"Step on it! We need more speed!"

Evelyn Mitchell urged her crew to push the yacht harder.

She had just bolted from her own wedding, and being hauled back before the champagne even went flat was not an option.

"Boss, there's someone in the water!"

One of her sharp-eyed crewmen shouted, eyes sweeping the dark sea around them.

Evelyn squinted into the distance. Under the yacht's glare, she spotted a figure drifting—strapped with a waterproof bomb, its red light blinking ominously.

"That bomb... that's one of mine. Devil Series."

Her eyes narrowed in shock. "Get in range, now! Haul him up—now!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

They moved fast, dragging the man aboard.

Evelyn didn't waste a second. Her fingers moved with surgical precision as she disarmed the bomb. When it clicked silent, she leaned back with a smirk.

"Lucky you ran into me, kid. Anyone else, and you'd be chum by now."

"B-Boss… he's coming to…"

One of her crew muttered, eyes wide with disbelief.

Evelyn turned, grabbed a flashlight, and shone it straight into the man's face.

"Well, would you look at that… total heartthrob." She grinned. "Real shame if he'd gone kaboom."

"Who are you?"

His voice was hoarse, but deadly steady. Black eyes locked onto hers like twin blades of ice.

That glare made Evelyn hesitate—just for a heartbeat. Then she grabbed his chin, tilting his head up, her voice dripping with threat.

"Hey, kid. I just saved your ass. Glare at me again, and I'll toss you right back in—let the sharks finish what the bomb couldn't."

"You—" He blinked, stunned by her nerve.

"What? Cat got your tongue?" she smirked. "I'm the only person alive who can disarm a Devil Series bomb without leaving a trace. You know how much someone's gotta hate you to strap one of those to your chest? Bet they figured no one would even try. But hey—lucky you."

"Boss—wait! He's infected. There's a CipherWorm in him!"

"What the hell? Who the hell did you piss off?"

She jerked back and tore open his collar. Lines of glowing red and blue code slithered across his skin—deep-rooted, and built for pain.

This wasn't just cruel—it was sadistic. Her body stiffened.

Anyone else would be screaming in seconds. But this guy? Pale as death, drenched in sweat—and those eyes? Still razor sharp.

"Get me my laptop. Now."

"On it!"

CipherWorms weren't your average malware. You needed top-tier hacking skills just to scratch the surface—and if you weren't elite, the first decrypt cycle would fry your system—or your brain.

He lay on the deck, sweat streaming down his chiseled face—yet his eyes never left hers.

He couldn't help thinking—he was damn lucky to be alive after all that.

But… who the hell was she? Not only had she disarmed a Devil Series bomb—now she was cracking a CipherWorm like it was just another Tuesday.

Evelyn broke the final layer of code. With delicate, practiced fingers, she eased the chip from the man's chest. Her voice dropped, calm but firm. "Hold on. This might sting."

He didn't make a sound, but the cords standing out on his neck said enough. The pain was brutal.

Evelyn arched a brow, impressed. She took the handkerchief offered by one of her crew and wiped her hands with an air of nonchalance. Flashing a crooked grin, she said, "You've got guts. Lucky for you,kid, you ran into me."

"Who are you?" he rasped, his voice rough with strain.

"I'm the one who just saved your life."

She rose to her feet, lips curling into a sly smirk as she glanced at her team. "Anyone I pull back from the edge doesn't get to die on my watch. Get him out of here. Safe."

"On it," someone replied.

Just then, a crew member came sprinting from the stern. "Boss—we've got a situation. Your sister's caught up to us!."

Evelyn's brow knit for the briefest moment, then she turned on her heel and strode toward the stern of the yacht without a word.

The man's eyes followed her until her white silhouette disappeared from view. Only then did his body finally give out, collapsing under the weight of pain and adrenaline.

And just before everything went black, one wild, inexplicable thought surged through his mind:

She's meant to be mine.

Evelyn stood at the stern of the yacht, arms crossed over her chest. A fleet of yachts was closing in fast. Above them, three helicopters hovered like hawks.

She let out a long sigh and muttered, "Is running from a wedding really that serious?"

"Boss, you ditched a prince at the altar," one of her crew pointed out.

Evelyn scrunched up her nose. Childhood friends turned into a forced engagement? No thanks. She'd rather run now than regret it for the rest of her life.

