MY HUSBAND OWNS HALF THE CITY

The evening wind carried the scent of charred wood—a smell that never quite left this place, even after ten years.

Kai Walker stood motionless among the skeletal remains of what had once been the Walker family estate. Blackened beams jutted from the earth like broken ribs. Weeds had claimed the foundation, nature slowly erasing the evidence of that terrible night. But Kai remembered. Every detail was seared into his mind with the same permanence as the scorch marks on the stone pillars.

He crouched, fingers brushing against a fragment of porcelain half-buried in the dirt. His mother's favorite teacup. The delicate blue pattern was still visible beneath a decade of grime.

Mother. Father. Mei.

The fire had taken everything. His parents, his younger sister—all vanished without a trace. The official report claimed their bodies were consumed by the flames, but Kai had never believed it. There were too many inconsistencies, too many unanswered questions. Someone had orchestrated that fire, and someone would pay.

He had been fifteen then, away at his first intensive training session. When he returned to find his home reduced to ashes, something inside him had crystallized into cold purpose. Master Donovan had found him there, kneeling in the ruins, and offered him a path forward. Ten years under the undefeated War God of the Federation, Mr. Donovan—as the world knew him—had transformed the grief-stricken boy into something else entirely.

Now, at twenty-five, Kai had finally descended from the mountains. His training was complete. His identity, carefully hidden. His mission, crystal clear.

The teacup fragment slipped from his fingers.

A woman's scream shattered the silence.

Kai's head snapped up. The sound came from beyond the collapsed eastern wall, where the old garden had been. His body moved before his mind fully processed the situation, years of training taking over. He vaulted over debris with practiced ease, landing silently on the overgrown path.

Three men surrounded a young woman near the remains of the garden pavilion. Even in the dim twilight, Kai could see she was fighting, clawing, kicking, every movement desperate. But her coordination was off, her movements sluggish despite the fury behind them.

"Hold her still!" one of the men snarled, his meaty hand connecting with her face in a vicious slap that snapped her head to the side.

The woman stumbled but didn't fall. Blood trickled from her split lip as she glared at her attackers with pure defiance. "You're dead, all of you. When my family finds out—"

"Your family?" The ringleader, a scarred man with a gold tooth, laughed cruelly. "Sweetheart, by the time we're done with you, there won't be enough left for your family to identify. Now stop making this difficult."

He grabbed her arm, and she twisted, landing a surprisingly solid elbow to his ribs. The man grunted, then backhanded her so hard she crashed into the pavilion's remaining pillar.

"Feisty bitch," he spat. "That drug should've had you begging by now. Guess we'll just have to work a little harder."

Kai's jaw tightened. He had come here for solitude, to pay respects before beginning his hunt. He didn't need complications. But watching these men—

The ringleader's hands were on the woman's blouse now, tearing.

"Enough."

Kai's voice cut through the twilight, quiet but absolute.

The three men froze, then turned cautiously. Their hands moved to weapons—a knife, a metal pipe, brass knuckles. They were expecting trouble.

Then they saw him.

A beat of silence. Then the scarred leader threw back his head and laughed, the other two quickly joining in.

"Out here this late? Does your mommy know where you are?" The ringleader's gold tooth glinted as he grinned. "Go home, kid. This doesn't concern you."

Kai remained motionless, his expression flat. He looked young—he understood that. Slim, college-aged at best, dressed simply in dark clothes. People always underestimated him. He had learned to use it.

"You little brat," one of the others jeered, brandishing his pipe. "Barely old enough to shave, trying to play hero? Beat it before your mom calls the cops."

"Let her go," Kai said, his tone unchanged. "Or die. Your choice."

The laughter died instantly.

"What did you just say?" The ringleader's face darkened with rage.

Kai's eyes were cold as winter steel. "I don't repeat myself."

"You're asking for it!" The man with the pipe charged first, swinging wildly.

Kai sidestepped with minimal movement, caught the pipe mid-swing, and used the man's momentum to flip him over his shoulder. The thug hit the ground hard, the impact driving the air from his lungs.

The one with brass knuckles came next, more cautious but no more effective. Kai deflected the punch, struck his ribs, then throat, and the man crumpled, gasping.

The ringleader pulled his knife, circling warily. "Who the hell are you?"

Kai didn't answer. He moved like water and shadow. The knife slashed through empty air once, twice. On the third attempt, Kai caught the man's wrist, twisted sharply, and drove his palm into the scarred face, his bone crunched and the knife clattered away.

Thirty seconds. That's all it had taken.

The three men lay groaning on the ground. The ringleader, blood streaming from his shattered nose, scrambled to his knees. His earlier arrogance had evaporated.

"Wait, wait!" He held up trembling hands. "I was hired, okay? I didn't want to do this! Someone paid me to grab the girl. I swear, I swear if you let me go, I'll disappear. You'll never see me again. I'll turn my life around, I promise!"

Kai looked down at him with contempt. "You're right. I'll never see you again."

His fist connected with the man's temple. The ringleader collapsed, unconscious before he hit the ground.

Silence returned to the ruins.

Kai turned to the woman. She had slid down the pillar, sitting now with her back against the stone, watching him with glazed eyes. Her pupils were dilated, her skin flushed an unnatural pink. Sweat beaded on her forehead despite the cool evening air.

He approached carefully, kneeling beside her. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm... fine..." But her words slurred, and her body trembled.

Kai reached for her wrist. She jerked a little but didn’t pull back. He felt her pulse—it was fast, uneven, and wild.

His expression hardened. He'd seen this before, during his training in less savory parts of the world. The symptoms were unmistakable. The drug in her system wasn't just an aphrodisiac, it was toxic, designed to burn through the body's defenses, raising core temperature until...

Two hours, maybe less, given her elevated heart rate.

He studied her face—delicate features, expensive clothes despite their current state, a jade pendant at her throat worth more than most people earned in a year. Whoever she was, she came from money. And whoever wanted her dead had gone to elaborate lengths to make it look like something else.

He closed his eyes briefly.

"Damn it."