chapter 1

Katherine had never believed in happy endings.

Not when her earliest memory was a smoke-choked room and a gunshot.

Not when she learned to stitch her own wounds at nine.

Not when she learned how to smile at monsters so they’d let her live another day.

The underground syndicate she grew up in had a simple rule: you either become a weapon… or you become a corpse. She chose to become a weapon. Years passed. She learned to fight, shoot, and kill. Then one night—bruised, bloodied, and sick of surviving instead of living—she escaped. And never looked back.

She built something legitimate, something powerful in corporations, investments, influence.

People called her undefeated.

Untouchable.

UnbreakablOne

One night, after a 16-hour workday, Katherine sat alone in her penthouse with nothing but silence and a book—the novel that had kept her awake for three nights in a row.

A story about a ruthless billionaire named Daniel Ford.

A boy who had clawed his way out of hell.

Alone.

Unwanted.

Unloved.

Just like her.

She traced her finger over the page where Daniel whispered to Sophia, “Tell me I matter to you.”

Her chest tightened.

Sophia never meant it.

Daniel died believing he wasn’t loved by the one person he trusted.

Katherine closed the book, whispering into the quiet room,

“He deserved better.”

After some time she fell asleep.

Katherine wasn’t sure how long she drifted in and out of consciousness.

There were moments—brief flashes—where she felt arms around her, the faint scent of clean cologne, the softness of a voice trying to reassure her. But exhaustion pulled her back under each time.

A few minutes earlier—

James Walker slammed the brakes the moment he saw a figure lying on the side of the empty road.

“What the—” His heart jumped into his throat.

He rushed out of the car, sprinting toward the unmoving woman. The streetlights cast a pale glow over her face—delicate features, soft lashes resting on her cheeks, clothes slightly dusty from the fall.

She looked like she had simply… collapsed.

James knelt beside her, panic tightening his chest.

“Miss? Can you hear me?” he asked, gently shaking her shoulder.

No response.

He checked her pulse—steady but faint. Relief washed over him. “Okay. You’re alive. Thank God.”

He looked around—no witnesses, no car nearby, no sign of an accident.

Just a girl who had seemingly fallen asleep on the road.

“Who leaves someone like this?” he muttered under his breath, anger flashing across his usually gentle eyes.

Carefully, he slid one arm beneath her knees and the other around her back, lifting her with surprising ease. Her head fell softly against his chest, her breathing warm against his shirt.

“Don’t worry,” he whispered, “I’ll get you help.”

But instead of driving her to a hospital—where media and reporters could swarm after recognizing James Walker—he drove straight to his private mansion.

His home.

The safest place he knew.

He carried her inside, ignoring the startled look from his housekeeper.

“Prepare the guest room,” he ordered. “And call the family doctor. Immediately.”

“Yes, young master.”

He laid her gently on the bed, adjusting the blanket over her.

Up close, she looked even more mysterious.

No ID.

No bag.

No phone.

Just a woman who appeared from thin air. James sat on the edge of the bed, studying her peaceful face. “Who are you…?” he whispered.

By the time the family doctor arrived, Katherine was still deeply asleep—still trapped between two worlds. Her breathing was steady, pulse normal. Nothing physically wrong.

“She’s extremely exhausted,” the doctor said. “Almost like her body and mind shut down from stress or lack of sleep.”

James frowned. Exhausted enough to collapse on a road? He glanced at her again, worry tugging at him.

“Take care of her,” he told the staff. “Stay outside her room. Call me if she wakes up.” He left, but not before looking at her one last time.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***