In the end, she had no choice. She climbed into the waiting chopper.

But halfway through the flight, Evelyn felt something was wrong. This route wasn't heading back to the chapel. It was cutting straight through the most dangerous part of the Shark Sea.

"Hey, sis," she said, trying to sound casual. "Where exactly are we going?"

Sophia Mitchell swirled the wine in her glass, her lips curling into a crooked smile. "Thanks for running off, Eve. Really opened the door for me."

"…What?"

Evelyn's eyes flicked toward the cabin door—movement. A dozen men in black suits spilled out, armed and ready. Her muscles tensed. Slowly, she stood, her gaze locked on Sophia.

"Hand over the Family Token, Evelyn," Sophia said, voice calm and cold. "And I'll make sure your death is quick."

"The Family Token?" Evelyn barely had time to process. Everything was happening too fast. But her voice snapped into place, sharp and icy. "You're out of your mind."

Sophia let out a low, bitter laugh. "No, you are. You agreed to marry the man who had your mother killed."

Evelyn froze. "What did you just say?"

Sophia's words hit like a bolt of lightning.

"Oh yes, your prince charming—Noah—was terrified your little brother would take your place as heir," she said, swirling her wine. "He pulled me in to help get rid of him. Your mother just walked in at the wrong time. So… she had to go too."

Evelyn's world shattered.

All these years, she believed it was a terrorist attack. A tragic accident. But this?

Her eyes burned red, fury rising like a tidal wave. She stood frozen, fists clenched, the truth crashing down on her. If she could move, she'd tear that smug smile off Sophia's face.

"Sophia Mitchell!" she screamed. "How could you—how could you do this? You're a murderer! I swear, I'll make you pay!"

Evelyn snapped.

Grief, rage, guilt—they all hit at once. How had she not seen it? The person who took her mother and little brother from her… was standing right in front of her.

And now, only one thing mattered.

Revenge.

"Stop her!" someone shouted.

The guards were well-trained, but even they took a moment to hold her down.

Sophia stood above Evelyn, smug and composed, watching her sister pinned to the floor. Slowly, she pressed her heel onto Evelyn's hand. Hard.

Evelyn flinched, pain shooting up her arm. Sophia leaned in, her voice a venomous whisper.

"Why not? Sacrificing family to keep your place—welcome to the world of nobility."

Evelyn trembled from the pain, but her eyes were sharp as glass. "Dad won't let you get away with this, Sophia!"

Sophia laughed—loud, cruel, and full of confidence. "Once I have the Family Token, I'll be the heir. The title changes hands in three years. By then, no one will care about some runaway who abandoned her duty. I'll take your place. It's already done."

"I'm going to kill you!" Evelyn spat.

Sophia stepped off her hand and barked an order, cold as steel. "If she wants to play tough, fine. Strip her. Cut out the chip. It's inside her."

"Yes, ma'am!"

"No—don't! Please!"

Evelyn had never known pain like this. The moment their hands grabbed her, it was like being torn apart. Skin split. Heat and agony flooded her senses. Her body screamed, but no sound came.

Her world blurred, falling to pieces.

She knew it then—this was the end.

But if she lived… if she somehow made it out of this hell…

She'd come back.

For her mother. For her brother.

And for herself.

"Miss, we've got the chip."

Evelyn lay in a pool of her own blood, her body broken, barely recognizable. Her eyes—red, tear-filled, half-open—stared blankly at the world. She was hanging on by a thread.

Sophia stepped on her cheek—the only part left untouched by the knife—and held up the blood-soaked chip like a trophy.

"Who would've guessed? The great Family Token… just a chip," she said with a smirk. "And you hid it right next to your heart. That must've hurt. You could've saved yourself all this—you just had to hand it over."

Evelyn's lips moved, barely forming words. "S-Sophia… M-Mitchell… I… will… never… forgive… you."

Sophia leaned down, her voice like ice. "Save your breath for the sharks."

She turned, tilted her wine glass over Evelyn's head, and let the red liquid splash over her like a mock blessing. "Throw her in. Make sure the sharks come. Let them feed."

"…Yes, ma'am." Even the guards, hardened by years of violence, hesitated. This was something else.

Evelyn's final breath slipped away just as her limp body hit the water—swallowed by the waves, and the beasts waiting below.