CHAPTER 4 — THE BULLET THAT WASN'T MEANT FOR HIM
CHAPTER 4 — THE BULLET THAT WASN'T MEANT FOR HIM
Elena had no idea the war had already begun.
She left Shin Global Tower with Yuna holding her hand and a headache pounding behind her eyes.
Nothing had gone according to plan.
She had expected signatures.
Instead—
Her daughter had dismantled five years of carefully buried truth in less than five minutes.
"Mommy?"
"Yes?"
"Was he really Daddy?"
Elena looked toward the crowded Manhattan sidewalk.
Yellow taxis.
Street vendors.
Office workers rushing home.
Anything but those hopeful little eyes.
"I don't know."
"You cried."
"I'm tired."
"He looked sad."
Elena swallowed.
"So did you."
Children noticed everything adults tried to hide.
She knelt beside Yuna.
"Sweetheart..."
Before she could finish—
Her phone rang.
Queens Hospital.
"Ms. Okafor?"
"This is Elena."
"There's been an emergency with one of your patients. Can you come translate?"
She glanced at the time.
Normally she would say yes immediately.
But today—
"I'm sorry. I have my daughter."
"We've already called everyone else."
The desperation in the nurse's voice made the decision for her.
"I'll come."
Twenty minutes later they reached the hospital.
Mrs. Oh, the elderly daycare owner, was already waiting in the lobby.
"I'll take Yuna home."
"You don't mind?"
Mrs. Oh smiled warmly.
"That little girl calls me Grandma when she wants cookies."
Yuna hugged Elena tightly.
"I'll be good."
"I know."
"And Mommy?"
"Yes?"
"If Daddy comes..."
Elena kissed her forehead before she could finish.
"Go with Mrs. Oh."
The little girl waved happily as they left.
Elena watched until the elevator doors closed.
She never saw the black SUV parked across the street.
Inside sat two men.
One raised binoculars.
"Target separated from child."
The second man picked up a phone.
"Proceed?"
A voice answered.
"Only the mother."
"No witnesses."
The line disconnected.
Three hours later—
Rain poured across Manhattan.
Elena finally left the hospital exhausted.
She wrapped her coat tighter and started toward the subway.
She never noticed footsteps behind her.
One block.
Two.
A black umbrella appeared beside her.
"Ms. Okafor?"
She turned.
A stranger smiled politely.
"You dropped—"
The silenced pistol appeared beneath the umbrella.
Everything slowed.
A flash.
A muffled pop.
Then—
Someone slammed into Elena from the side.
She crashed against the wet pavement.
Glass exploded.
Car alarms screamed.
Another shot shattered a taxi window.
The gunman cursed.
Black SUVs roared around the corner.
Doors flew open.
Armed men flooded the street.
"Protect her!"
The assassin ran.
Three black-clad operatives chased him into the rain.
Elena looked up in shock.
The man who had tackled her to the ground was bleeding from his shoulder.
He wore an expensive black suit.
An earpiece.
And the silver dragon pin of the Shin family's elite security unit.
"I'm sorry," he gasped.
"...we were almost too late."
Elena's heart stopped.
"We?"
Before he could answer—
A familiar voice echoed through the rain.
"Elena."
She looked up.
Joon Shin stepped from the lead SUV.
His charcoal overcoat was soaked.
His expression was colder than the storm itself.
He glanced once at the blood spreading across his bodyguard's shoulder.
Then at the bullet hole in the brick wall exactly where Elena's heart had been seconds earlier.
His jaw tightened.
Someone had just tried to murder the mother of his daughter.
That made it personal.
He slowly looked toward the dark alley where the assassin had escaped.
His next words were quiet.
Deadly.
"Seal every bridge."
"No one leaves this city."
Somewhere in the darkness, the man who had ordered Elena's death still believed this was merely unfinished business.
May you like
He had no idea...
He had just declared war on the most feared family in New York.
