I stood in front of the ATM, staring at the red "Frozen" flashing on the screen. A bitter laugh escaped me.

Jeffrey worked fast.

Every single one of my cards was dead.

To be with him, I'd dissolved my old crew, cut off all the shady income streams.

I found a run-down motel.

This was exactly what Jeffrey wanted, right?

He wanted to see me broke, struggling, and finally crawling back to be his pretty little caged bird.

Lying on the bed, I clutched the broken pieces of the music box.

Suddenly, my phone vibrated.

It was an encrypted email.

No sender name, just gibberish.

But I knew it was from my brother, Jaxon Smith.

My heart skipped a beat, and I quickly opened it.

"Cynthia, the cargo route has been intercepted. Both the police and our enemies are looking for me. I'm trapped in Border Zone B and urgently need a safe passage to escape. Otherwise, I won't last three days."

The phone slipped from my palm.

My brother was my only family, and I must save him.

If our enemies got to him, it would be a death sentence.

The only person who could move a secure route right now, without raising red flags, was Jeffrey.

The Tucker family controlled the largest port trade in Boland.

I closed my eyes, tears slipping down my cheeks.

You won, Jeffrey.

The next morning, I was back at the Tucker villa, standing at the gate.

The butler took in my disheveled state, his expression a mix of pity and something else, but he let me in.

Jeffrey was on the sofa reading the paper. Maisie, in a silk robe, was curled up beside him, peeling grapes.

When I entered, Jeffrey didn't even lift an eyelid.

"I told you, she wouldn't last 24 hours."

Maisie giggled and said, "Cynthia can't do without you after all."

Swallowing the knot in my throat, I walked up to him. "Jeffrey. I need to borrow a Tucker shipping lane. A spare one."

Jeffrey finally put down the newspaper.

"Borrow a lane? Old habits die hard, huh, Cynthia? What? Can't survive without me, so you're going back to the family business? What are you planning to transport? Drugs or guns? The Tuckers are legitimate now. We don't deal with your filth."

I dug my nails into my palms. "My brother is in trouble at the border. He needs an extraction. Just help me this once. I swear I'll disappear from your life after this."

Jeffrey sneered and said, "Your brother's a wanted man. The world's better off without him."

"I'm begging you."

Jeffrey watched me, this version of me begging.

Then, he pulled a document from under the coffee table and tossed it on the floor.

"You want my help? Fine. Sign it. A statement swearing you'll never harass me again, never claim we had a relationship."

I picked up the document, signed my name without even glancing at it.

"I've signed. Please arrange the ship now. My brother can't wait."

Jeffrey was about to speak when Maisie chimed in sweetly.

"Jeffrey, signing was too easy. I don't see Ms. Smith's sincerity."

She caressed her belly, her gaze malicious, "What if she uses the route to smuggle drugs and ends up implicating the Tucker family? Unless... She serves me for a day as a personal servant. Then we'll know she's truly turned over a new leaf."

I snapped my head up to look at Jeffrey.

I thought he would refuse.

But he merely glanced at me indifferently and nodded coldly.

"Maisie has a point. You've always been too sharp-edged. This could smooth you out. Maisie is carrying my child. She needs looking after. Serve as her personal servant for a day, and I'll arrange the ship."

At that moment, I heard the sound of my heart breaking.

For my brother's slim chance of survival, I agreed.

"Alright, I'll do it."

For the rest of the day, Maisie made me kneel on the floor and wipe up the milk she deliberately spilled.

She was wearing high heels. Her heel slipped onto the back of my hand and gave it a couple of deliberate grinds.

I bit my tongue, silent, and kept cleaning.

I served her tea and water.

"It's too hot! Are you trying to scald me? To kill my baby?"

She threw the scalding liquid in my face.

Jeffrey just sat there watching, completely turning a blind eye to it all.

My eyes stayed fixed on the clock on the wall.

Jaxon, hold on a little longer.

It would be over soon.

The moment my day of servitude ended, I stood in Jeffrey's study.

"The day is over. Where's the ship?"

Jeffrey looked at my subdued, obedient posture, seeming pleased with the results of his training.

Right in front of me, he made a call.

"Activate Route B. Go extract Jaxon. Coordinates are sent."

He put it on speaker.

A respectful voice answered, "Understood, Mr. Tucker. Departing immediately."

The tension that had coiled inside me for a full day finally began to unwind.

I endured the humiliation, the torture. If it saved my brother, it was worth it.

"Thank you."

I choked out the words, then stumbled out of the room.

I had to get to the docks. I had to see Jaxon safe with my own eyes.

However, what I didn't know was that as soon as I rushed out of the villa's gate, the last trace of false warmth vanished from Jeffrey's face.

A cold, calculating look settled in his eyes. He picked up his phone again and dialed a different number.

A number that belonged to the Black Sharks, the Smith family's deadliest rivals.

"I've sent you Jaxon's location. Make it clean. No traces."

Jeffrey watched my retreating figure from the window, a cruel smile touching his lips.

"Once Jaxon is gone, she'll have no one left in this world but me. A tiger with its claws pulled out... will have no choice but to be my pretty little bird in a cage."

When I reached the docks, the Tucker ship wasn't there.

A cold dread began to seep into my gut.

