Before my father died, he left me four sealed envelopes, one to be opened every three years. The first told me not to study medicine. So I enrolled in the police academy. In three years, I earned two commendations for valor. The hospital where I was meant to begin my residency was destroyed in an explosion. The second told me not to stay in the country. So I transferred to an international law enforcement agency. In three years, I took down five major drug lords. The house I owned back home was blown up by my enemies. The third told me not to marry a comrade. I hesitated. But I chose my partner, the woman I’d gone through hell and back with. In the three years after our wedding, she took three bullets for me and shielded me from a dozen knife attacks. The day she found out she was pregnant, she told me: “I’ve already scheduled the abortion. Jasper and I have a son.” Jasper… my protégé. With trembling hands, I opened the fourth envelope. It said: 【DO NOT GET DIVORCED】 1 “What did you just say?” When Jocelyn Kane uttered those words so casually, I thought I’d misheard. “Is this some kind of joke?” She tossed a stack of photos onto the table. A little boy, looking so much like her, was cradled in her arms. Ninety-nine photos, all taken from a father’s perspective. The child looked just like him. The way she gazed at the boy was so tender, so full of love. They were both smiling, a perfect picture of a happy mother and child. “Remember that year I was on assignment overseas? And Jasper took a year’s leave of absence?” Jocelyn lit a slim cigarette, her movements unhurried. “He was with me. For the birth.” I snatched the pregnancy report from the table and threw it at her face. “He was my protégé! You slept with my goddamn protégé!” Her almond-shaped eyes narrowed. “Is there a problem?” “When did it start?” “Our wedding night. A funny coincidence, really. I was drunk and mistook him for you. He was good in bed. I developed a taste for it.” She picked up the crumpled report and tossed it into the trash. “And I promised him I wouldn’t have another man’s child.” “Jocelyn!” I lunged, my movements fast and lethal. She intercepted my strike with ease. After a few exchanges, she exploited an opening, spinning behind me with fluid grace. A sharp kick buckled the back of my knee. “I’ve been more than fair to you these past three years, Shane. Don’t push it.” I stumbled forward, catching myself on the wine bar. “I’ll tell you after we’re done here.” She turned to leave. “Stay where you are!” I threw a punch. She spun back to block it, and a blade slid from her sleeve. A flicker of shock went through me as the knife sliced across my chest. A searing pain tore through my pectoral muscle. She used the opening to kick my knee again, forcing me to the ground. She wiped her hands clean. “Be careful, or you might just die by my hand.” My head hit the corner of the table. Blood dripped into my left eye as I glared at her retreating back, the sound of the slamming door echoing in the room. Now I knew why my father had warned me not to marry a comrade. It didn’t matter that she was my partner for six years. That we had faced death together, that she had saved my life more times than I could count. Betrayal is betrayal. The fourth envelope was stained with my blood. The words DO NOT GET DIVORCED were a glaring, mocking red. I knew my father was always right. But this woman… I couldn’t stay married to this woman. Shaking the blood from my hand, I staggered to my feet and dialed my divorce lawyer. 2 I was in the middle of discussing the terms with my lawyer when Jocelyn stormed in with her people. She snatched the freshly drafted agreement and tore it to shreds. “Let’s go.” She grabbed my arm, her grip like steel. I twisted out of her hold, forcing her back. “You really intend to divorce me?” “That’s right.” Jocelyn nodded, then turned her cold gaze on the lawyer. “If you dare to type another word for him, you’ll regret it.” The lawyer’s face went pale. He stood, gave a nervous bow, and practically scurried out of the room. “Jocelyn!” I roared, my frustration boiling over. She smirked. “Come on, husband.” I ignored her. I had already memorized the terms. I went to the computer, added the final clauses, and hit print. “Shane Maddox!” She gripped my hand, trying to stop me, but I shoved her away and pressed the button. “Sign it, Ms. Kane.” She snapped the pen I offered her in two. With a sweep of her arm, she sent everything on the desk crashing to the floor. “Don’t you understand? The only reason you’re alive right now is because you’re married to me!” I frowned. “If you divorce me, you won’t even know what killed you!” She said it with such furious desperation, for a second it felt like we were on a dangerous mission, like I’d just charged in without my vest to take down a target, and she was tearing into me for being so reckless with my life. I pushed her away. “Who