All Chapters of The Ashes Leave No Traces: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Before Jaxon could finish speaking, a chorus of greetings came from the entrance. “Ms. Sawyer!”Yvonne Sawyer, the store’s biggest spender, had arrived.Every month, she came to this store and bought enough to clear out nearly half the shelves. She did it all to help Jaxon Wilder meet his sales targets.But this time, things were different.A young man stood beside her.His jeans were so faded that they looked worn-out. He did not look particularly well-off, but he was clean and fresh-faced, with all the energy of youth.His eyes were especially striking. The whites were clear, and his dark pupils were bright and pure.The moment he entered the store, he raised his chin and snapped, “I’m your intern, not your slave! You can’t just order me around!”Anyone else who dared to speak to Yvonne that way would come to no good end.However, she did not get angry with him. Instead, she spoke gently.“I just want to get you a new outfit. There’s a party tonight, and you can’t show up i

Jaxon could not bear to watch Yvonne take any more lashes. He rushed forward and raised his arm to block Bernard’s whip.“Mr. Sawyer, please stop. Beating her won’t solve anything.”Bernard felt ashamed when he saw Jaxon. His anger toward Yvonne only grew stronger.“I failed as a father. She let you down, and I have to teach her a lesson!”“This is between us. Please let us work things out ourselves.”Jaxon spoke with such sincerity that Bernard had a way to back down without losing face. He took a few deep breaths before finally lowering his arm.Lily stepped forward and held Jaxon by the wrist. Tears filled her eyes. She said, “Jaxon, don’t worry. You’re the only man we’ll ever accept as our son-in-law.”Jaxon looked at their aged faces, and his heart grew heavy.At first, they had not approved of him. They thought he came from an ordinary background and that his job was beneath their family’s status.Their attitude had changed a year ago, after he injured his right hand to

When Zach shoved him again, Jaxon finally lost his temper. He grabbed a wine bottle from the table and brought it down hard on Zach’s head.A dull thud rang out. Zach staggered and reached for his head. When he looked at his hand, his palm was covered in blood.He exploded with rage. “Jaxon! Have you lost your mind? Do you want to keep your job or not?!”He lunged at Jaxon and tried to start a fight.Jaxon calmly knocked his hands aside before twisting Zach’s arm behind his back and pinning him against the table in one swift move.Zach howled in pain.Jaxon said coldly, “I have indeed lost my mind. I quit.”He released Zach, pushed open the door, and walked out.When he got home, he slept for hours without waking.By the time he opened his eyes, it was already the next afternoon. He checked his phone and found dozens of missed calls.Some were from concerned coworkers. Others were from HR. Yvonne had called him several times too.He ignored her calls and returned HR’s call i

At the beginning of the following month, Jaxon arrived at the Zimmerman family villa with the invitation Yvonne had given him.To his surprise, Yvonne was there, too.She wore a custom-made evening gown. Her icy gaze swept over him from head to toe. “You actually came? Can’t wait to find yourself another rich woman to support you?”She leaned closer and whispered in his ear with a cruel smile. “Everyone knows I’ve already had my fun with you. What rich heiress would want you now?”Jaxon shot her a sideways glance. “Thanks to you, everyone knows I know how to please a woman. Your friends can’t wait to get their hands on me.”Yvonne’s expression slightly changed. She grabbed the hem of his jacket and gritted her teeth.“This is no place for you. If you’re really that desperate for money, I’ll give you more. Enough to keep you comfortable for the rest of your life. Now leave. Right now.”Jaxon had a feeling that Yvonne knew something he did not.“Yvonne, do you know something—”“

The rain came down harder.Yvonne kept running in the direction Jaxon had gone. She refused to stop, no matter how exhausted she became.But the police car was long gone.In the end, she had no strength left. She dropped to her knees.Someone came over and held an umbrella above her.She looked up in delight. For a moment, she thought Jaxon had come back.But when she looked up into the light, she saw Yulian’s face instead.He crouched beside her and gently wiped the rain from her face.“Yvonne, please stop hurting yourself over someone who doesn’t deserve you. You still have me. I love you.”Love?The moment she heard that word, she could not help thinking of Jaxon again.He had told her he loved her too.But the year before, she had fallen seriously ill, and when her fever finally had broken, she had woken up alone. Jaxon had been nowhere to be found.She had called him, and he had told her that he was overseas on a business trip.However, when she went to his office to