The first gunshot shattered the glass behind the podium.
President Elena Valez did not scream.
She stood frozen, fingers gripping the edges of the podium as fragments rained down behind her. The grand hall erupted into chaos—shouts, chairs scraping, bodies rushing for cover.
The second shot struck her head of security.
He collapsed at her feet, blood spreading across the marble floor in a way Elena knew would haunt her long after tonight—if she survived tonight.
"Madam President, move!" someone shouted.
Hands grabbed her arms, pulling her away as more shots echoed through the hall. Her heels slipped as she was dragged toward the emergency corridor, her heart pounding so hard it drowned out everything else.
Then the lights went out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
In the confusion, someone seized her from behind. A strong arm wrapped around her waist, lifting her off the ground as if she weighed nothing. A gloved hand covered her mouth before she could speak.
She struggled. Bit him.
He didn't flinch.
"Don't fight," a low voice murmured close to her ear. Calm. Controlled. "I won't hurt you."
She didn't believe him.
They moved quickly through corridors she had memorized since her first day in office. But tonight, everything felt unfamiliar—hostile.
A door burst open. Cold night air hit her face.
She was shoved into the back of a vehicle. The door slammed shut. The engine roared to life.
Within minutes, the sound of sirens faded into the distance.
Silence followed.
The hand left her mouth.
She turned to face her captor, her chest rising and falling as she forced herself to meet his gaze.
He sat across from her in the dim light, dressed in black, his expression unreadable. His eyes were dark and steady—too calm for a man who had just stolen the President of the Republic.
"Do you know who I am?" she demanded.
His lips curved slightly, not in amusement—but certainty.
"I know exactly who you are, Madam President."
Her pulse quickened. "Then you know what happens to men like you."
His gaze didn't waver.
"Yes," he said quietly. "They change the world."
The vehicle disappeared into the night.
By morning, the nation would mourn its fallen leader.
And the man who stole the President would become her only truth.
End of Chapter 1