Xavier hissed through his teeth as Dr. Yoon pulled the stitches tight on his ribs.
"Stay still," she said, not unkindly. "This one's deep. If you keep moving, I'll have to start over."
"Just hurry."
"Medicine doesn't work on your schedule, Xavier."
Thirteen stitches on his ribs. Seven on his shoulder. Countless bruises and cuts. But he was alive. That's what mattered.
Dr. Yoon moved to clean the head wound—the one from where Rafayel had slammed him against concrete.
Xavier's vision had been spotty for the past hour, possibly a mild concussion.
"You need to rest," Dr. Yoon said firmly. "No strenuous activity for at least—"
"I'm going to see Nana."
"Xavier—"
"I'm going."
Dr.Yoon sighed but didn't argue further. She'd known him long enough to recognize when he was immovable.
While she finished bandaging, Xavier examined his jacket—the one he'd worn during the fight. His fingers found it almost immediately: a small tracking device, no bigger than a button, expertly sewn into the fabric.
Rafayel.
Xavier laughed—bitter and cold.
"Smart bastard," he muttered.
Jihoon looked up from where he was coordinating security protocols.
"Sir?"
Xavier held up the tracker. "Rafayel planted this during our fight. He's tracking my location."
"Shit. Should I destroy it?"
"No." Xavier's smile turned predatory.
"We're going to use it."
He stood, ignoring Dr. Yoon's protests about his stitches, and grabbed a clean shirt. Every movement hurt, but pain was familiar. Pain was manageable.
Losing Nana wasn't.
"What's the plan, Boss?"
Xavier pulled on the jacket with the tracker still attached. "I'm going to that abandoned building on Fifth Street. The one we used for storage last year."
"Why?"
"Because I'm going to leave this jacket there. Let Rafayel think I'm hiding out, recovering, vulnerable." Xavier's eyes were cold.
"While I'm actually somewhere else, preparing for war."
"That's... actually clever."
"I have my moments." Xavier checked his weapons—two handguns, a knife, his usual arsenal despite Dr. Yoon's disapproving look.
"How long until Rafayel's people track the signal?"
"If they're monitoring actively? Ten minutes. If they're checking periodically? Could be hours."
"Good. That gives me a window." Xavier headed for the door. "Increase security around the Anderson estate. Triple the usual guard rotation. I want eyes on every entrance, every window, every possible breach point."
"Already done. Boss—" Jihoon hesitated. "Are you really going to tell her?"
Xavier paused at the door. "I don't have a choice anymore. Rafayel knows about her. His father knows. The entire Serpent Guild knows. She's a target now, whether I keep lying or not."
"She might hate you."
"I know."
"She might leave."
"I know."
"So why risk it?"
Xavier looked back, and his expression was raw.
"Because if she dies not knowing the truth—dies thinking I'm just some sleepy college student who couldn't protect her—I'll never forgive myself."
He left before Jihoon could respond.
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ANDERSON ESTATE
Richard Anderson was a man who'd survived in the underground by trusting his instincts.
And right now, every instinct was screaming that his daughter was in danger.
The report on his desk was damning:
RAFAYEL - CONFIRMED IDENTITY: Son of Serpent Guild Leader
CURRENT SITUATION: Open warfare between Shen devil's organization and Serpent Guild
CASUALTIES: Minimum 8 confirmed dead, multiple injured
THREAT LEVEL: CRITICAL
Richard had spent the last hour making phone calls, calling in favors, arranging things that needed to remain invisible. His past life—the one he'd tried to leave behind—was coming back whether he wanted it or not.
He made a terrible mistake introducing Rafayel to Nana. Had handed his daughter directly to his enemy while trying to protect her.
Elena would have been disappointed in him.
But Elena was dead, and Richard refused to lose his daughter the same way.
He moved through the estate with practiced efficiency, gathering essentials. Passports. Cash. Untraceable credit cards. Documents for a new identity he'd prepared years ago, just in case.
Just in case he needed to disappear again.
In Nana's room, she slept peacefully, unaware of the danger. She looked so much like her mother—the same delicate features, the same peaceful expression in sleep.
Richard's heart clenched.