the hell do you think you are to tell me what to do?” “Your wife!” A sharp blow to the back of my neck. Darkness. When I came to, I was on the bed, my clothes in disarray. Because of the pregnancy, her usual fire was missing, but there was a searing pain on my shoulder. A fresh bite mark. She stood over me. “Don’t mention divorce again. Anything else, you can have your way.” She turned and walked out. I grabbed a wine glass from the nightstand and hurled it at her back. It shattered against the doorframe. She only paused for a fraction of a second before leaving. I scrubbed furiously at the lipstick smudges on my skin, only managing to smear them into a red haze. I gritted my teeth in rage. Not long after she left, priceless, one-of-a-kind auction items began arriving at the apartment, each one worth a lifetime’s savings for most people. “Ms. Kane said that if there is anything else you desire, sir, you only need to ask.” I didn’t even glance at the treasures. I could earn my own damn fortune. These things were no comfort. I needed an outlet. My protégé, Jasper, had vanished along with Jocelyn. I drove to my private firing range. “Change the targets. I want pictures of Jocelyn Kane and Jasper White.” 3 As I was setting up the range, my instincts screamed. I snapped my head to the side. A bullet grazed my hair and slammed into the reinforced concrete wall just inches away. I stared at the deep crater in the wall and spun around. “Who’s there?” A loud laugh echoed through the space. Jasper stood there, holding an assault rifle, aiming it right at me. “Sorry, boss. Ran out of targets. Mind standing in for a bit?” Beside him, Jocelyn sat calmly in a chair, dressed in full combat gear, watching the show. “You brought him here?” This range was mine. I had only ever given Jocelyn access. This was our place. We trained here, ran drills, even had dates here. It was our secret base. “Get him out of here,” I seethed. Jocelyn just smiled at me. “Jasper’s not a great shot, and you’re fast. He won’t hit you. As his mentor, you should give him some practice.” “Jocelyn—” Before I could say more, Jasper opened fire. A spray of bullets stitched across the wall. I dove, rolled, and scrambled for cover, using every evasive maneuver I knew. When it was over, the wall was riddled with deep gouges. I looked up, breathing heavily, at Jasper, who had emptied his magazine. He clicked his tongue. “This is boring. I can’t hit him.” Jocelyn rose from her chair and walked toward him with a smile. “You know what your biggest problem is?” She stood beside him, lining up the shot, her head tilted alongside his. Panic seized me. “Jocelyn!” “Focus on this point.” Her index finger covered his as they squeezed the trigger together. Jocelyn’s marksmanship was even better than mine. Even with a target moving erratically, I had nowhere to run. A bullet screamed past my cheek and exploded against the wall behind me. Blood dripped onto the floor. Jasper’s eyes lit up. Jocelyn smiled as he reloaded, taking aim at me again. This time, every bullet was a near miss, tearing through the air, grazing my skin. My knees gave out and I sank to the ground, gasping for breath. Jocelyn watched, her arms crossed. Jasper shouted, “Stay still, boss! Or the next one might just go through your head!” I pulled the dagger strapped to my thigh. I got to my feet and strode towards him. “Boss, I said don’t move!” I ignored him. Jasper took aim. Anyone trained by Jocelyn saw a massive improvement in their skills. I dodged the first shot, picking up my pace. Jasper started to panic. A hailstorm of bullets rained down on me. A few grazed my arm, leaving deep, bleeding furrows that exposed the bone. It only made me move faster. “Either you kill me right now, or I kill you.” The moment he aimed for my heart, I vaulted over a table, launching a flying side kick that sent him and his rifle crashing to the ground. “You lose.” I pinned him by the throat, the dagger raised high. “Aah!” As Jasper screamed in terror, I felt the cold press of metal against the back of my head. The Desert Eagle. The one I gave her. “Let him go.” 4 I’ve had enemy guns pointed at me more times than I can count. But this was the first time it was one of my own. “Jocelyn, are you really going to kill me?” Her voice was ice. “Try me.” I laughed. “Alright.” I plunged the dagger into Jasper’s shoulder. BANG! The bullet tore through my chest from back to front. In ten years of service, I’d never been shot. Because she was always there, standing in front of me. Now, the only gunshot wound I had… was from her. Jasper scrambled out from under me and ran to Jocelyn’s side. I coughed up a mouthful of blood. Jocelyn pulled Jasper away, turning to speak into her comms. “Med team to the firing range.” 