a missiona triple S ranked mission, and I turned him down."

Katherine and Styles exchanged another look. They knew what a triple S mission meant and it was what all the agents were aiming to get. But the chance rarely came by and when it does, not many agents survived. Even so, agents were still determined to get selected. So, hearing Chris telling them that he turned down that mission confused them.

"What was the mission?" she asked.

Chris did not meet her stare and his face hardened. "That's not important and none of your business."

"So, you turned it down, and what? He threatened you?" Damien asked.

Chris glanced at Damien and responded, "He told me he found my sister. He gave me a black and white picture of a woman who looked exactly how I thought my sister would look if she had grown."

"And you believed him?" Styles wondered.

"Wouldn't you?" Chris shot him a glare. "He knew exactly what buttons to push, knowing full well what would make me tick. You both know how manipulative and cruel Parker is. And he makes sure he gets what he wants no matter what. So even if I knew that he could be lying, there's a chance that he was telling the truth. If there's a sliver of a chance that she's alive, I wouldn't risk that on account of my sister. Even if it meant I had to do his dirty job."

He was right. If Parker knew that Chris was longing for his sister, he could easily play that card to control him.

Katherine didn't know what to do about this new information. She was seeing a different side of Chris for the first time. "How did he even find your sister? What happened then?"

"Parker knew that I wasn't totally convinced that my sister was dead because I didn't see her corpse. There were dozens of kids who died that night up to a point that none of them could be identified anymore. She could have been one of those." Chris sighed and briefly closed his eyes before he added, "He said he had kept tabs about that night since I told him the moment I came to Shadow that if there were any possibilities of my sister being alive, I would find her. Long story short, Parker apparently found traces of her."

"And he kept using it against you" she muttered and saw Chris slightly nod. "How does the NIA fit in all this?"

"She found meSandra Hughes. I don't know how, but she knew everything about Shadow and all its clandestine operations. She wanted me to work under her. At first, I turned her down. What could NIA do for me when I've been with Shadow all along?"

"What changed?"

"Parker gave me another triple S mission. And I" Chris's words trailed off when a particular memory crossed his mind. "I couldn't handle it anymore. That's when I came to her. In exchange for intel, she'd help me look for my sister."

Katherine studied his expression, wondering what he was thinking about just now. Trying to gauge his reaction, she asked, "And did they find her?"

Everyone was drawn to hearing Chris's answer. The room was still and quiet as he thought about how to answer her question when his phone rang and Parker's name flashed on his phone screen.