Chapter 1Because her husband liked his women submissive, Josephine Quinn buried her identity as the heiress to the biggest crime syndicate in the Mississippi Delta, playing the role of Gavin York's trophy wife for three years.
Three years of marriage, and Gavin started looking down on her, calling her a clinging vine, only to turn around and fall for a female special ops soldier—Sonia Frost.
The first time, Josephine caught Sonia straddling Gavin's lap. They claimed it was just "brotherly bonding".
The second time, during a mission, allegedly to "dodge an undercover agent", they made out in broad daylight for three hours.
The third time was the day of Josephine's parents' funeral.
That day, Josephine traveled alone to the Delta to bring back the ashes of her parents, who had died in an accident.
Her eight uncles—the Council of the Family—held a solemn memorial service.
The eldest uncle handed her father's service pistol and told her that from this moment on, she was no longer just the Mafia Princess—she was the Commander of the entire territory.
Through it all, her husband, Gavin, was nowhere to be seen. And when she questioned him later, he had the nerve to scold her.
"Sonia is tough, Josephine. If she hadn't injured her hand and needed the hospital... You called me 99 times just for a funeral? When are you going to grow up?"
Grow up?
Josephine almost laughed out loud. "You're my husband, you're practically sleeping with your 'buddy' Sonia, and you're telling me to grow up?"
Gavin's face darkened. "Sleeping together? We are innocent! Josephine, keep your dirty thoughts to yourself."
"You're just a housewife. You couldn't possibly understand the bond of brothers in arms that Sonia and I share!"
Brothers in arms?
Thinking of her husband's position as a SWAT captain, Josephine swallowed her anger.
Until today. She walked into the precinct with coffee for the team, only to hear a roar of laughter from inside.
"Gavin, your wife is such a delicate little flower. A total housewife. She's got nothing on Sonia's independence and grit!"
"Better be careful, though. Sonia's proud. If she finds out, she's gonna raise hell."
Josephine's eyes flickered. She froze. Then, she heard Gavin's voice.
"She won't. Sonia is Ivy League, she has a career," the man said with a careless coldness. "As for raising hell? Josephine doesn't even compare. She's just a parasitic flower that can't live without a man."
A parasitic flower?
That single phrase sent a wave of absurdity washing over Josephine. She felt a bitter sense of irony.
Irony that she had been blind to the truth. Irony that she had loved the wrong man.
Irony that Gavin mocked her as useless, never knowing she was a National Valedictorian, a top-tier university grad, and an expert in combat and marksmanship.
Before she took power, she had neutralized more traitors than he had ever met people!
But she had never told him any of this.
She thought love was a harbor where she could take off her armor and just be an ordinary woman.
Now she realized, she hadn't taken off her armor, she had stripped away her dignity.
Taking a deep breath, she turned around and dialed a hidden number in her encrypted contacts.
The call connected instantly. A powerful, gravelly voice came through, "Josh! Is that you? Are you finally ready to come back and take the throne?"
"Uncle..." Josephine's voice was raspy but unnervingly calm. "I'm coming home in three days."
"Fantastic!" The excitement of her eight uncles was palpable. "I knew you wouldn't play 'housewife' with that pretty boy forever. The Family welcomes you home! I'm arranging the private jet right now!"
"Good." Josephine hung up. The last shred of hesitation in her chest vanished.
She packed her bags and went straight to a nightclub owned by the Family, picking out a dozen sleek, handsome escorts to help her shop for new clothes.
For years, her wardrobe had been nothing but aprons and drab colors—gray, black, pale white.
Outfits that toggled between "good girl" and "middle-aged matron", conservative, with absolutely zero edge.
Because that was what Gavin liked—obedient, weak, easy to control. He liked it, so she had happily worn the mask for love.
Until now. The hibernation was over. It was time to shed the costume.
Minutes later, she stepped out in a tailored black suit over a simple V-neck camisole. Her delicate collarbones flashed as she moved, radiating a cold, imposing glamour.
