Chapter 1 Released from Prison

"Donald, my six years are up. I'm getting out."

Tidewater County Jail, California. Jack said this to an old man, bowing his head in respect.

"Remember, Jack, stay true to yourself when you leave. No one in this world is a match for you. You were born to be the greatest spy who ever lived." The old man smiled calmly.

Outside the cell, a group of muscular men in prison uniforms had gathered. They knelt on one knee, looking at the two men with awe in their eyes.

Jack nodded and turned to walk out of the prison.

"The King of Spies is finally gone. Six years we treated him like royalty and bent over backward for every whim. Now this place is ours again." Once Jack was completely gone, the prisoners' eyes lit up again with the arrogance they once had.

Before they were locked up, they had all been big shots in their own right. The only reason they'd spent six years acting like servants was because Jack was simply too powerful.

Six years ago, Jack had been framed and thrown in prison. Someone had bribed a judge to slap him with a false charge of attempted rape on top of everything else, landing him in Tidewater County, where the death rate was a staggering eighty percent.

But during his time inside, he had the good fortune to learn under Donald Newman, an old-timer who taught him more than he could have imagined.

Jack used force to bring every inmate in the prison to their knees.

Later, on Donald's orders, he was temporarily released to carry out missions on the outside, eventually joining MI6 as a spy.

Jack had protected the president of a small nation and tracked drug traffickers deep into the Amazon rainforest. He led a team that captured the president of a Middle Eastern country in under two hours.

Every mission he took on, no matter how difficult, was completed perfectly, earning him great merit for his country.

He had just stepped out of the prison when he spotted a pretty young woman waiting by the roadside.

She was strikingly beautiful, standing with her arms crossed, looking around. She had a very full figure, with a noticeably ample chest.

"What are you staring at? Never seen a good-looking woman before?" She glanced at Jack and met his eyes, snapping at him without thinking. Then her expression shifted. Something about his profile looked incredibly familiar. "Wait a second. Are you Jack?"

Jack looked at her, frowning. "Carol? My little cousin?"

"It really is you, Jack. You've... you've changed so much. I almost didn't recognize you." Carol stared at him, visibly stunned.

He was wearing a prison uniform, had a buzz cut, a rough beard, and looked even more built than he had six years ago. Without that faint memory to go on, she never would have known it was him.

"Carol, what are you doing here? Did Aunt Caroline send you to pick me up?" Jack walked quickly toward her, a rare look of happiness on his face.

Before he went to prison, he had asked Caroline to look after his mom. While he was inside, he had often received letters from her.

"Hmph. Jack, I'm only here to do one last thing for my mom. After this, we're done." Carol's voice was cold and dismissive.

"What do you mean?" Jack looked completely lost, staring at her as she turned and got into a red car parked nearby.

"Jack, get in. I'll drive you home." Carol's tone was flat and cold.

Once Jack was in the car, she hit the gas and pulled away from the prison.

The whole ride, Carol kept her eyes on the road, her face blank, not sparing her cousin a single glance.

Jack had been adopted by Kaylin, Caroline's older sister, and Carol had never warmed up to him. His going to prison only made things worse.

"Carol, you said we're done. Why? Did I do something to you?" Jack asked from the passenger seat.

"Hmph. Ever since you went to prison, our whole family has been in crisis. The family business got squeezed, and when Grandpa found out you were locked up for attempted rape, he lost it. You know how much he cares about the family's reputation. Do you have any idea how much shame you brought him?" Carol turned her head and snapped at him, her face cold.

"I had no idea things fell apart like that after I went in. I've let Grandpa down." Jack let out a heavy, pained sigh.

He never expected that his grandfather's anger and the family business troubles would all hit at the same time.

"You've let Grandpa down? The people you've let down the most are my mom and me!" Carol suddenly burst out.

Jack looked at her, confused. She sighed and said, "After you went to prison, my mom tried to look after your parents and ended up offending Grandpa. He kicked her out of the family. And the mess you left behind before you went in dragged her into it too. She ended up buried in debt."

"You're saying Caroline was kicked out of the family and left with a mountain of debt?" Jack's face went pale as he stared at her.

If Carol hadn't told him to his face, he never would have imagined things had gotten this bad. He had truly let Carol and her mother down.

Carol didn't answer. She just drove in silence until they pulled up in front of a run-down house.

She got out, walked around to the passenger side, and opened the door for Jack. "Jack, get out. I've told you everything you need to know. From now on, keep your head down and don't come looking for me or my mom."

"Carol, I know I've failed you both all these years. But I learned a lot in prison and made connections that matter. I promise I'll fix everything and pay you back ten times over." Jack said quietly, his voice heavy with guilt.

"You? A broke, good-for-nothing ex-con who just walked out of prison?" Carol's look was pure contempt.

She turned and walked away. There was nothing left to say to someone like him.

Jack sighed as he watched her go, his chest tight with pain.

He hadn't known his time in prison had caused Carol and her mother so much trouble. But Jack clenched his fist hard. Now that he was out, no matter what the problem was, he could handle it.

Just then, Carol let out a sharp scream that made Jack spin around.

He saw her standing by the driver's side door, shaking. He walked over quickly, his expression puzzled. "What's going on?"

Eight men stepped out from behind the trees in the garden nearby and moved in fast.

Carol's face filled with fear. "You... you're Jace Hyatt's people?"

One of the eight men, a guy with a scar across his face, stepped forward with a smirk. "Ha. Carol, you owe our boss money. Your mom's already been taken to his place. Now it's your turn. We've been waiting here for you."

Carol's face went pale.