Chapter 1

I had not finished speaking when my phone was snatched away.

Someone kicked me on my back.

Caught off guard, I fell clumsily. I watched helplessly as my phone was smashed to pieces.

The male actor, Maximus Lance, spat in my face and shouted arrogantly, “This show costs $70,000 a day to film. If you delay us any more, you’d better pay up or rot in jail!”

His overbearing words sent a surge of rage through me. I got up, grabbed him by the collar, and yelled, “There’s still someone in that factory! If somebody dies, can you live with that?”

When I said that, he shoved me away. Malice glinted in his eyes.

“Quit the nonsense! We swept this abandoned factory three times. There’s no one in there!

He turned and yelled at the others, “What are you all standing around for? This person’s sabotaging our shoot! Call the cops already and throw him out!”

The crew members swiftly dragged me out. I shouted until I was red in the face.

“Go ahead! Call the cops! A life is on the line. Let’s see who gets arrested when they show up!”

I got more anxious as I watched the fire in the abandoned factory grow fiercer. My mother-in-law, Susan Thorne, treated me like her own son. I could not let her die in that fire.

I struggled desperately against the crew members. Then, I broke into a sprint toward the factory.

A crew member lunged and tackled me to the ground. Others swarmed in and pinned my arms behind my back.

“You have some serious guts! Nobody messes with Starlight Productions’ variety show!”

“Just wait for the cease-and-desist letter. You’ll be eating prison slop soon enough.”

Maximus stepped on my face and sneered coldly.

“My wife’s the fire chief for this show. What does it matter if someone’s inside? She can handle it for me.”

He showed off the ring on his finger.

I froze when I saw the ring on his middle finger. Willow Thorne had said her wedding ring was damaged during a mission some time ago. She also said she would buy a new pair.

The night before, I saw the wedding ring in her pocket. I was secretly overjoyed and was waiting for her to give it to me.

It turned out she had given it to someone else.

My heart ached at the thought of it. I forced a smile and said coldly, “Maximus, are you saying your wife is Willow?

“Do you have the guts to call her over and have her tell me that herself?”

Maximus kicked me in anger.

“Ha! Who do you think you are? First, you disrupt my show, and now, you dare to covet my wife?

“If I don’t teach you a proper lesson today, I’ll lose face!”

I struggled free from the crew members who were holding me down. Then, I charged straight toward the burning factory.

At that moment, I needed to prioritize saving Susan. The optimal window for fire rescue was the first thirty minutes.

Since the smoke was not too thick, I could still get Susan out.

Maximus stuck out his leg and tripped me to the ground. He grabbed my collar and punched me.

“Nobody has ever dared to disrespect me like this! You want to save someone in there? I’m not going to let you go, just to spite you!”

I was beaten black and blue. Just then, my wife, Willow, walked over and shouted, “Stop it!”