CHAPTER 60
Xavier
I spent ten years combing the world for a girl no one else remembered a girl who once dragged me back from the brink of death and vanished before I could whisper her name.
Back then, rain pounded the corrugated–metal roof of the weapons–packing warehouse, booming loud enough to drown out the screams still ringing in my ears.}
My father and I were on a weapons–delivery mission overseas, but as the deal went down, chaos suddenly erupted. Before anyone could dodge, dozens of bullets tore through everyone in the building–including my father.”
I stood there with cracked ribs from a collapsing wall, my shirt soaked in other people’s blood. My father’s enemies always swore they wouldn’t leave an heir alive. They nearly kept that promise.
Amid the noise, I mourned my dying father. He ordered me to leave at once, to save myself. I was the only one he could rely on for vengeance.}
Reluctantly, I ran as hard as I could, even though my legs felt like they might snap. The falling wall had smashed my back and legs. I kept running until I reached a settlement.
A rusty–red motorbike screeched as I slammed into it. A small figure hit the asphalt but sprang up and checked my condition. She looked like a food courier.
She froze when she saw me. Meal containers clattered to the ground, rice scattering like white ash.
“Hey–are you… still alive?“}
Her voice trembled, yet her wide, dark, unwavering eyes locked onto mine.}
I tried to answer but managed only a rasp. Help…
She knelt, her fingers searching for my pulse. Sensing an opportunity, I drew something from behind my back and leveled it at her head.
“Get me out of here.”
She looked terrified–refusing wouldn’t save her. She nodded uncertainly.
“I–I can help you, but lower the gun.”>
“If you try to run, I’ll shoot you in the head.” She nodded very quickly.
I watched her right the toppled bike, then stare at me in fear. She seemed to think helping someone didn’t always end well.
“Get on. I’ll take you home.“}
“I don’t have a home.” I couldn’t reveal where I lived; someone was surely waiting there.
She sighed, exhausted. “All right, I’ll take you to my place.”
Though she seemed reluctant, I could tell she genuinely wanted to help. It seemed this girl wasn’t dangerous.
I braced myself against a wall to stand. She wedged her shoulder under my arm.
“What’s your name?” I gasped.
She hesitated, rain wetting her eyelashes.
“Laura,” she said–and nothing more.
She rode to a modest rental house and nursed my wounds until they healed over the days that followed. But after a week, Laura never came back.
I couldn’t stop thinking–had someone learned she’d helped me? From then on, I searched for her everywhere.
After a long wait, I found Laura by chance, married to an ordinary mafia man. I considered backing off, but when I learned how cruel her stepchildren were, I resolved to take her back.”
I knew when Laura and her family went to the forest for fresh air. I saw those vicious children try to kill Laura and prepare a body resembling hers for a funeral.
Shin–the only man still alive who knew my whole past–helped me find Laura. His hair was gray, his spine straight like forged steel.
“You finally pulled that ghost out of the river,” he said.”
“The triplets shot her with two arrows. Left her to drown. They thought she was dead.”
“Convenient status,” Shin said. “A dead woman can’t testify–or go back to her abusers.”
I looked at his deeply lined face. “She saved me. The debt is due.”
“A new life inside our fortress,” Shin said flatly. “Why trust her that much?“}
“She’s the only person who ever chose to help me when she had nothing to gain. That means more than blood tests or background files.“N Shin’s gaze shifted to the monitor. “What if she wants out? She’s not a recruit; she’s a civilian with every reason to run.”
“Then we let her choose,” I said. “But until she’s healed, the Hudson family will think she’s ashes at the bottom of a ravine. That buys us time.“%
Shin’s expression softened–almost. “All right, Xavier. I’ll double the guards on that level.“W
“And Shin–tomorrow, let her walk around the building, make sure no weapons are visible. She’s seen enough suffering.””
He bowed his head. “Understood.”
I stared at her photo on my phone. Ten years chasing a ghost. Tonight that ghost had a heartbeat.!!
And the next steps–mine. hers. purs–would redraw every man the Hudson family thought they owned. COMPTER