Then, the TV screen in the waiting area blared with breaking news.

"Breaking News: Major explosion in Border Zone B. An abandoned warehouse, site of an apparent gang shootout. No survivors reported. Police indicate one of the deceased is suspected to be a Smith, alleged head of a local syndicate."

In that instant, my blood turned to ice in my veins.

My phone vibrated.

It was a delayed voice message.

My fingers trembled so badly I could barely tap it open.

The background was filled with the sounds of gunfire and explosions. Jaxon's voice was faint, ragged, each word a struggle.

"Jeffrey… it was Jeffrey… he sold me out… He gave my location to Black Shark... Don't trust him... Live... you have to live..."

Boom!

The voice abruptly ended with a massive explosion.

The phone slipped from my hand.

Like a ghost, I drifted back to the Tucker villa.

Jeffrey was still on the sofa, sipping coffee. He looked surprised to see me.

"Back so soon? Didn't the ship pick him up?"

I walked towards him, step by step.

"Jeffrey, my brother is dead."

His hand paused mid-sip. Then, calmly, he set the cup down.

"Is that so? What a pity. I guess it was his fate. Your brother lived a violent life. Maybe the universe just collected its debt. In a way, Cynthia, this is for the best. Now you can start fresh. Be my secret lover, properly."

I stared at the man I once loved, the man I thought I'd spend my life with.

He was a stranger.

I grabbed the fruit knife from the coffee table.

Jeffrey's face paled. He stepped back. "Cynthia! Have you lost your mind? Murder is illegal!"

I desperately lunged at him, but was pinned to the ground by the arriving bodyguards.

"Jeffrey, you killed the only family I had in this world. You'd better kill me, or you'll regret it."

He ordered the bodyguards to hold me down.

"Lock her in the room on the second floor. Board up the windows. No one lets her out without my say-so!"

Jeffrey imprisoned me. He took my phone, cut the internet.

After my brother died, a part of me died too.

I sat in the dim room for days, refusing food, refusing water.

Jeffrey would occasionally visit me.

"Cynthia, be good. Your enemies are everywhere out there. Only here are you safe. I have to give Maisie the title. For the child's sake. But my heart is only ever been yours. From now on, just stay obediently in the villa. I'll take care of you for the rest of your life."

Looking at his devoted face, I felt nothing but nausea.

I wanted to live. I wanted to live carrying my brother's last wishes.

I stopped resisting and became compliant.

Jeffrey was pleased. He thought I'd finally accepted my fate.

To boost the Tucker Group's stock, Jeffrey announced a high-profile, lavish wedding to Maisie.

On the eve of the wedding, I clutched Jeffrey's coat, humbly begging him.

"I agree to be your lover, but I want my phone back. It has photos of my brother, and I want to keep them as a memento."

Jeffrey, softened by my meekness, tossed the phone to me.

Late at night, I found a blind spot in the security cameras and picked up a weak, unsecured Wi-Fi signal from a neighboring estate.

I input a string of long-buried codes.

It was my brother's last trump card left for me.

"Queen is awake. Coordinates: Boland, Tucker wedding venue. Cover my extraction. All units, assemble."

Three seconds later, the screen lit up.

"Received, Queen."

I wiped all traces, then looked out the window at the cold moon, a frosty smile curling my lips.

On the day of the wedding, the scene was set on a cliffside lawn, with dignitaries gathered and flowers scattered on the ground.

Maisie, in a custom gown that cost more than a house, swept into the dressing room.

She shooed everyone else out. Leaning close, her breath hot and hateful in my ear, she whispered, "I heard they couldn't even find a whole piece of your brother's body after the explosion. Today is the day your beloved man marries me. We'll use all this happy energy to mourn that deadbeat."

I turned to look at Maisie.

"Yes, indeed, he deserves a proper tribute."

The wedding began.

The priest recited the vows.

Maisie and Jeffrey were about to exchange rings when a loud explosion echoed from afar!

Boom!

The luxury yachts docked nearby erupted in a chain reaction of fireballs.

Following this, the manor's power system suddenly went offline, and the alarm sounded loudly.

"What's happening?"

"There's a fire! Run!"

Guests screamed, scrambling in panic.

Bodyguards frantically shielded Jeffrey and Maisie, retreating backward.

During the chaos, I ran toward the cliff edge.

"Cynthia! What are you doing! Come back!"

Jeffrey noticed me first, shouting in terror as he shoved Maisie aside and rushed toward me.

I stood outside the railing at the cliff's edge.

The turbulent deep sea stretched out behind me.

I watched Jeffrey run toward me, a smile of final liberation on my face.

"Jeffrey, if there's a next life, I never want to meet you again."

As Jeffrey let out a soul-shattering scream, I dove into the abyss without a second thought.

Jeffrey fell to the cliff's edge, shouting helplessly into the void.

But below, hidden in the cliff's shadow, a small, sleek submersible was waiting. It caught me seamlessly.

I took the black trench coat offered by a crew member, shrugging it on, wiping the saltwater from my face.

I turned to the man beside me. He was Caleb Jackson, Jeffrey's biggest business rival, and an old acquaintance of Jaxon's.

I gave the order coldly. "Set sail. From now on, call me Queen."