Chapter 1

I work for the government. My job was simple on paper: steal a key-chip from the man behind an organ-trafficking network.  

The problem was access. He never moved without bodyguards, and any new face got screened out fast. The only opening was his son’s wedding—the one day he’d show up in public.  

But I couldn’t hide what I am. Professional habits give you away. So I did the only thing that would make me invisible: I put myself under deep hypnosis, locked every memory, forged a new identity, and spent six months inside the estate as a disposable security guard.  

For half a year, I hauled crates, swallowed insults, and scrubbed floors on my knees. Everyone thought I was easy to break.  

On the wedding day, the groom came looking for trouble. He slapped me, forced me down, and my nose bled all over my uniform. I could barely breathe.  

Then the wedding march started.  

That was my trigger. The moment the music hit, everything came back—my name, my mission, and what I came to take.  

They thought I was a dog they could kick. Nobody knew that the bloodied guard on the grass had just remembered everything.  

Next, the wedding became my field.

————

The afternoon light lay over the lawn like a dusting of pale gold. A white arch stood at the far end, the bouquets beneath it swaying gently in the breeze.

Two rows of benches were already set out, pale ribbons tied to the backs. A champagne tower on a side table caught the sun in scattered sparks.

In the distance, the band was doing final tuning—snatches of trumpet and strings, broken and intermittent—like a reminder to everyone: the ceremony was about to start.

I wasn’t the groom. I wasn’t even a guest. I stood at the entrance in a uniform issued by the estate, an old metal badge pinned to my chest.

On paper, I was security for the wedding. In reality, I did whatever needed doing: checking names and letting people through, directing cars and seating, running errands, keeping order around the bar and the VIP corridor—filling whichever gap was short-handed.

A radio hung from my shoulder strap, spitting static and clipped commands every few minutes.

“Keep the entrance clear. Check the guest list faster.”

“Tell the servers to move the third row half a meter to the left.”

“Who’s going to straighten the sign for the VIP passage?”

My job was to get people where they needed to be—and to deal with any sudden trouble in the cheapest way possible.

Someone handed me an invitation; I glanced at it and waved them through. Someone couldn’t find their seat; I pointed. Someone complained the sun was too bright; I went to find an umbrella.

I was like a signpost at the gate—useful, and easiest to ignore.

A man in a light-gray suit shoved his empty glass at me, speaking the way you’d order a waiter around. “Throw this out. And get me one that isn’t so sweet.”

I took the glass, passed it to a staffer walking by, and added, “Dry, please.”

The man didn’t even say thanks. He’d already turned back to laugh with his friends.

I looked toward the massive welcome board beside the main platform. White roses and greenery framed its edges; the lettering was gold-foil, elegant and clean:

“Claire Ashton & Luke Winston.”

Next to it stood a wedding cake absurdly tall, white icing layered like snow. On top were two fondant figures and the couple’s initials.

In this city, almost no one didn’t know the Ashtons.

The old family house, the estate, the foundation—the name showed up in the society pages and on charity gala invitations.

The Winstons were just as respectable. Their public image was always steady: philanthropy, medical funds, organ donation advocacy. In the news they smiled under camera lights, as if they wore “kindness” like a tailored suit.

The media loved this kind of match—equal status, strong alliance. Add a beautiful bride and a showboating groom, and the story writes itself.

I stared at the names and felt nothing romantic.

Without thinking, I touched my trouser pocket. My fingers brushed the edge of a plastic card—a driver’s license, worn but still readable. Name: Noah Kyle.

All I knew was that I was Noah Kyle. That’s what the license said.

Where I came from, what I’d done before—none of it, because I had amnesia.

My mind was blank. That blank began six months ago, when I woke in a guest room in this estate. The ceiling was high. The curtains were half drawn. Light leaked through the gap and fell across the carpet.

My head felt like it had been hit with something blunt. The pain was so heavy I could barely sit up. My throat was dry and tight.

I lifted a hand to my forehead. My fingertips found a scabbed-over wound.

Outside the door, people were talking—maids, their voices tinged with impatience and curiosity.

“Is he awake yet? The driver said he found him by the mountain road.”

“There was a mountain bike, too. Smashed to hell. Probably went off the slope.”