"Miss Quinn, this outfit was made for you!" The escorts wagged their tails, eager for her attention.
Josephine curled her lips in a faint smile and gave a subtle signal. The sharp-eyed boys immediately went to pay the bill.
This was the true face of the heiress. Relaxed, she walked out of the club, just as her phone buzzed.
"Josephine," Gavin's suppressed rage crackled through the speaker, "why aren't you home making dinner yet?"
Josephine was mildly surprised. Gavin... why was he home so early today?
But they did have a score to settle.
She returned home. Before she could even pull out the prepared divorce papers...
Click. The bedroom door opened.
A half-naked woman walked out of their marital bedroom.
Chapter 2
She was dressed similarly to Josephine's new look—sharp, capable, heroic.
She looked at Josephine in surprise. "Josephine, you..."
After a double-take, she pouted in annoyance. "You... why are you copying my style?"
"Copying you?"
Josephine looked at the special ops soldier who had just broken her heart. With lips red as fire, she raised a corner of her mouth in mockery.
Ignoring her completely, she walked straight past.
Gavin finally heard the commotion. His handsome brows furrowed tight as he turned.
Then, he froze.
His gaze locked onto her high ponytail, the sharp cut of her trousers, and the glimpse of her collarbone.
In those eyes, usually so full of self-righteousness, a flash of awe appeared—only to instantly turn into a sneer.
"Sonia was right. What kind of game are you playing now to get my attention?"
"A cheap imitation?"
"This is who I've always been. If anyone's the cheap knockoff, it's her."
Josephine sat on the sofa opposite him, her gaze cold. "Also, without my permission, why did she just walk out of my room?"
Gavin's eyes flickered slightly.
Hearing this, he scoffed. "What, using your petty little mind to judge me and Sonia again?"
"The heating at Sonia's barracks is broken. She's crashing here for a couple of days."
"Why are you still standing there? Go make dinner!"
Without waiting for an answer, he naturally draped a coat over Sonia's shoulders and asked, "I packed your stuff. How many days of leave did the team give you this time?"
Sonia's voice was crisp and bright. "Just a few days. I have to join the Operation Thunder joint exercise soon."
"I heard from the top brass that the Mississippi Family has a new successor. Codename: Falcon."
"Sounds like a tough nut to crack. I don't know what our odds are against her..."
Gavin comforted her. "Figures like Falcon are once-in-a-century. Don't stress yourself out. You're the youngest elite soldier in the country. Unlike Josephine, who can't even lift a grocery bag..."
"Simply..."
Useless.
He didn't finish the sentence, but Josephine knew exactly what he meant.
She couldn't be bothered to look at this pair of "brothers". She tossed the divorce papers at Gavin and turned to leave.
Gavin finally realized she was unusually cold today. Ignoring the papers flying at him, he frowned. "Josephine, where are you going?"
"Out to get divorced."
Gavin froze for a second, then his sneer deepened.
"Everything is fine, what kind of joke is this?"
"Or do you think, Josephine, that changing your clothes gives you a spine? You think you can survive without me?"
"Yeah, Josephine. Even if you copy me, you only copied my clothes, not my core strength."
"That's not something a housewife like you can learn overnight. Besides..."
She draped her arm affectionately around Gavin's neck. "If you're doing this because you suspect something between me and Gavin, that's just pathetic."
"I'm not like you, a woman who relies on men. I went to a top university, I'm trained, and I've always relied on my own two hands!"
Relied on her own two hands?
Josephine looked at their intertwined fingers and let out a cold laugh.
Perhaps because she didn't react, half a minute later, Gavin served the soup himself.
He ladled a huge bowl for Sonia first, blowing on it carefully, terrified his "bro" might get burned.
He even rarely filled a bowl for his wife.
But Josephine didn't take a sip. She quietly watched this man she had been married to for years, who once cared for her deeply.
She smiled. "Gavin, you really are a great 'brother'."
