Chapter 2: Utterly Ruthless

Mayor Kyle was on the brink of collapse. "Why? What biblical crime did our city of Los Angeles commit to deserve such a fate?!" Before he could regain his composure, another piece of alarming news came from his subordinates. "Report! Mayor! This is bad! There are hundreds of satellites overhead, all redirected and aimed at us! The life and death of Los Angeles now lie in the hands of the Reaper!" Kyle was now utterly panicked. "What?! Who in our city provoked this living devil?! Find out immediately!" Half an Hour Earlier Joseph waited in the desert for over sixty seconds before his Hell private jet arrived. As he sat on the plane, he clenched his fists, staring silently at the desert below. Though he never promised Lucy anything, in his heart, she was already his only family. He met Lucy the year he turned eighteen. At that time, Joseph was not yet a loner. His family held some standing in the slums of Philadelphia. But one day, while making money for his family, he caught a family member using illegal drugs. Joseph intervened directly. Unexpectedly, these family members retaliated, escalating the situation to a feud between Joseph's family and another gang. Though not entirely law-abiding, his family was no match for the gang. The gang threatened Joseph’s sister, demanding Joseph be handed over. With his family at a loss, Joseph went to the gang alone and rescued his sister. This act deepened his enmity with the gang. To protect his family, Joseph severed all ties and moved to Los Angeles, where he met the beautiful Lucy. Even in Los Angeles, the gang didn’t let him go. Just before Lucy proposed marriage, Joseph left her for her safety. Five years transformed Joseph from a penniless youth with nothing but courage into the Reaper, Son of Hell, with his own assassination organization. Unlike gangs that a country could easily dismantle, his organization could destroy a nation. "Lucy, I’m sorry for what happened back then. I never expected you'd still be in danger because of me after five years..." Gazing out at the desert, Joseph’s guilt grew stronger. "But it doesn’t matter now. I’m no longer the man I was. If you can forgive me, I’ll give you and our daughter a happy, safe home once I rescue you." Thinking of his daughter he had never met, Joseph’s resolve hardened. "As long as you two live, I’ll give you everything you want!" The AI-controlled plane meant no one could track the Reaper’s journey. If anyone saw him now, they’d be stunned—Joseph, known for being unyielding and tearless, was crying. Though not sobbing, his eyes glistened with tears. The iron-hearted Reaper, crying for a woman, was unimaginable. Meanwhile, the mastermind behind all this was in a Los Angeles slum, watching a young girl in a dog cage. The girl, just past her fourth birthday, had clear, innocent eyes, unaware of her surroundings. She had been kidnapped after kindergarten by a group of black men who deprived her of food and water and kept her from her mother. "Why don’t you cry? Don’t you want to see your mom again?" A tall, muscular black man, filming her with his phone, taunted her. She remained silent, staring at them. Tom kicked the cage, almost sending the girl flying. She closed her eyes, curled up in fear. Another black man patted Tom. "Boss, she won't cry. What do we do?" Tom sneered, grabbed a box of moldy cereal, and dumped it on the girl. "Waaah..." She was startled, as bugs wriggled among the cereal. Tom enjoyed her distressed look, nodding in satisfaction. "Eat it. If you don’t, I’ll force it down your throat!" The girl shook her head, knowing it would hurt her stomach. Her mother told her not to eat rotten food. "How dare you defy our boss?" The black man threatened, holding a gun to her head. "If you don’t eat, I’ll bring your mom here. You think I can’t get her too? Once you’re together, I’ll make her eat all the rotten food you refuse!" Hearing this, the girl cried out, "No! Don’t hurt my mom!" Terrified, she agreed, "I’ll eat it. Just don’t hurt my mom!" She began to eat the rotten cereal, gagging on the foul taste but fearing for her mother’s safety. Tom laughed, filming her. "See this, Lucy? Your precious daughter is eating rotten cereal at my feet! This is your fate for defying me!"