The Lighthouse After the Last Glow Chapter 1

"Captain, I request to join the undercover op." Anya's voice was steady in the quiet room.

After a long silence, Cranston replied gravely, "You're still injured. And your fiancé—"

"This is my decision," Anya interrupted. "I'm breaking up with him anyway. You know I'm the best for this job."

Another pause, then a heavy sigh. "Take two weeks to... prepare. Then wait for the call."

The unspoken meaning was clear—final arrangements. But Anya had no one left to answer to.

After hanging up, Anya’s gaze fell on two framed photos on her nightstand. The most important people in her life. The first was of her parents. The second, of her fiancé.

Her parents, both decorated officers, had died in the line of duty when she was ten, leaving her an orphan. She later learned their only regrets were not being able to watch her grow up, and never receiving the Medal of Valor. The day she buried their ashes, she stood before their gravestones and made a vow. She would carry their torch. She would earn that medal for them.

At twenty-two, she graduated from the academy at the top of her class and joined the major crimes unit. That was the year she met Liam.

To the world, he was a brilliant, aloof attorney, famously immune to feminine charms. But with her, it was different. He said it was love at first sight. He did everything to get her number, took her on dates, showered her with thoughtful gifts and surprises. She fell for him, hard.

Once they were official, he became even more devoted. He’d drive over in the middle of the night with her favorite food when she was on the night shift. He was a nervous wreck every time she was on a dangerous assignment. When she told him about her dream of earning the medal, he’d hold her and smile, telling her she would undoubtedly achieve it.

Anya truly believed she had found the man she would spend her life with. Until their fifth anniversary. Liam gave her a beautiful dress and told her to meet him at a remote, secluded location.

She waited for hours. He never showed. Instead, a masked man with a knife did.

She was chloroformed and dragged into a van. When she woke up, she was in a damp basement. The man stroked her face, his words sending a chill down her spine.

“The resemblance is uncanny. No wonder he’s so obsessed with you. But what’s the use? You’re not her. You’re just the bait.”

It was then that Anya learned Liam’s secret.

He had a childhood sweetheart, a famous actress named Monica Reed. The cool, detached lawyer was a different person around her; he had loved and protected her his entire life. On the very day he had planned a grand romantic gesture to confess his feelings, Monica was kidnapped by an obsessed fan. When they finally found her, she was covered in blood, barely conscious. She had been in a coma ever since.

The kidnapper escaped and had remained at large for years.

Liam was destroyed. From that day on, his life had only two purposes. First, to wait for Monica to wake up. Second, to hunt down her attacker.

When he saw Anya, he was captivated. She looked so much like Monica. So he pursued her, using her face as a vessel for his longing for another woman. And he began to plot. To use her face to lure the monster out of hiding.

He waited five years. When he finally got a lead, he orchestrated the whole thing.

For seven hours, Anya was tortured, pushed to the brink of a mental and physical breakdown. She was rescued moments before her captor could deliver the final, fatal blow.

Liam got what he wanted. The man was caught.

But the price was Anya’s right hand. It was permanently damaged, the nerves shredded beyond repair. It took her a long time to process everything—being a substitute, her hand being crippled. The woman who came out the other side was a hollowed-out version of her former self. Her faith in love was dead. Worse, her faith in everything else was gone, too. She could never be a field officer again. Her dream of earning the Medal of Valor was shattered.

Then, yesterday, a colleague visiting her mentioned a new, high-stakes operation to take down a massive crime syndicate. They needed three undercover agents. Two spots were filled, but the third was so dangerous they couldn’t find a volunteer.

She decided in an instant. She would be the third.

She knew she would be chosen. She fit all the criteria. Especially with her injured hand. Who would suspect a crippled ex-cop?

For her country, and for her dream. She would go without hesitation, without regret.

As for Liam, they were finished. She was letting him go.

Anya quietly packed up her belongings in the apartment. By the time she was done, it was eleven. She heard footsteps outside the door. Liam was home.

He walked in, a smile on his face, but it vanished when he saw the packed boxes. “Anya? What’s all this?”