Chapter 3

Six years later.

Bright afternoon sunlight poured through the skylight of a hidden top-floor art studio in Paris. Hedy stood before a massive canvas, a thin callus on her right middle finger steadying the brush as she worked.

In the bottom right corner of the painting, a subtle emblem of a rose hidden in clouds gleamed under the wet oil—the signature of Isolde, the mysterious master artist whom Christie's and Sotheby's fought tooth and nail to auction.

In the corner of the studio, five-year-old Jaden Burch sat cross-legged in a wide leather chair. His small fingers flew across a custom mechanical keyboard, streams of green code reflecting in his dark eyes.

Jaden hit the 'Enter' key, shoving his hands into his pockets as he tilted his chin up. "Mommy, Uncle Irwin is in trouble."

Hedy's brush froze. A heavy drop of crimson paint splattered onto the canvas. She walked quickly to the desk.

A New York federal court subpoena flashed on the screen: Irwin Montoya, her late mother's brother, had been arrested by the FBI for massive commercial fraud.

Hedy pinched the bridge of her nose, a bone-chilling coldness settling into her ink-black eyes. Uncle Irwin was a righteous cop; this was obviously a frame-up by her father, Dolphus, to swallow the last of the Montoya family's assets.

She needed to return to New York immediately to bail Irwin out and finally settle the score with the Burch family. However, Dolphus had canceled her passport six years ago, and Burch informants were watching customs closely.

Seeing her cold expression, Jaden curled his lip and tapped a few keys, pulling up two new digital passports bearing top-level EU encryption stamps. "Already handled. They couldn't crack Asteria's firewall if you gave them a hundred years."

Looking at her five-year-old son, who treated global cybersecurity systems like his personal toys, a deeply complex emotion flickered in Hedy's eyes.

That night six years ago was the darkest nightmare of her life. The pitch-black room, the scent of blood mixed with cold cedar, and the strange man who forcefully stripped away her innocence had nearly destroyed her.

Yet, fate had given her the most precious treasures in return. From a young age, the twins had displayed a terrifyingly high IQ, especially Jaden, who was an absolute prodigy.

Sometimes, she couldn't help but wonder—who exactly was that man in the dark? What kind of terrifying genetics did he possess to father such impossibly brilliant children?

But it didn't matter. They were hers, and they were her only weakness and greatest armor.

Taking a deep breath, Hedy forced those trembling memories back down. The fleeting vulnerability in her eyes was instantly replaced by an unbreakable, icy resolve. She smiled and ruffled his messy black hair. "Good job, my little genius. Pack your things. We are going back to hell."

Thirteen hours later, Hedy walked out of the VIP arrival tunnel at JFK International Airport in New York.

She wore a sharp black trench coat and oversized sunglasses, holding the hands of her five-year-old twins.

Her daughter, Ever, wore a ruffled princess dress and blinked her big, grape-like eyes at the terminal. "Mommy, New York doesn't smell like sweet perfume like Paris does."

Jaden pulled a mini titanium suitcase with one hand, his eyes sharply scanning the overhead security cameras.

Near the exit, several burly men holding a Burch family sign were stopping dark-haired women to check their faces.

Hedy pressed her lips together, preparing to take a side exit, when a heavy commotion broke out behind them.

Thirty armed bodyguards in black suits cleared the VIP corridor in seconds.

Gordon Nieves strode through the center of the formation. Six years had made the lines of the Wall Street tyrant's face even harder and colder.

Hedy's spine stiffened. She immediately pulled the twins behind a massive advertising pillar.

It was him. His face was plastered on every major financial magazine. But more importantly, Gordon Nieves was the man who had publicly announced his engagement to Britney Burch six years ago. He was her ultimate enemy's biggest shield. Before she could secure Uncle Irwin, she absolutely could not afford to clash with the Nieves empire.

Gordon walked past at a brisk pace, the crisp scent of cold cedar trailing in the air without him sparing a glance toward the shadows.

Yet the moment he passed, Jaden stared hard at Gordon's profile.

As a top-tier hacker, Jaden had thoroughly investigated the Burch family's background, including Britney's untouchable fiancé. But seeing the man in person, Jaden's dark eyes narrowed. That man's face... looked exactly like his own.

While Hedy was watching the Burch guards ahead, Jaden slipped his hand out of hers and darted straight into the path of the Nieves security detail.

Colin was walking half a step behind Gordon when a small body suddenly blocked their way.

Colin looked down. A five-year-old boy in a miniature bespoke suit stood there, hands in his pockets, his chin raised with an arrogant, icy aura that felt terrifyingly familiar.

The bodyguards instantly reached for their holsters.

Gordon stopped. He looked down at the boy, a cold glint flashing in his dark eyes.

Unfazed by the terrifying pressure radiating from the billionaire, Jaden sneered, his crisp, childish voice ringing out clearly. "You are Gordon Nieves? The man about to marry Britney Burch?"

Dead silence fell over the VIP corridor. Every executive sucked in a cold breath at the kid's audacity.

Gordon's pupils contracted. It wasn't just the boy's fearless attitude—it was that face. It was like looking into a mirror of his own childhood.

Jaden shook his head, his tone dripping with high-IQ mockery. "I thought the tyrant of Wall Street would be smart. But to be blind enough to choose a piece of trash like Britney... what a disappointment."

Gordon's breath hitched, his heart skipping a violent beat.

Hearing her son's voice, Hedy's blood ran cold. She bolted out from behind the pillar.

"Jaden!" She grabbed the boy's arm, yanking him back.

The sudden, frantic movement caused her oversized sunglasses to slip down her nose, exposing her striking, ink-black eyes and the pale, beautiful contours of her face.

Gordon's gaze cut past his guards and locked onto Hedy. In that split second, a violent shudder shot down his spine. Those eyes... that stubborn, desperate defiance in her gaze violently overlapped with a blurry, bloodstained shadow buried deep in his memory from a rainy night six years ago.

Before Hedy could turn away, Gordon took a long, dominant stride forward, his tall frame completely blocking her escape route.

His dark, abyss-like eyes dropped to Jaden, then slowly shifted back to Hedy's face, his voice dangerously low and thick with sudden, overwhelming suspicion.

"Ma'am," Gordon said, his gaze pinning her in place. "Before you leave, don't you think you owe me an explanation for this boy's face?"