Chapter 281
When he was sixteen, Joseph was thrown into the gladiator per and forced to
d to fight w
t wild beasts to the death,
-35 Bonus
The day he walked out of that arena alive, he was no longer just a survivor. He gained his first armed unit. With that, he began working in the shadows for his godfather, handling dirty deals, waging bloody turf wars against rival gangs, killing, Inoting, all while enduring mercenary–style military training.
By the time he turned eighteen, Joseph’s power had grown strong enough to rival the local military in Atlantis
At twenty–four, he killed his godfather with his own hands and took over as the most feared boss in the country.
Someone like him–Inhuman, ruthless–was far beyond what Charlotte could handle
But sometimes, when someone is pushed past their breaking point, when they were consumed by fury and have nothing left to lose, they unlock a terrifying kind of power
That was Charlotte in this very moment.
She lanew she wasn’t walking out of this building alive today.
But rather than let a gang of filthy, perverted men violate her, she chose to fight Joseph to the death.
Alf she was going to die either way, she would go down swinging
It was better to die fighting than to die in share,
She would use her final moments to release everything she had been bottling up–her fear, her rage, and all the hatred she had buried deep inside. All of it, almed squarely at Joseph.
“Well, this is interesting,” Joseph said, his expression shifting from condescending to genuinely surprised. His eyes sharpened with a trace of curiosity.
He had never met a woman Like her.
Any other woman, once untied, would have either waited in shame to be violated or thrown herself off the building to end it all.
He had anticipated one of those two outcomes. But he never imagined she would charge straight at him and tight like hell.
Right now, Charlotte was like a boness gone mad,
ad, bursting n with raw,
reckless strength
Even Joseph’s men were frozen in place, stunned by the sight. Wide–eyed, slack–jawed, they watched the brutal scene unfold.
In all these years, no one had dared to fight their boss head–on like this.
This woman was truly fearless.
They knew their boss wasn’t just some thug. He had clawed his way up from an island hell and survived the gladiator pits. He had been trained like a mercenary, a walking weapon
Even the hardened men who followed him, who lived by the blade, didn’t have the guts to take him on in a bare–knuckle brawl.
Everyone knew the outcome was a foregone conclusion.
And yet, they couldn’t look away. The fight was savage, gripping an all–out spectacle they hadn’t seen in years.
Charlotte lunged at him again, wild and unrelenting, Joseph kicked her hard, sending her sprawling to the ground. But she didn’t stay down. Grabbing a steel rod beside her, she swung it straight at his head with everything she had.
Joseph ducked and yanked the rod toward himself, dragging her forward with it.
Charlotte lost her balance and stumbled toward him, but she let go of the rod just in time, regained her footing, and without hesitation, swung her leg up
aiming right between his legs.
Joseph froze
-trying to kill him or make sure
he never had kids again?
He had never seen anyone fight like this. It was bizarre and oddly impressive.
He opened his mouth, about to say something, but Charlotte suddenly jerked her head up. Their eyes locked.
And in that instant, Joseph was stunned
Her eyes were wild–bloodthirsty, frenzied.
The smirk faded from his face. His careless arrogance disappeared.
Because he recognized that look.
Through Charlotte’s eyes, he saw the ghost of his younger self–the boy who had once fought wild beasts to survive