Listening, I finally understood why I was here.

An Ashton driver had passed that road, spotted me, and with permission brought me back to the Ashton estate.

My backpack sat by the bed, zipper half open. There wasn’t much inside: a few changes of clothes, a bottle of water, energy bars, and a handful of small items I couldn’t identify.

No phone. No wallet with anything that could prove who I was. Only that driver’s license—like it had been left on purpose, just to answer the question, Who are you?

I tried to remember. My mind felt like a door had been slammed shut.

I knew there should be a past. But no matter how I pushed, it wouldn’t budge.

Later, the Ashtons questioned me a few times.

Where were you from? Any family? Were you running from something?

Every time, all I could say was, “I don’t remember.”

They looked into “Noah Kyle,” too. Nothing solid came back. Not even a work history that matched.

In the end, they decided to keep me as cheap labor.

I could walk. I could work. I could follow orders. I wouldn’t cause trouble. That was enough.

Guarding doors, moving boxes, running errands—wherever they needed a body, they put me there.

The pay was low, but at least I had a bed and food.

More importantly, they didn’t have to worry I’d go to the police or run to the media—because I couldn’t even say who I was.

My thoughts cut off there. The radio crackled again and dragged me back to the entrance on the lawn.

“Entrance, listen up. Clear the VIP corridor. Don’t let regular guests wander in.”

I pressed the talk button. “Copy.” My voice was flat, like I was reciting a line I’d memorized. Then I signaled two guards to switch positions and split the flow.

Footsteps, clinking glass, the band’s tuning in the distance—everything blended into a restless hum.

And then I saw Claire walking over.

Her gown almost glowed in the sun. The hem brushed the grass, swaying with each step.

People clustered around her—one lifting her train, one handing her water, another whispering reminders about the schedule.

Her presence lowered the volume at the entrance, as if the crowd made a clean path for her without being told.

I’ll admit it: I’d felt something for her once.

Not love, exactly. Gratitude.

She owned this estate. She could have thrown me out at any time, but she hadn’t. Of course, maybe she hadn’t even noticed there was an extra person living here. Maybe she’d seen me and assumed I was a new gardener or a doorman, then never thought of me again.

Her gaze swept over me without stopping—like I was the gate railing, the signs, part of the fixtures.

Still, she hadn’t kicked me out. I was grateful for that alone.

The world outside the estate was just as blank to me. I had no friends, no place to go, no second piece of paper to prove who I was. If I left, I might not last a single night.

People in the estate were blunter.

Some said I was getting ahead of myself. Some said I’d read too many romance stories.

I never argued. Denying it only made them more entertained.

That’s how gossip works—the more you deny it, the faster it grows wings.

“Hey, Noah.” A guard in the same uniform leaned close, grinning as he lowered his voice. “Stand steady today. Don’t accidentally bump the bride. Her dress costs more than your yearly pay.”

Another servant walked past from behind and deliberately shoved a decorative flower basket into my arms. “Hold this. Don’t block the way. You’re standing there like a post.”

I took the basket, handed it to the decorator, and went back to my spot at the entrance.

Guests kept tossing orders at me—where’s the restroom, where’s my seat, where’s the bar, where are my car keys.

Everyone was busy enjoying their own importance, and I was part of the convenience that made it possible.

The radio cut in again: “The lounge area’s getting crowded. Send someone over to watch it. Don’t let anything happen.”

I looked toward the lounge and bar beside the lawn.

High cocktail tables, ice buckets filled with bottles, circles of people laughing under parasols. Sunlight hit the glassware, bright enough to sting.

And then I saw Luke.

He came in from the far end of the lounge with a pack of drinking buddies, like a crew showing up to stir trouble on purpose—loud laughter, exaggerated gestures.

Someone slapped his shoulder. Someone handed him a drink. He walked and talked over his shoulder, performing for anyone watching.

In that moment, I knew things wouldn’t stay peaceful today.

Luke’s gaze swept the crowd and finally landed on me. The corner of his mouth lifted—not a polite smile, more like he’d found something he could kick for fun.

I settled my radio, straightened up, and waited for him to come closer.

The wind still moved across the lawn. The band tested another note. The wedding’s rhythm was closing in—and so was trouble.