Genesis flexed her fingers and stared at Naomi. Naomi smirked as they circled each other, but Genesis kept her face blank. No one could read her. Not even after the hit to her ribs.“What are you waiting for? Come on, baby girl, hit me,” Naomi taunted, her grin starting to twitch.Genesis didn’t move.Naomi growled. “Fine. Have it your way.” She lunged, fists flying. But every punch she threw—Genesis blocked. Left, right, uppercut—blocked again.The other angels watching leaned forward.Naomi snarled, swinging harder. Genesis ducked, spun, and her kick slammed into Naomi’s side. Naomi stumbled, teeth gritted.Genesis shot forward—lightning fast—flipped over Naomi’s shoulder and landed behind her. Before Naomi could turn, Genesis kicked her legs out. Naomi crashed down hard.But Naomi wasn’t done. She rolled, jumped back up, and slammed her fist into Genesis’s jaw. Genesis’s head snapped to the side, but she didn’t fall. She wiped the blood at the corner of her lip, eyes blazing.Naomi
The gunshot punched through his stomach.Knight staggered back, staring as hot blood poured down his shirt. His eyes snapped upward toward the source of the shot—through the window—and he realized instantly this wasn’t going to be the only one.He dove sideways.A bullet tore through the wall where his head had been, splintering wood and sending chunks of plaster clattering to the floor.The shooter was relentless.Knight darted to the far side of the room, boots pounding against the floor as another shot cracked behind him. Then another. And another. Each one a whisper of death slicing past, chewing through walls, glass, and air.Blood spilled fast from the hole in his stomach, soaking his shirt, leaving a crimson trail in his wake. His free hand clamped over the wound, but every movement sent fresh agony ripping through him.Whoever they were, they weren’t here to scare him. They were here to finish him.Knight made the decision in a breath—he had to get out. Now.He lunged toward t
Takeshi glared at Knight, his eyes burning with rage, while Knight simply stood there, a small smirk curling his lips.Then Takeshi spoke in Japanese.“I treated you like a son, taught you everything you know, but you stabbed me in the back. You stabbed my mama in the back,” he spat. The last words barely left his mouth before the smirk vanished from Knight’s face, and he stepped forward.“I did not betray her—or you,” Knight said calmly. “You said you took me as a son, but that’s a lie. If you truly thought of me that way, you’d know I would never betray either of you. It’s true, you taught me all I know, and for that, I haven’t killed you… yet.”Takeshi scoffed. “Don’t lie to me, Knight. I taught you how to lie well. You betrayed me, dishonored my mama’s grave with that rug of a skunk butt, and then you killed my only nephew, Eiji. Don’t give me that bullshit.”Knight frowned, then turned to the window before facing Takeshi again, his voice quiet but filled with purpose “You’re righ
The Yakuza men swept their eyes across the room as they stepped inside, backs against the closed door—a foolish mistake, but nothing happened… yet.Their weapons tracked with their gazes, barrels shifting toward every shadow, every shape. Every Mannequins.Dozens of them. Some held what looked like custom-made plastic wine cups, others stood frozen mid-laugh, their heads bobbing faintly to the music humming through the room. The staging was unnervingly precise—humans at a party, except not.The leader at the front stiffened. His instincts screamed. This wasn’t right. This was a setup.Knight and his men must have gotten wind of their plan—but how? No one knew except them and the Caldwells.The leader’s hand twitched toward the small device behind his ear. A sharp tap, and the earpiece crackled to life. He waited a few seconds for the connection, his voice low and tense when it came.“Takeshi, it’s worse than we thought. The place… it’s staged. Mannequins everywhere. Knight’s playing
Jimmy paced around the room, his hands flexing at his sides. He couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was wrong about this whole thing, but his gut wouldn’t stop screaming that something was off.“Would you relax? It’s all going to be fine,” Monica said to her son as she twisted her hair into a bun. Her tone was calm, but the twitch in her fingers and the restless flick of her eyes told another story. Lately, she’d been feeling half-insane—everywhere she turned, she thought she saw faces from her past. Faces that were supposed to be dead… or that she had wished were dead.“You need to relax. Everything will go according to plan. Knight has no idea what’s coming for him—it’s going to be a sweet surprise,” Mark said without looking up from his phone.Jimmy rolled his eyes and sighed, then turned back to their mother. “Mom, I just don’t have a good feeling about this. And you know I’m always right about things like this.”Monica sighed, parting her lips to calm him for the tenth time in an hour
Knight stepped out of the car, his gaze sweeping over the courtyard crowded with sleek, expensive vehicles belonging to guests at Daisy’s birthday party. The sight made him smile. Exactly what he wanted.Viper and Chameleon stood just behind him—two shadows in tailored suits. They hadn’t been seen around the estate in weeks, buried deep in the mission Knight had assigned them.“Make sure everything falls into place,” he told them without looking back. Both nodded, silent as ever.He turned toward the grand staircase, but his phone started ringing. Pulling it from his pocket, he glanced at the caller ID, and faltered mid-step.Genesis.His thumb hovered over the green icon, but instead of answering, he slid it to red. A beat later, he powered off the phone entirely and tossed it into the thick hedge beside the stairs. Without breaking stride, he continued upward.Inside, the air was warm with laughter and the scent of sugar. Children’s voices rang out in high-pitched bursts, adults spo