"I'm sorry, baby girl," he whispered. "But we have to go."
He gathered her gently, careful not to wake her fully. She stirred, murmuring something incoherent, but didn't wake completely as he carried her downstairs.
His personal security team—men who'd been with him since his underground days, who knew what he really was—waited by the cars.
"Everything ready?" Richard asked quietly.
"Yes, sir. Private jet is fueled and waiting. Flight plan filed for Paris. Safehouses secured."
"Good." Richard settled Nana into the back seat, buckling her in. She was half-awake now, confused.
"Daddy?" Her voice was small, sleepy. "What's happening?"
"Surprise vacation, sweetheart." Richard's smile was gentle despite the fear clawing at his chest. "We're going to Paris. You've always wanted to see Paris, remember?"
"But... school... Xavier..." She was fighting consciousness, still mostly asleep.
"Xavier will understand. I'll call him. Just rest, okay?"
"'Kay..." She drifted off again, trusting him completely.
Richard's jaw tightened as they drove toward the private airport.
He pulled out his phone and sent a message to Xavier's private number—the one he'd obtained through his underground connections:
I know what you are. I know what's coming. I'm taking Nana somewhere safe. Don't try to find us. Don't contact her. This is for her protection.
He hit send, then turned off the phone and removed the battery. Completely dark. Untraceable.
The drive to the airport took twenty minutes. Nana woke up more fully as they boarded the private jet, confused but still trusting.
"Daddy, I don't understand. Why are we leaving so suddenly?"
"Sometimes we need a break from routine," Richard said, helping her settle into the plush seat. "You've been working so hard on your art. I thought you deserved a surprise."
"But I didn't pack—"
"I packed for you. Don't worry."
She looked uncertain but accepted it. Because she trusted him. Because she was his little girl who still believed her father could protect her from anything.
If only she knew how badly he'd failed at that.
The jet took off twenty minutes later, climbing into the dark sky. Nana pressed her face to the window, watching the city lights disappear below.
Watching Xavier disappear below.
"Can I call Xavier?" she asked quietly.
"He was worried earlier. I should tell him I'm okay."
"Nothing signal up here," Richard lied smoothly. "You can call him when we land in Paris."
"Okay..." But she looked troubled. "Daddy? Is everything really okay? You seem... tense."
Richard looked at his daughter—so intuitive, so sharp despite her innocence.
"Everything's fine, sweetheart. I promise."
Another lie.
He was getting good at those.
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Xavier phone buzzed as he drove toward Nana's house.
A message from an unknown number:
I know what you are. I know what's coming. I'm taking Nana somewhere safe. Don't try to find us. Don't contact her. This is for her protection.
Xavier's blood ran cold.
He immediately pulled over, dialing Nana's number with shaking hands.
It went straight to voicemail.
"No. No no no—"
He tried again. Voicemail.
He called Jihoon. "Get me surveillance on the Anderson estate. NOW."
"Already looking—Boss, the feeds are down. Someone cut them about thirty minutes ago."
"What?"
"I'm pulling traffic cameras—Boss, I've got something. Black SUVs leaving the estate forty minutes ago. Three vehicles. Private security."
"Where did they go?"
Typing sounds. "East route toward... Boss, they went to the private airport."
Xavier's world tilted.
"Check flight manifests. Any private jets in the last hour."
More typing. A pause. "Boss... Richard Anderson filed a flight plan to Paris. Departed twenty-three minutes ago."
Xavier couldn't breathe.
She was gone.
Richard had taken her. Had somehow found out about the war and taken her away from it.
Away from him.
"Boss? Orders?"
Xavier sat in his car, staring at nothing, his mind racing.
She was safe. Away from the city. Away from the Serpent Guild. Away from the war zone his life had become.
She was safe.
But she was gone.
And she didn't even know why.
"Boss?"
Xavier's hands clenched on the steering wheel. "Find them. I want to know where they're staying in Paris. I want eyes on them. I want—" His voice cracked. "I want to make sure she's safe."
"Understood. What about Rafayel?"
Xavier looked at the abandoned building ahead—where his tracked jacket lay as bait, where Rafayel's men would soon be searching.
