Congratulations, You Finally Broke Her

On the day of the first snow, Northbrook was rocked by the worst k********g the city had seen in twenty years. Cindy Shaw, wife of senior diplomatic envoy Jasper Chase, was abducted on her way to a charity gala. The kidnappers had orchestrated every detail far in advance and broadcast the entire ordeal live. Day one. Cindy's left arm was shattered with a steel pipe. They forced her to kneel on the freezing concrete floor. She bit down hard on her lip, stifling every scream—but she could still hear the sickening crunch of her own bones breaking. Jasper watched the live feed, his face cold and impassive as always. Day two. The kidnappers fired ten rounds right next to her ears. Blood poured from Cindy's ears, and the world dissolved into a piercing, high-pitched whine. Jasper pressed his lips into a thin line and still said nothing. Day three. The kidnappers ran out of patience. They hauled Cindy to her feet and slashed through her blood-soaked dress with a knife. "Jasper! Hand over what we want, or everyone gets to watch what we do to your wife!" They were after a top-secret core intelligence file. If it got out, the consequences would be catastrophic. On the massive screen, Jasper's expression remained utterly detached. "Impossible. No document is worth a human life—not even my wife's." Cindy didn't catch the rest of his words, but she read his lips perfectly. "Sacrifice is expected." Four words. Spoken so casually, yet they slammed into her chest like a stone sinking straight to the bottom. Truth be told, Cindy had never been afraid of death. Once the bold, fiery young heiress of the Shaw family, she'd chased after Jasper for five years before becoming his wife. Having stood by his side day in and day out, she understood perfectly what loyalty to country demanded, and what it meant to face life and death without flinching. One of the kidnappers, seething with rage, grabbed Cindy by the hair and yanked her head back. "So your wife's not afraid to die, huh? Fine. I'll make her wish she were dead!" The blade dragged across her collarbone. A filthy hand started unbuttoning her dress, and the man sneered as he spoke. "Ms. Shaw, any last words for your husband? Go on—beg him to save you." Cindy lifted her gaze and stared straight at Jasper on the screen. His back was still ramrod straight. Not a single crease furrowed his brow. It was like the battered, blood-soaked woman in front of the camera had nothing to do with him at all. "Jasper. If I die here today—" She paused, her voice rough and raw. "Will you regret using me as bait so Jenna wouldn't have to go?" Jasper's pupils constricted. His fists clenched in an instant. The kidnapper froze too. His hand stopped mid-motion, and he thrust the knife up sharply. "What did you just say? Who the hell is Jenna?" At that exact moment, the iron gate of the abandoned factory blew open. S.W.A.T. officers flooded in from every direction. The kidnappers fought back in a frenzy, cursing and scrambling to kill Cindy. In the chaos, a bullet tore straight through her left shoulder. Cindy screamed. The force of the impact slammed her hard onto the ground. The last thing she saw was Jasper finally bolting up from his seat in front of the screen. Then the darkness swallowed her whole. ***** Cindy's mind drifted back to that quiet afternoon. She had walked up to the study door, a cup of coffee in her hand. "The Gray Foxes are ruthless. Are you seriously sending Cindy in as bait instead of Jenna?" It was Cole Cain, Jasper's second-in-command. "She's a pampered, sheltered heiress with zero self-defense training. This is way too dangerous for her." Cindy's hand froze on the doorknob. She stood outside the door, her entire body rigid. Jasper's voice was as calm and detached as ever. "Jenna's emotionally unstable right now. She begged me for three days straight, crying nonstop, saying she's terrified—she has deep trauma around k********g cases. Sending her on this op in that state will only compromise the whole mission." "She's still a trained officer! This is nothing short of desertion!" Cole's anger was rising. Jasper cut him off. "We'll address that later. Cindy is my wife. The public believes she's the person I value most. The Gray Foxes want revenge on me—targeting her is the logical move." Cole went quiet for a long moment. "Jasper, you've been married to Cindy for five years. Even after everything that happened back then... do you feel nothing for her at all?" Outside the study, a bitter cold crept up from the soles of Cindy's feet. She held her breath. Her hands wouldn't stop shaking. Then she heard her husband's calm voice once more. "I feel nothing. I only married her because her father took a bullet meant for me and forced a promise out of me on his deathbed." "If something happens to her this time, then she will have simply fulfilled her duty as my wife."