Chapter 4
Years ago… the night Yumi's family died…
Ryuji was there.
But not in the way she thinks.
That night, Ryuji was not the Yakuza boss yet.
He was only 18 years old, the son of the previous leader of the Takeda Syndicate.
His father controlled the organization with ruthless violence, demanding money from small businesses all over Tokyo.
Ryuji hated it.
He had already begun secretly planning to change the syndicate once he became leader.
But he had no power yet.
When the men went to Yumi's father's restaurant, Ryuji followed them.
He had heard what they planned to do.
He tried to stop them.
But when he arrived…
It was already too late.
The gun had already been fired.
The fire had already started.
Ryuji saw a terrified young girl being pulled outside into the rain.
Yumi.
Even through the smoke and chaos, he remembered her face.
Ryuji ordered his men to let the girl go.
One of them wanted to kill her as a witness.
Ryuji stopped him.
"Leave her."
That single decision is the reason Yumi survived that night.
Years later…
Yumi returns to destroy the Yakuza.
But the man she wants to kill is the same man who saved her life.
Ryuji recognized Yumi the moment she walked into his office.
He never forgot her.
Not the girl in the rain.
Not the fire behind her.
Not the way she looked at him with hatred.
That's why he hired her instantly.
That's why he keeps her close.
And that's why his obsession with her is dangerous.
Because he knows something she doesn't.
The closer she gets to him…
the closer she gets to the truth.