Ivan Radwansky

A slap of cold water on my face wakes me up. Before I can open my eyes, another slap hits me, this one harder. Water forcefully invades my nose, making me cough as I try to expel it from my lungs.

"You're awake, Bennet!" A voice greets me happily—too happily, making my skin crawl. "Or should I call you... Scorpion?" the voice adds.

I glare at the man. As expected, Ivan Radwansky stands a couple of meters in front of me.

"Don't worry… I told her everything while you were unconscious," he says, chuckling. I shift my gaze to the right, where Jennifer sits against a pillar, her hands cuffed around it. She stares at me, fear evident in her expression.

"About what?" I ask Radwansky, deliberately stalling to assess my current condition.

Radwansky laughs. "Of course, that your real name is Scorpion—an assassin I first contacted."

I'm sitting on a solid metal chair, my hands cuffed behind me, locked between the hollow spaces in the chair's backrest.

"I'm surprised you never told your lover who you really are, Scorpion," Radwansky mocks, flicking his tongue in amusement. My legs are also cuffed to the chair's legs. "Love is always about trust," he adds.

"How did you figure it out?" I ask, testing the restraints.

"I have to be honest. I had help," Radwansky admits.

The cuffs are tight against my wrists—there's no way I can slip my hands free without some sacrifice.

I shift slightly, testing the weight of the chair. Suddenly, a hard fist slams into my stomach. I groan in pain, but secretly, I'm grateful.

The impact shoved my chair forward a few inches—confirming what I hoped. The chair isn't bolted down. That's good news.

"Why haven't you killed her yet? That's what you want so badly, isn't it?" I pant through the pain.

"Oh, wow, wow… I'm not that cruel, Scorpion," Radwansky says, shaking his head in mock disappointment. "After learning that she's your girlfriend, I couldn't just kill her without letting you say goodbye first. That would be too cruel, wouldn't it?"

He spreads his arms, gesturing toward his men for agreement. They nod along, their loyalty unquestioning.

"In fact, I'll let you watch her die before you die," Radwansky says smoothly—then he fires.

The bullet tears into my side, just below my chest.

Pain—searing, relentless—explodes through me. I let out a strangled shout as my body convulses. I cough violently, blood bubbling up in my throat.

"I'm a good short-range shooter, Scorpion. I believe that bullet tore your diaphragm, and its shrapnel made tiny holes in your right lung," Radwansky explains in a mocking tone. He then tilts his gun toward Jennifer. "Relax. You won't die… not for another five hours, at least."

"Now, you can say goodbye to your man, Missy," he says with amusement.

"Please, don't kill me," Jennifer begs. "I told you—I won't claim any part of the legacy! I'll reject it! I won't acknowledge myself as his daughter!"

Radwansky scoffs. "You think it's that easy?"

"You don't need to admit or claim anything. He acknowledged you years ago. He was just too much of a coward to reach out. He already signed the documents—half of his empire goes to you, and half to Rachel. No one else can touch it unless you're proven dead."

"You could fake her death," I interject between my labored breaths. The bullet in my lung makes every word feel like knives.

"I need her dead body as proof," he counters.

"Make it so that her body is never found," I chuckle bitterly. "You're supposed to be clever, Radwansky."

His smirk fades momentarily before he nods. "Well… I could do that."

Then he raises his gun toward Jennifer again. "But why go through all that hassle when I can simply kill her right now?"

"No!!" Jennifer and I scream at the same time.

A gunshot rings out.

The bullet slams into the concrete floor, a foot away from Jennifer.

Radwansky laughs. "Aww… you two are just so cute," he mocks.

The door behind him creaks open, and a massive man enters, whispering something into Radwansky's ear. His expression turns sour.

"I'll give you two a few minutes to say goodbye," he says coldly. "The next time I walk through that door, you"—he turns to Jennifer—"will be dead."**

With that, Radwansky and his enforcer leave. Only one guard remains, standing watch.

I've been trying to break the cuffs since I regained consciousness, but it's useless. There's only one way out.

I must dislocate my thumb and break my trapezium carpal bone to slip free.

"Scott…" Jennifer calls softly.

"Yeah…" I reply between short breaths, secretly positioning my left thumb in my right fingers.

"I… I know this isn't the right time, but I just—"

"Aaaaargh!!" I scream in pain, masking the pop of my bone snapping. My cries turn into gasps and choking sounds.

"Guard… help me…" I rasp. "I… I can't breathe… help…" My head slumps forward as I pretend to pass out.

Jennifer panics. "Scott! No!! Don't die! Scott!! Help him, please!! Help him!!"

The guard's footsteps approach fast.

I hold my breath.

A hand presses against my body, trying to lift me upright. Fingers hover near my nose, checking for breath.

I move.

