Chapter 3

The moment my day of servitude ended, I stood in Jeffrey's study.

"The day is over. Where's the ship?"

Jeffrey looked at my subdued, obedient posture, seeming pleased with the results of his training.

Right in front of me, he made a call.

"Activate Route B. Go extract Jaxon. Coordinates are sent."

He put it on speaker.

A respectful voice answered, "Understood, Mr. Tucker. Departing immediately."

The tension that had coiled inside me for a full day finally began to unwind.

I endured the humiliation, the torture. If it saved my brother, it was worth it.

"Thank you."

I choked out the words, then stumbled out of the room.

I had to get to the docks. I had to see Jaxon safe with my own eyes.

However, what I didn't know was that as soon as I rushed out of the villa's gate, the last trace of false warmth vanished from Jeffrey's face.

A cold, calculating look settled in his eyes. He picked up his phone again and dialed a different number.

A number that belonged to the Black Sharks, the Smith family's deadliest rivals.

"I've sent you Jaxon's location. Make it clean. No traces."

Jeffrey watched my retreating figure from the window, a cruel smile touching his lips.

"Once Jaxon is gone, she'll have no one left in this world but me. A tiger with its claws pulled out... will have no choice but to be my pretty little bird in a cage."

When I reached the docks, the Tucker ship wasn't there.

A cold dread began to seep into my gut.

Then, the TV screen in the waiting area blared with breaking news.

"Breaking News: Major explosion in Border Zone B. An abandoned warehouse, site of an apparent gang shootout. No survivors reported. Police indicate one of the deceased is suspected to be a Smith, alleged head of a local syndicate."

In that instant, my blood turned to ice in my veins.

My phone vibrated.

It was a delayed voice message.

My fingers trembled so badly I could barely tap it open.

The background was filled with the sounds of gunfire and explosions. Jaxon's voice was faint, ragged, each word a struggle.

"Jeffrey... it was Jeffrey... he sold me out... He gave my location to Black Shark... Don't trust him... Live... you have to live..."

Boom!

The voice abruptly ended with a massive explosion.

The phone slipped from my hand.

Like a ghost, I drifted back to the Tucker villa.

Jeffrey was still on the sofa, sipping coffee. He looked surprised to see me.

"Back so soon? Didn't the ship pick him up?"

I walked towards him, step by step.

"Jeffrey, my brother is dead."

His hand paused mid-sip. Then, calmly, he set the cup down.

"Is that so? What a pity. I guess it was his fate. Your brother lived a violent life. Maybe the universe just collected its debt. In a way, Cynthia, this is for the best. Now you can start fresh. Be my secret lover, properly."

I stared at the man I once loved, the man I thought I'd spend my life with.

He was a stranger.

I grabbed the fruit knife from the coffee table.

Jeffrey's face paled. He stepped back. "Cynthia! Have you lost your mind? Murder is illegal!"

I desperately lunged at him, but was pinned to the ground by the arriving bodyguards.

"Jeffrey, you killed the only family I had in this world. You'd better kill me, or you'll regret it."