Chapter 1

Valentina Sharpe came back faster than I expected.

Ignoring everyone who tried to stop her, she charged into the burning villa.

Watching her risk her life like that left me dazed for a moment. It felt like I went back to eight years ago.

That young girl, fierce despite her youth, had risked everything to save me back from that old hag. But now the person she was willing to risk her life for was someone else.

When she rescued the young man, his face was badly burned. With Valentina by his side, he seemed even more emboldened to act crazy.

"You cruel, heartless bastard!"

But Valentina grabbed him and held him back, firmly forcing down the hand he raised to hit me.

"Damon, you shouldn't have gone this far," she said.

With a click of her lighter, she slowly lit a cigarette. That proved she was in a terrible mood.

Strangely enough, I was feeling pretty good. I took a drag from her cigarette and lightly tapped her.

I sneered, "I'm the one who should be saying that."

Valentina frowned as she watched me smoke. "He won't threaten your position. The marriage certificate is fake."

I wasn't surprised. After all these years moving between the legitimate and criminal worlds, how could I fail to recognize a fake certificate?

But of all the things she did, she shouldn't have broken the vow she made back then.

My hand holding the cigarette trembled slightly, but my voice carried a deadly edge. "Take him away."

Valentina toyed with a silver knife in her hand without saying a word. The cold gleam reflected off the blade and flashed across my eyes.

It was a warning.

She grabbed Elliot Pierce, the college student, and walked outside without a word.

As he passed by me, Elliot gave me a mocking smile filled with pity.

I didn't get angry. I slowly blew out a ring of smoke.

Through the haze of smoke, a sharp blade shot toward his eye, and Elliot let out a piercing scream.

In an instant, a hand came swinging through the air and knocked the knife from my hand.

"Damon Lewitt, you've got a death wish!"

Excruciating pain shot through my hand, but there wasn't a trace of fear in my eyes. There was only a hint of regret. If I had moved the blade a little faster, Elliot would have lost his eye.

Valentina's hand trembled as she gripped mine.

I wanted to laugh, but I couldn't.

The only time I had seen her hand tremble was when I took a blade meant for her.

Back then, she had risen to power too quickly and made too many enemies. A rival had come to kill her, and the blade that pierced me had been meant for her heart. She had pressed her trembling hand against my wound, trying to stop the bleeding.

I was close to going into shock, yet I still teased her. "Since when does the Reaper's hand shake?"