Gavin paused, clearly not expecting her to say that.
Josephine didn't want to beat around the bush anymore. She pushed the divorce agreement forward. "Gavin, we are gett—"
Before she could finish, the entire building suddenly shook with a violent, tooth-aching tremor!
Tables danced wildly, plaster rained down, and screams erupted from outside!
Earthquake!
Chapter 3
Gavin's face went pale!
Forgetting the papers, he instantly grabbed Sonia, who was closest to him, and shielded her tightly in his arms.
But Josephine, just across the square table, was subconsciously ignored.
Three years ago, at this very table, they had toasted friends and family and said their vows.
It had only been three years.
Through the thin table and the settling dust, she locked eyes with him.
Only three years.
"Did you get hurt?"
Only when the tremors stopped did Gavin release Sonia. His first words were not for his wife.
Sonia shook her head, eyes flickering, face pale. "I'm fine, Gavin, what about you..."
"I'm fine too," Gavin interrupted.
Only then, as if suddenly remembering something, did he look at Josephine, who was still standing there.
"Josephine, I didn't mean to ignore you just now. But Sonia is a key member of my team, a model citizen, and you..."
He sighed deeply. "I'm sorry, Josephine. You know your value, so you should understand. I have to prioritize."
Josephine didn't speak. She just gave him a long, hard look.
Then, she turned and swiftly pulled a pre-packed tactical bug-out bag from the closet. Her movements were too practiced for a housewife.
Before Gavin could be surprised, piercing air raid sirens screamed across the city.
Aftershocks continued. Their apartment building hadn't collapsed, but it was structurally compromised.
Gavin's team received emergency mobilization orders.
"I need to report for rescue duty immediately." He quickly changed into his fatigues, saying gravely to Sonia, "Stay close to me later. Safety first!"
"I'm coming too," Josephine finally spoke.
As she spoke, she stood amidst the debris, capable and lazy in her confidence.
Gavin was dazed for a moment seeing her like that.
But snapping back to reality, he looked back at her like he'd heard a joke. "What for? Don't cause trouble. Stay put at the shelter!"
"Why? Can't I go out for some fresh air?" Josephine slowly unbuttoned her collar, her tone yielding nothing.
During an earthquake, staying in a damaged building was the real danger.
Sonia intervened smoothly. "Gavin, let Josephine come. The shelter needs volunteers too."
Once she spoke, Gavin stopped arguing and silently agreed with a cold face.
At the epicenter, everything was blood and screams.
It was Sonia's first time seeing such a bloody disaster scene. Seeing a severed limb, she gagged and nearly vomited.
She leaned heavily into Gavin's chest. "Gavin, I..."
Gavin instinctively held her.
Holding her, he thought of Josephine nearby. "Josephine, Sonia's not doing well. For safety, I can't take care of two people at once."
"Sonia stays. You go home. You're just a housewife, you'd only be in the way..."
Before he finished, Josephine had already charged into the disaster zone.
For three years, she had hidden her edge, a sheathed blade gathering dust for his sake.
Now the sheath was broken. It was time for the blade to shine.
Evacuating civilians, comforting children, clearing bodies, digging people out with her bare hands.
Years in the Mississippi syndicate, after countless turf wars, she had collected the bodies of her people just like this.
Amidst the praise, Sonia watched Josephine in the center of the rescue effort, a trace of jealousy in her eyes.
She approached with a basin of hot water, looking at Josephine's bloody hands with a sneer.
"Josephine, why fake it just to copy me?"
"I told you Gavin and I are bros. Look at you, covered in dirt, digging up corpses. If I were you, I'd be too ashamed to delay the real work here..."
Normally, Josephine would have slapped anyone who provoked her like this.
But now, with lives in her hands, however cold-blooded she was, she had no time to argue.
Sonia, annoyed at being ignored, grew angry.
Her eyes darted around, and without warning, she splashed the basin of scalding water right at Josephine's face!