5 Jocelyn had spared my life. The bullet missed my heart by a fraction of an inch. It didn’t even puncture a lung. But the recovery was long. When I finally woke up, the medical staff was gone. Only Jocelyn was there, watching over me. I flinched away from her outstretched hand. “Are you angry?” She settled for tucking the blanket around me instead. “I was worried about you.” I didn’t speak. “Shane, I was wrong. Whatever you want, just ask.” “Anything?” “Anything.” “Alright.” I sat up. “First, put on this blindfold.” She obeyed, letting me tie the silk ribbon around her eyes. I took her hand and placed a pen in it. “You want me to sign something?” she asked, an eyebrow raised. “My assets?” “Afraid you’ll miss them?” She laughed. “Of course not. Whatever you want, Shane. I’ll sign it all. You can have everything.” “Good.” I guided her hand to the signature line of the divorce papers. “Let me guess, fifty billion? A hundred?” I just smiled. She signed her name without hesitation. The moment the pen lifted from the paper, she went rigid. She ripped off the blindfold. “I knew it.” She waved the papers in my face. “Don’t play these games with me!” She threw the agreement towards the trash can. “Jocelyn!” I lunged for it, but she blocked my path. “Is there nothing else you want? You’re that determined to divorce me?” “Yes! Now move!” She grabbed my face, forcing me to look at her. “Divorcing me will get you killed!” I froze. “You think I don’t know what’s in the fourth envelope?” she asked with a bitter smile. “Your father was trying to protect you. He doesn’t want you to die, and neither do I.” “I don’t need your protection!” I shoved her hard. The next second, she pulled me into a brutal kiss. “Jo—mmph!” I struggled, pushing against her. My hand caught on her shirt, and as it tore, I saw it—the ugly, puckered scar of a through-and-through bullet wound she’d taken for me, surrounded by a roadmap of countless other scars. My resolve faltered. Instead of throwing her off, I bit down hard on her lip. The coppery taste of blood filled my mouth before she finally let go. We were both a mess, panting as we stared at each other. She wiped the blood from her mouth, her composure seemingly restored. My voice was cold. “Find some time. Get rid of the baby.” A medical report landed in my lap. An abortion. “Did you really think I would keep your child?” I looked at the date on the form. It was from the day of our first big fight. I froze. Then, a slow, cold smile spread across my face. “Well done, my dear wife.” Her fists clenched. She surged forward, cupping my face in her hands, her expression fierce. “Promise me. You will never mention divorce again. We are going to be husband and wife for the rest of our lives.” A frantic pounding on the door. Jocelyn, who had been about to kiss me again, froze. The annoyance in her eyes was palpable. “Get out!” “Jocelyn!” It was Jasper’s voice. He burst through the door. “Jumper… Jumper’s gone!” 6 Jocelyn couldn’t believe it. She doted on that child. He had a security detail patrolling 24/7. Who could have possibly taken him? Jasper’s red-rimmed eyes shot to me. Jocelyn’s gaze followed. “It was you. You leaked his location.” She frowned. “I did not.” “Only you knew about him! Only you knew your wife’s every move! If you have a problem, you take it up with me! Why would you hurt a child?” “Enough!” I gasped, the pain in my chest flaring. “What’s the point of throwing baseless accusations? We need to figure out how to get him back!” Jasper choked out, “The people who took him… they’re the boss’s enemies…” Jocelyn went still. I understood immediately. We both moved at the same time. But I forgot about the blade hidden in her sleeve. In an instant, she had me pinned against the balcony railing, the knife pressed to my throat. “Shane, if Jumper dies, I have no reason to live. If you won’t agree to the exchange, we die together, right here, right now.” Everyone said Jocelyn Kane was heartless, except when it came to me. But even I didn’t know that her child with Jasper was her entire world. I stopped struggling. “Fine. But we’re getting a divorce.” Her hand wavered. “Deal.” I smiled. Turns out, getting a divorce wasn’t so hard after all… 7 Ever since we signed the papers, Jasper seemed a lot less frantic. Jocelyn, however, was in a rush. The moment my signature was on the page, she had me tied up, thrown in a car, and delivered to the kidnappers. She had shielded me from their bullets and blades countless times. Now, she was handing me over to them herself. The little boy was returned to her arms. “Jumper!” Her eyes were red as she clutched him, pressing a firm kiss to his forehead. She didn’t even notice as Jasper shoved me towards our enemies. I was dragged before their leader. The woman’s upper face was hidden in shadow, but her red lips curved into a smile. “Shane Maddox. After you killed so many of my people, I never thought you’d end up in my hands.” I just smiled back. “Still not going to untie me?”
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