Chapter 3

"Me? Causing a scene?" I echoed.

I looked at the elegant, flawless Velda and laughed. She was dressed in a custom-made gown worth millions of dollars, and the look she gave me was full of contempt, as if I were more disgusting than a pile of trash on the streets.

"Why didn't you tell me before coming back? And why are you at my company's project site, assaulting Jude?"

Impatience flickered in her eyes and was soon replaced by her lofty, accusatory tone.

I pointed at the flattened ground where my parents' graves used to be, then at the injured Piper. "I called you, and you hung up. Now, how is that my fault?"

Velda faltered for just a second, then slipped back into her composure as a CEO. "The demotion was fully legal, but your family stubbornly refused to vacate.

"As for Jude, he's young and hot-headed, so you should be understanding. Now, apologize to him."

Before she could finish, I cut her off and announced, "We're breaking up, Velda. It's over."

"Excuse me? Are you trying to dump me?"

She stared at me in disbelief. A wave of barely contained fury was starting to boil over under her flawless makeup.

The surrounding reporters and guests began whispering amongst themselves.

"Wait. Is that Ms. Mercer's fiance, who went missing for ten years? He looks like just a beggar."

"Talk about a bottom-feeder punching above his weight. Now that he's dumped, he immediately tries to stir up trouble for some money. That's absolutely disgusting."

I helped Piper to her feet, then yanked off the engagement ring I'd worn for ten years, which was a simple band I'd hand-polished from a bullet casing.

I tossed it at Velda's feet and snapped, "Jude dug up my parents' graves, so you don't get to tell me to be understanding."

Velda's expression darkened. She yanked off the multi-million-dollar diamond ring on her finger and tossed it onto the floor. "Don't regret this, Callan! You vanished for ten years, and you've long since lost the right to call yourself my man!"

I remained expressionless, though deep down, my heart had gone cold. My missions with Talon Unit were top national security secrets, and I knew I owed her for my ten-year absence. But that didn't give her the right to trample on my family's dignity.

Before I could say another word, Jude lunged forward and slapped me hard. "How dare you upset Velda! You must be courting death!

"You saw how rich she is now, so you decided to drag that pathetic, crippled Piper along to squeeze us for a payout, didn't you? Well, don't even dream about it!"

I ignored him and kept my eyes fixed on Velda.

"First things first. I want Project Sentinel, your company's most valuable asset, returned to me at once."

Velda's pupils contracted, but she chuckled coldly and snapped, "Fine. If you have what it takes to take it back, be my guest."

A sharp pain throbbed in my chest.

Project Sentinel's core was built on the patents I'd given Velda. She once swore that they were a symbol of our love and promised to protect them for the rest of her life.

I looked at the diamond necklace glittering on her neck and continued, "Second, you will restore my parents' graves to their original state and pay every last penny for Piper's medical bills and emotional distress!"

Jude panicked and immediately roared, "Damn it! I won't just flatten your family's graves today, but I'll tear your house down, too!"

He leapt onto an excavator and roared as he swung the bucket straight toward our only remaining family home.

"I'll wipe your family off the map! That's what you get for having the guts to threaten Velda!"

As the family home collapsed in a thundering cloud of dust and rubble, the last of my childhood memories were crushed.

Suddenly, Piper screamed. A chunk of flying brick from the collapse had struck her leg, and she collapsed to the ground, writhing in agony.