Chapter 1

To get back sooner, I finished the negotiations with the Johnson family in advance.

By the time I rolled my suitcase into the first‑floor living room, it was ten at night.

I looked up and froze. The bedroom light was on.

I stopped in front of the bedroom door, my hand hovering over the doorknob.

Kane’s voice slipped out through the narrow crack, and my movement stalled.

“Ava? She’s just a bargaining chip in this deal, a way for us to take over the southern underground fighting arena.”

My breath stopped in my chest.

“So you never had feelings for her?”

The woman’s voice was soft and alluring.

Through that tiny gap, I finally saw her face clearly.

She was straddling his lap, legs spread on either side of him, and Kane’s hand was resting on her chest.

“Of course not.” He answered without the slightest hesitation.

My heart pounded wildly against my ribs, my vision instantly blurring with tears.

I dug my nails hard into my palm. The sharp pain was the only thing that kept me from screaming.

The woman inside was Chloe—Kane’s supposedly dead ex‑wife.

I had seen their photos before.

Kane had once told me with a hint of regret, “Chloe sacrificed a lot for me, but unfortunately…”

Back then, I had fallen helplessly in love with this “deeply devoted” man, even knowing that his heart still belonged to his dead wife.

I kept comforting myself: she was gone.

I would be the second woman he loved with his whole heart.

“This marriage is nothing but a business exchange.”

Kane’s arm was wrapped around her waist as they kept kissing and touching.

“If I hadn’t tricked Ava into falling in love with me, how could you be living such a wealthy life?”

“And the underground fighting arena?”

Chloe traced his jaw with her fingers.

“Of course that’ll be under our control. That stupid Ava is always dreaming about being loved.”

He laughed, proud and smug, and it was written all over his tone.

“Forget just those industries. Her whole family will be ours. She’s so desperate to please me, whom could she blame?”

My fingers dug into the doorframe so hard my knuckles hurt.

We were supposed to get married the day after tomorrow.

The wedding dress had already been picked out.

But now—

All those dreams I’d had of our future, all the trust I’d given him… the moment I saw them kissing, it all turned to ash.

I slid away from the door as quietly as I could. My stilettos fell silently on the marble floor.

The way back to the manor was a blur. By the time I came back to myself, I was already standing at the entrance to the estate’s basement.

The heavy door clicked shut behind me as I headed down the concrete steps. Cold air wrapped around me, but I barely felt it. The narrow hallway stretched out ahead, dim and familiar.

At the end of the corridor, I entered the code and pushed open the metal door.

The smell of rust and sweat hit me first.

“Miss Smith.” David gave me a small nod.

The outline of his gun was obvious under his jacket.

In one of the storage rooms in the basement, a woman was chained to the floor.

Red whip marks crisscrossed her body, and half of her face was swollen.

“What did she do?”

I asked casually. I got used to scenes like this.

“Huh! She thought she could run to the cops with our underground business.”

David shot her a disdainful look.

“The Don said he hopes you’ll handle this one yourself.”

“I see.”

I stared at her ruined face.

But what flashed across my mind was Chloe’s seductive smile…

And Kane’s greedy, triumphant expression.

I pulled the small knife from my belt, my lips still curled in a gentle smile.

The blade stabbed cleanly between the woman’s ribs.

And all I could see in my head was the way Kane had looked at Chloe’s photo—so tender, so devoted.