Chapter 156.2

Chapter 156.2

Yet Joo Seolheon couldn’t just step forward and reveal herself. She couldn’t give even the slightest hint about Sonya’s origins. Adding that kind of misery to the child’s life was something they absolutely could not do.

In the end, Joo Seolheon vented her anger by reporting the other parents to the National Tax Service, ensuring their illegally amassed wealth was seized.

Considering the current NIS director was in his seventies, Joo Seolheon’s promotion to deputy director at just fifty was exceptionally fast. Meanwhile, Sonya had obtained certifications, found a job, and seemed to be living a stable life.

Then, Damon, now a CIA deputy director, contacted her with shocking news. Russia had released Rigay.

“I want Sonya back.” was Damon’s words which shook Joo Seolheon to the core.

“…!”

The lifelong fear she had carried had finally become reality.

“We intend to capture Rigay alive and retrieve his research. Having his daughter in our possession would be the perfect leverage to make him talk.”

‘I have to kill Rigay before they capture him.’ Desperately, that was the only thought in her mind.

Too much time had passed for promises to matter. Rigay had vanished under Russia’s strict surveillance, and he had always been a coward at heart. She couldn’t be sure of anything anymore.

“Zoya, use Sonya to capture Rigay.”

Though Joo Seolheon planned Operation Bird Box with full CIA support, she maneuvered in direct opposition to America’s intentions.

Unlike the U.S., which wanted Rigay alive, Joo Seolheon intended to kill him.

‘Rigay and Sonya must never meet. The hypnosis he did to Sonya must never break.’

Sonya needed someone to protect her. In a world where neither Russia nor America could be trusted, she needed someone who could shield Sonya under the guise of an operation.

And it had to be someone Sonya would never suspect.

There was only one person who fit that description… a loving husband.

***

“You’re the next target. Temporary codename: Owl.”

A beautiful bird with large eyes, cutting through the darkness. No other codename came to mind.

“You make rice cakes too?”

Lee Wooshin. The sole heir of the Solzhenitsyn family.

After drifting through war-torn regions overseas, the boy had enlisted in the Korean military the moment he came of age. Joo Seolheon then recruited the tattered young man into the NIS.

She had countless nameless black operatives under her command, but Lee Wooshin was the best among them.

At first, he was just a bargaining chip.

If the day ever comes when I have no choice but to lose Sonya, I’ll hand over the missing Solzhenitsyn heir. That was the role she had assigned him.

The inheritance left behind by Maxim Solzhenitsyn was immeasurable, and the Russian government was still searching for the heir, hoping to uncover the secret Swiss accounts they had failed to reclaim.

At the very least, this would give her a seat at the negotiating table. And when she thought of Ivan and Yani, who had risked everything for the Sakhalin children…

Lee Wooshin seemed like someone who could look at Sonya without prejudice. What he wanted was Winter Castle’s final records, and the face and name of a child.

A bitter laugh escaped her. ‘How did he end up as my pawn?’ Joo Seolheon lit a cigarette.

‘What kind of expression is this?’

She stared at the photo for a long time. Is this really Sonya, smiling so widely with her teeth showing?

It was the first time she had seen that expression since the two got married.

“….”

Only then did Joo Seolheon realized, the child who had once hung lifeless in the air was finally happy.

‘What a good girl.’

Silently, she repeated the words she had once whispered long ago.

“Rigay, you should have seen the way Sonya’s eyes curved like rainbows.”

***

Rigay had attempted suicide.

“Stand down. Viktor Rigay is facing personal issues now,” Damon informed her.

Was this fortunate? The CIA’s vigilance toward both Rigay and Sonya noticeably decreased.

And it became the perfect excuse, because Sonya’s ophthalmologist had issued an unexpected warning.

“If this continues, she could genuinely lose her sight.”

They had to halt the operation.

No matter how advanced the technology supported by the Defense Research Institute was, Sonya’s eyes were reaching their limit.

They couldn’t actually blind her. Suddenly, she recalled the syringe needle that had once failed to implant suggestions in an adult brain. A chill ran down her spine.

A decision had to be made.

Rigay had trusted an invisible god more than Zoya, who stood right before him. He was fanatically devoted, deaf to all reason.

Han Seoryeong’s god was Kim Hyun. The more unseen, the more untouchable, the more violently she would chase after it.

Even if memories came flooding like a broken dam, Sonya would choose Kim Hyun over Sakhalin. She wouldn’t be swayed.

“Continuing this operation is a waste of budget. You should withdraw as soon as possible. In construction, a single day’s delay costs two billion won. Let’s cut our losses.”

She tailored the intel to her advantage, weaving countless clever lies. That’s how it always was with Lee Wooshin.

Without realizing it, she had become just like Damon.