When I sla.pped my husband's mistress, he broke my leg. Then he locked me in the basement and told me to reflect.

Ropes dropped through the shattered skylights as flashbang grenades rained down into the subterranean cellar. Blindness and deafening bangs exploded through the damp room.

Julian descended the rope like an avenging angel, firing precise shots before his boots even hit the stone floor. Sophia ducked smoothly behind a stone pillar, drawing a concealed firearm from her coat and neutralizing the guard on her left with two swift, disciplined shots.

Marcus screamed in rage, grabbing the leather folder from the table and dashing through a hidden passage behind the brick wall.

"Julian! He's heading for the escape tunnel!" Sophia shouted over the roar of gunfire.

"Go! I'll clear the rest!" Julian shouted back, dropping another mercenary with a bone-shattering elbow strike.

Sophia sprinted into the dark, narrow tunnel after Marcus. The tunnel sloped upward, leading toward the underground drainage system that opened out into the riverbank outside the estate.

She could hear Marcus's heavy, frantic breathing ahead of him. Her long legs ate up the distance, her mind focused with absolute clarity. As Marcus burst through the exit grate into the pounding rain near the riverbank, Sophia lunged forward, tackling him directly into the mud.

The leather folder flew from his hands, landing in the rushing water of the river and sweeping away into the darkness.

Marcus thrashed wildly, rolling over and drawing a combat knife, slashing viciously at her. Sophia dodged backward, the blade cutting thin air. She used his forward momentum against him, grabbing his wrist, twisting it violently until the knife dropped into the mud, and delivering a fierce palm strike to his chin.

Marcus collapsed back against the muddy bank, gasping for air, staring up at her in utter terror.

Sophia stood over him in the pouring rain, her weapon pointed directly between his eyes. Rain washed the dirt from her face, her eyes cold, luminous, and terrifyingly calm.

"Please..." Marcus choked out, raising his trembling hands. "Sophia... please... I can give you money... access to the syndicate’s offshore accounts..."

"You made one fatal mistake, Marcus," Sophia said, her voice cutting through the roar of the thunderstorm. "You thought my power came from my money, my title, or my estate."

She lowered her weapon slightly, looking down at him with immense pity. "My power comes from what I survived. You have nothing left to threaten me with."

Julian emerged from the tunnel, covered in mud and rain, stepping up beside her and wrapping a protective hand around her shoulder.