Chapter 2

Jace grew up in the slums of the lower city.

The first time I saw him, he was only twelve years old.

He was covered in dirt, hanging over a dumpster in a restaurant alley, digging for people's leftovers.

I handed him the half-eaten sandwich I was holding. He snatched it and swallowed it in two bites like a starving wild dog.

When I turned around to get into my car, Jace dropped to his knees at my feet. He grabbed onto my pant leg and refused to let go.

I felt a trace of pity back then and brought him back to my turf.

I treated him like a real brother, spending money to feed and clothe him until he was an adult.

Later, I even elevated him to be a made member of the family, assigning him to be Elle's personal bodyguard.

I never dreamed that the tiny bit of pity I showed back then would turn into the knife that pushed me into hell.

A stray dog will always bite. You can never truly tame one.

The person I spent all my resources protecting turned into a vicious stray dog. He was just a rat who stepped on others to climb the ranks.

That miserable past in the slums was an absolute taboo for Jace. It was a scar he never wanted anyone to bring up for the rest of his life.

Just like right now. Jace's face instantly twisted. He completely blew up like a cornered rat, pointing at my nose and screaming furiously.

"You bastard! You're fucking dead!"

"A convict like you doesn't get to talk about my past!"

"I will rip your tongue out right now, chop it up, and feed it to the dogs!"

Staring at the enraged Jace, the coldness at the corner of my mouth deepened.

"Rip my tongue out?!"

"Do you even have what it takes?"

"Just don't piss yourself and hide behind your woman!"

"You..."

Jace choked hard, pointing at me for a long time without being able to squeeze out a single word. His face turned completely red with rage.

It was the extreme embarrassment and rage of having his ugly past exposed in public.

"Cole, you are dead today."

He stared at me, his eyes full of pure venom.

The atmosphere in the club instantly dropped to the freezing point.

The crowd that had been watching the show immediately shut their mouths, keeping their breathing to a minimum.

The way everyone looked at me completely changed. It was like they were looking at a corpse that was about to be dumped in the river to sleep with the fishes.

After all, everyone in this city knew that Jace was the favorite boy toy of the daughter of the local mafia Capo.

The casino business under Elle's family had been expanding like crazy over the past two years, and their power was growing.

In this district, no one dared to disrespect this family.

Offending Jace meant offending the entire family.

Jace roared at the security guards behind him.

"What the fuck are you waiting for? Pin him down! Let this bottom-feeding trash see what happens when he pisses me off!"

As soon as he spoke, two massive bodyguards stepped forward. They grabbed both of my arms in a death grip from left and right.

They used a lot of force, making my bones ache.

"I suggest you let go right now, or you won't even get the chance to regret it," I said, my voice as cold as ice.

But Jace acted like he had just heard the most absurd joke in the world. He threw his head back and laughed.

"Regret?"

"Are you trying to scare anyone with that talk!"

"It's not five years ago anymore. A broke convict like you isn't even worth as much as a bug in my eyes."

"Forget about beating you up. Even if I put a bullet in your head right here, right now, what the fuck could you do about it?"

I narrowed my eyes, watching him step closer and closer.

When he was just a step away from me, he stopped and looked at me with pure arrogance.

After a few seconds of silence, he grabbed my chin, his eyes full of provocation.

"Cole, you are an absolute piece of trash."

"A weakling who couldn't even keep another man out of his own bed. What right do you have to act tough here!"

Trash. Weakling. Jace's insults echoed in my ears over and over again.

In a daze, my memory was dragged back to five years ago.