With all my remaining strength, I slam my freed fist into the guard's face. A sickening crunch. I seize his throat, twisting him around, trapping him against me.

With one powerful yank, I use the still-attached handcuff on my right wrist to strangle him into unconsciousness.

Once he's out cold, I shove his body away and stumble to my feet. My legs nearly buckle, but I reach for the key and gun from his belt.

"Scott! Thank God… I thought you were dead!" Jennifer's frantic voice rings in my ears.

I place the gun near her thigh, struggling to unlock her cuffs with only one working thumb.

"Hold it right there!!" Radwansky's voice freezes me in place.

"How the hell…?!" His eyes land on the unconscious guard. "Useless!!" he growls, then fires a bullet straight into the guard's head.

"Hands up!!" he orders.

I secretly slip the key into Jennifer's palm before raising my hands.

"Get up!!"

I obey.

Another bodyguard slams his foot into my wound, sending me crashing down, coughing violently.

"Cuff him there," Radwansky commands.

The guard drags me across the floor to the other side of the wall. He fastens one end of the cuffs around my wrist and latches the other end to a horizontal pipe running across the wall.

He tries to secure my legs as well, but there's nothing to attach them to. Instead, he kicks my shinbone—hard.

A sharp crack fills the room, blinding pain shoots up my leg, and Jennifer's scream echoes in my ears.

"Wow, Missy. I can't believe you still care about him when you're about to die," Radwansky sneers.

"Please… let him go," Jennifer sobs. "He has nothing to do with this."

Radwansky's face darkens. "Nothing to do with this?!" he barks. "He turned a simple mission into a complete mess!"

I chuckle, ignoring the pain. "That's just because you're incompetent."

A hard slap lands against the side of my head, sending a high-pitched ringing through my skull.

"You still have the energy to mock me?" Radwansky's voice drops into a cold, dangerous tone. The amusement in his eyes is gone, replaced with something much darker.

Something happened while he was out.

Something set him off.

"Alright. No more games!" he snaps, pointing his gun at Jennifer.

"I… I haven't said good—"

"I DON'T CARE!!" he cuts her off, his voice exploding in fury.

I force a breath, gathering my strength. "I regret putting too much expectation in you."

His eyes narrow. "What do you mean?"

"I thought you were an equal opponent," I say, forcing a smirk. "Your previous moves were meticulous. I actually thought you were better than this. But here you are, playing it low."

His guard punches me in the stomach— right at my wound.

Blood fills my lungs.

I cough hard, trying to clear my airway.

"Killing a woman wasn't low enough for you?" I manage to rasp. "You had to tie her up, make sure she's completely defenseless—"

"I DON'T CARE!!!" Radwansky snaps.

His gun swings toward me, and I see his finger tighten around the trigger.

I was waiting for this.

At the last second, I grab the bodyguard beside me and yank him forward—just as Radwansky fires.

A deafening gunshot.

Jennifer screams.

The guard collapses against me, dead before he even knows what happened. The bullet pierced straight through his heart.

I shove the lifeless body aside as Radwansky curses.

Instead of shooting at me again, he whips his gun toward Jennifer.

"NO!!!"

Adrenaline surges through me.

With everything I have left, I snap my cuffed wrist forward, gripping the pipe with both hands—and I break it.

The metal gives way with a jolt.

I don't think.

I don't hesitate.

I push off the ground, forcing my broken leg to move.

Jennifer's face goes white as Radwansky pulls the trigger.

I launch myself in front of her, shielding her completely with my body.

A burning explosion of pain erupts in my back.

The bullet tears through me, ripping into muscle and bone.

Every nerve in my body screams.

My limbs feel heavy. My breaths shallow.

But I see it.

The gun.

She hid it under her thigh.

I reach down, slipping my fingers between her thigh and the cold concrete floor.

She feels it.

Lets me take it.

Unlock. Turn. Aim.

I don't hesitate.

I pull the trigger.

Then again.

And again.

And again.

I keep firing until there's nothing left in the chamber.

Radwansky's body jerks with every shot.

The last thing I see is him collapsing.

Hopefully dead.

Because if not, I don't have anything left to fight with.

The gun slips from my fingers.

I barely have the strength to inhale.

"Scott… Scott…"

Jennifer's voice feels far away.

I turn my head, forcing myself to look at her.

I try to smile.

"You okay?"

Jennifer presses her forehead to my cheek.

I can't feel it.

"Scott, hang in there!" she pleads, her voice shaking.

I know I should stay awake.

But I'm so… so tired.

The pain is fading.

It's… peaceful.

"I love you," I whisper.

Then…

Everything goes dark.

"NO!! Scott!! Wake up!! SCOTT!! Wake up!! NO!!! NO!!!!"

Jennifer's screams are the last thing I hear as I slip into the silence.