I was born into a mafia family.

  Violence wasn’t something distant or whispered about in dark corners. It was normal. It was routine. It was dinner-table conversation.

  My father was a ruthless man—feared, respected, untouchable. He didn’t hesitate to kill whoever he wanted.

  But my mother was different.

  At first, she endured it. The blood on his clothes. The late-night phone calls. The men who came and never came back. She endured it for years.

  Until one day, she couldn’t anymore.

  She left my brother behind with Dad.

  And she took me.

  I still remember screaming.

  “Big bro—! Dad!”

  My brother didn’t move. My father didn’t stop her.

  I was forced into the backseat of a car while the estate gates opened in silence. No one intervened. No one dared to.

  The drive ended at a private airport.

  Everything after that felt unreal—bright lights, hurried footsteps, my mother gripping my wrist too tightly as we boarded a flight I didn’t understand. I didn’t know where we were going. I only knew we weren’t going back.

  Hours later, when the plane doors opened again, the world felt different.

  The air was hotter. Drier. Unfamiliar.

  Las Vegas.

  Neon lights flickered in the distance like a mocking welcome sign.

  That was my new home.

  A small house on the edge of a city that never slept. A place that wasn’t built for children like me.

  And just like that—

  I was alone.

  One night, months later, I overheard my mother talking on the phone. Her voice was shaking in a way I had never heard before.

  “…Reyin died?”

  And then she started sobbing.

  I listened quietly.

  And that’s when I finally understood the truth.

  My mother wasn’t just someone trying to protect me from violence.

  She was a spy.

  Because my father, Reyin, was mafia, my mother had been sent into his life for a reason. She was the daughter of his greatest rival. Their marriage had never been simple love.

  It had been an assignment.

  She was sent to infiltrate.

  To gather information.

  To learn everything she could.

  And to leak every detail back to her real family.

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  The reason she dragged me away that night wasn’t panic.

  It was warning.

  Her father — my grandfather — the head of that rival mafia family, was planning an attack.

  She knew what was coming.

  So she took me.

  And she ran.

  Back then, I was too young to understand what was really happening. I thought she saved me out of fear.

  I didn’t realize she was trying to save me from a war her own blood had started.

  Reyin was my father.

  And he’s dead.

  My brother, Nord… I suppose he’s gone too.

  And my mother — Norelle — the woman who let them both die.

  I will make her pay.

  I thought Dad died because of her.

  Because of what she did.

  Because of everything.

  So I sold her.

  To two men.

  I told myself it was justice.

  I told myself she deserved it.

  The next day, I heard the news.

  They said she had been sexually assaulted…

  and killed.

  By those same men.

  I didn’t feel anything.

  I actually felt relieved.

  Like I had finally done something for my father.

  After she died, my nana took care of me.

  She had been given enough money to last five years.

  A few days later, she gave me a note.

  It said—

  Rey,

  If you are reading this, I am already gone.

  Maybe you were the one who caused my death.

  I understand.

  You must have believed I betrayed your father.

  But the truth is this—

  I was born into a mafia family.

  I was ordered by my father… your grandfather…

  to leave your daddy’s side.

  I truly loved Reyin.

  Your father.

  And everyone except you knew.

  They knew about my mafia bloodline.

  Your daddy didn’t die in a feud.

  He took his own life.

  You know me, Rey.

  I was never meant to live quietly.

  I always wanted to dominate this world.

  I have always desired power.

  Your brother is already walking the path toward it.

  He wants to make my dream a reality.

  He runs a small weapon shop in Tokyo.

  That’s what people see.

  But he is building something far greater beneath it.

  An organization.

  A future.

  You should stand beside him.

  I love you, my darling.

  Despite everything.

  Despite the blood.

  Despite the lies.

  — Norelle

  I stared at the note.

  My hands were shaking.

  My heartbeat sounded uneven.

  Like metal striking metal.

  The truth hit me all at once.

  Cold.

  Unforgiving.

  I didn’t just betray her.

  I handed her over to monsters.

  And they did the unforgivable.

  My knees gave out.

  The letter slipped from my fingers and fell to the floor.

  “I’m sorry, Mom,” I whispered.

  Then louder.

  “I’m sorry.”

  And suddenly—

  “I’m sorry, Mom!”

  Rey jolted awake.

  She was sitting upright in bed.

  Tears were already running down her face.

  The words echoed through the dark room.

  She pushed the blanket aside and stepped out onto the balcony.

  The night air brushed against her skin.

  She lit a cigarette.

  Inhaled slowly.

  And the memories came back.

  One by one.

  Then Rey’s mind began replaying the rest of the memories.

  Guilt crawled through me.

  Slow.

  Burning.

  Like fire moving beneath my skin.

  I couldn’t breathe.

  Each inhale felt wrong.

  Too heavy.

  I couldn’t think straight.

  My mind kept replaying everything.

  Over and over.

  I couldn’t forgive myself.

  No matter how hard I tried.

  For the first time in years—

  I felt small.

  For the first time in years—

  I wished I had never been born.

  After that day—

  something inside me ended.

  And something colder was born.

  I buried Rey the daughter.

  And became Rey the weapon.

  I wiped the tears from my face.

  Left my childhood behind without looking back.

  And stepped straight into X-Cut.

  They trained me.

  Refined me.

  Turned me into something sharp.

  Something disciplined.

  I learned to lead.

  To give orders without hesitation.

  To eliminate threats with steady hands.

  Now I have one purpose.

  To rule this world from the shadows.

  Back in the present—

  the cigarette had burned almost to the filter.

  The ember glowed faintly in the dark.

  Rey flicked it away.

  It disappeared below.

  And for that future—

  Arthur.

  Not for friendship.

  Not for trust.

  Not for affection.

  But for what he can become.

  He doesn’t know it yet, but he’s the key that will open the gates of my empire—or burn it all down.

  To be continued.