AXEL’S POV:
"My name is Devon Lugi," he declared with an edge of vulnerability I hadn’t expected. He fixed his gaze on me as if daring me to question him further. "I served in the Army—part of Blackhawk Shadow, a covert unit trained in assassination and high-risk combat." His tone dropped, reverent and raw. "Before all that, I was just a kid from the slums. My mother was dying of a disease we couldn’t afford to treat. I remember that charity event you held in our broken-down neighborhood—you, dressed so casually, laughing with the kids and comforting the old. When you were about to leave, I ran to you, desperate. Security tried to stop me, but you—God, you stopped them. You scooped me up in your arms and asked why my eyes were red. I told you, 'Mummy is going to die. Please, save her.'"