"Let him come," Xavier said quietly. "Let him waste his resources looking for me. While he does, I'm taking apart his entire operation piece by piece."
"Boss, without Miss Anderson here—"
"Without her here, I don't have to hold back anymore." Xavier's voice went cold. Deadly.
"I was being careful before. Trying not to expose her to violence. Trying to keep the two worlds separate."
"And now?"
Xavier smiled, and it was the smile of the Shen devil's.
"Now I'm going to remind the Serpent Guild why they should have stayed afraid of me."
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RAFAYEL- MEDICAL FACILITY
Rafayel woke to his phone buzzing.
His shoulder screamed in protest as he reached for it, but he ignored the pain.
One of his operatives: Target tracker active. Location: Abandoned building, Fifth Street. No movement for 15 minutes.
Rafayel smiled through the pain.
"He's hiding," Rafayel muttered. "Injured and hiding."
He pulled up his phone and tried calling Nana.
Straight to voicemail.
Strange. She always answered.
He tried texting: Hey! Sorry I was MIA earlier. Want to grab dinner tomorrow?
The message showed as delivered but not read.
Also strange.
He pulled up his surveillance feeds—the ones monitoring the Anderson estate.
All offline.
"What..."
He switched to traffic cameras, hacking into the city's system with practiced ease.
Found the footage: SUVs leaving the estate. Private airport.
Rafayel's smile faded.
"No. No, she can't be—"
He pulled up flight records.
Paris.
Richard Anderson had taken her to Paris.
Rafayel stared at the screen, disbelief turning to rage.
She was gone.
While he and Xavier were fighting over her, Richard had taken her off the board entirely.
"FUCK!"
Rafayel threw his phone across the room, ignoring the way the movement tore his stitches.
His father entered, expression calm despite the outburst. "Problem?"
"She's gone. Richard Anderson took her. Paris."
The Serpent Guild leader considered this. "Interesting. The old man showed his teeth."
"We need to go after them—"
"No."
"What?"
"She's out of play." His father moved to the window, looking out over the city. "Which means both you and Xavier are fighting over nothing now."
"She's not nothing—"
"To the war, she is."
"Without her here, Xavier has no reason to be careful. He'll go scorched earth. And frankly—" He looked back at Rafayel. "—so will you."
He absorbed this. His father was right. With Nana gone, there was no reason to play nice anymore.
"So what do we do?"
"We finish this. We destroy Xavier's organization. We take his territory. And when he's dead—" The Serpent Guild leader smiled coldly, "—we bring the girl back. She'll have no one to protect her then."
Rafayel nodded slowly, a new plan forming.
"How long do you think Xavier will last without her?"
"Not long. Love makes you weak. Makes you reckless." His father headed for the door. "Give him a week. He'll tear himself apart trying to get to her."
after he Left alone, Rafayel pulled up a photo on his backup phone.
Nana, smiling at the camera, paint in her hair.
"Sleep well in Paris, little butterfly,"
he murmured. "This will all be over soon."
"And then you'll come home. To me."
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Nana couldn't sleep.
She'd tried calling Xavier three times. Voicemail every time.
Had tried texting. No response.
Something was wrong. She could feel it.
"Daddy?" she asked quietly. "Can I borrow your phone? Mine's not working."
Richard hesitated, then handed over his phone—the new one, with no contacts, no history.
Nana tried Xavier's number.
It rang. Once. Twice.
Then: "Hello?"
Xavier's voice. Rough. Strained. But his.
"Xaviee!" Relief flooded through her.
"Where were you? I was so worried—"
"Starlight." He sounded... broken.
"Where are you?"
"I'm on a plane. Daddy's taking me to Paris. It's a surprise vacation. I tried to call you but—"
"How long are you staying?"
"I... I don't know. He didn't say." She lowered her voice. "Xaviee, what's wrong? You sound strange."
"I'm fine." He was lying. She could hear it. "Just... be safe. Okay?"
"When will I see you?"
There was a long pause. Too long.
"I don't know, Starlight."
"Xaviee—"
"I have to go. I love you. Please be safe."
The line went dead.
Nana stared at her father's phone, her heart pounding.
Something was very, very wrong.
And everyone was lying to her about it.
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To be continued.