Chapter 1Joyride to Jail

On the livestream, Jaxon, the clout-chasing pop idol with bleached blond hair, was lounging inside the cockpit of a heavily armed stealth fighter jet.

He smirked at the camera, bragging to millions of viewers that his CEO sugar mama had gifted him this magnificent beast, and he was about to take her for a joyride.

My blood ran cold. One glance was all it took to recognize the classified prototype parked on my private military tarmac.

Furious, I dialed my wife's number. The call went straight to voicemail.

How dare she hand over top-tier military hardware to a glorified pretty boy? He did not even deserve to breathe the same air as that machine.

I did not hesitate. I immediately contacted Central Command, flagging the incident as a Level One security breach and theft of classified assets.

By the time the tactical strike team swarmed the hangar, Jaxon was still fumbling clumsily with the control panels.

A split second later, a masked operative ripped him out of the cockpit, tossing him onto the unforgiving concrete of the runway like a sack of garbage.

Hundreds of thousands of viewers watched it happen live. The chat exploded into a frenzy of panic.

"Oh my god! Did they just send the actual Special Forces?!"

"Jaxon is so done..."

I glanced at the tactical watch on my wrist, a dark scoff escaping my lips.

Unauthorized access to a military-grade fighter jet carried a shoot-to-kill authorization.

If he wanted to play stupid games with national security, he was going to win the ultimate prize.

Some lines are drawn in blood, and anyone who crosses them pays the toll.

* * *

Jaxon's eyes were wide with a pathetic mix of terror and disbelief, yet he still had the nerve to run his mouth.

"You can't do this! My stream is still live!"

"Are you seriously going to assault me in front of millions of fans?!"

I let out a cold laugh, stepping forward to press the heavy sole of my combat boot against his arrogant mouth.

"Too bad your account just got permanently nuked for broadcasting classified military intelligence."

"You still don't get it, do you? I have zero patience for trash like you."

The moment the words left my mouth, a dozen heavily armed tactical officers raised their rifles in unison, the laser sights painting red dots across Jaxon's forehead.

All the blood drained from his face. He began to whimper, his words tumbling out in a garbled mess.

"Tony! Are you out of your mind?!"

"If you touch a single hair on my head, Victoria will destroy you!"

Even with guns pointed at his skull, the brat was using my own wife as a shield.

My eyes turned glacial. I racked the slide of my sidearm, the metallic clack echoing sharply in the tense air.

"Tony Kingsley! Put that down right now!"

The hangar door violently slammed open as Victoria barged in.

Her usually elegant, untouchable demeanor was gone, replaced by a mask of blazing fury.

"Do you have any idea what you are doing?! You are going to take his life over a stupid airplane?!"

I found the whole situation downright hilarious.

Whenever Jaxon was in trouble, she always managed to show up with perfect timing.

The tactical commander picked up on the toxic energy radiating between us. He gave my shoulder a brief, solid pat.

"Handle your domestic issues, Colonel. We will drag this punk to the holding cells."

"Victoria, save me!"

Before Jaxon could even finish his pathetic wail, he was shoved brutally into the back of an armored transport vehicle.

Victoria's brows knit together. Her eyes swam with agonizing pity for him and absolute venom for me.

"Are you happy now, Tony? Pulling a stunt like this?"

I met her raging stare with absolute deadpan calm. "Who told you to decline my call?"

Victoria looked at me like I had just sprouted a second head. Her trembling finger pointed straight at my chest.

"You humiliated Jaxon in front of hundreds of thousands of people just because I sent you to voicemail?!"

"Do you have any idea how hard he has worked to get where he is? How could you ruin him so viciously!"

"You should be thanking yourself for letting him trespass onto my tarmac and break into a classified jet. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had the legal right to do a damn thing."

I stared her down until she guiltily averted her eyes.

"Victoria, do you comprehend the federal penalty for attempting to hijack a military aircraft?"

That struck a nerve. Her pupils dilated in sudden fear, but she quickly masked it with stubborn defiance.

"Who says he stole it?! The jet is sitting right there, completely fine!"

"You are just jealous that I spoil him, so you are abusing your military authority to crush him!"

Realizing she was completely divorced from reality, any desire I had to reason with her evaporated.

I turned to walk away, but she lunged forward, her manicured fingers digging into my wrist.

"Tony, stop making things worse. You are going to march down there right now, clear his name, and get Jaxon released."

Her tone shifted from panicked to outrageously demanding.

"You know how cutthroat the entertainment industry is! Jaxon just landed a pilot role in a blockbuster movie. He just wanted to use your plane to practice getting into character!"

When I did not even flinch, her voice pitched into a hysterical screech.

"A billionaire heir like you could never understand! Jaxon grew up starving in a filthy orphanage! He hustles day and night just so he can donate to kids who suffer like he did."

"Is your heart made of ice, Tony? Why can't you just show a shred of empathy!"

"He hustles?"

I looked at the woman I had shared a bed with for years, feeling a bone-deep chill. She looked like a complete stranger.

"Do you know how many of my brothers are deployed in hostile territories right now? Men who put their lives on the line every single day, who haven't seen their families in years, whose names can't even be carved onto their tombstones if they die?"

"In your eyes, their sacrifices mean nothing. The only person who 'hustles' is your little pet idol, the one you've pumped billions of dollars into?"

"What kind of nonsense are you talking about..."

Victoria's face morphed from pale to a sickly green. She opened her mouth to argue, but I shoved my phone screen directly into her line of sight.

It was a gallery of Jaxon's shameless social media flexes.

"Shoutout to my CEO goddess for the birthday gift! Just moved into this mega-mansion!"

"Wrapped up my new movie, and she rewarded me with a private island! She is obsessed with me!"

"Loving the new mega-yacht from my favorite lady!"

I erased the last trace of emotion from my face. My voice was a lethal whisper.

"Victoria, do you even know when my birthday is?"

"Have you ever celebrated it? Even once?"

My gaze acted as a scalpel, peeling back her layers of fake righteousness.

"Tell me. Who exactly is your husband?"

A flicker of genuine panic crossed her features, instantly replaced by defensive rage.

"How dare you turn this on me? With your ridiculous military job, you are a ghost! How am I supposed to celebrate your birthday when you are never around!"

She grew more frantic, as if years of hidden resentment were finally boiling over.

"You are a Colonel, for god's sake, and you are throwing a jealous tantrum over a kid! Don't you feel pathetic acting so insecure and petty?"

Listening to her toxic mockery, the lingering ache in my chest finally went numb.

I looked at her and genuinely smiled.

"You are right. I was acting pathetic. But I won't make that mistake again."

Without sparing another glance at her twisted expression, I turned and walked toward the waiting armored convoy.

"Tony Kingsley! Stop right there!"

Victoria's shrill scream tore through the tarmac behind me.

"Do you really think I need you to get Jaxon out?"

She was practically roaring now, throwing out a desperate, unhinged threat.

"Let me make this perfectly clear. The Ashford family has power in this city! You just wait and see!"

My boots paused for a fraction of a second, but I never looked back.