Her Rebirth.

It was another quiet morning in the Song family mansion or at least it seemed so on the surface.

Kai had been dragged away on business, something about a newly arrived shipment from the Hei Long gang that needed inspection. He wasn’t pleased, of course. His arms had been wrapped around Amelia when Song Yue casually walked in and said, "Kai, there’s something that needs your attention at the warehouse."

Kai had muttered something under his breath, clearly reluctant to leave, but Amelia had cupped his face and pressed a kiss to his lips. "Go," she whispered, "I’ll be fine."

With one last look and a reluctant sigh, he left.

Amelia found herself once again seated in Song Yue’s study with him, the familiar Go board between them. The old man’s eyes scanned the board before placing a stone with a soft tap.

"You know," he began, "when they were little, Song An and Ren used to play this game all the time. Though, admittedly, Song An always won."

Amelia smiled faintly, adjusting her sleeve. "She must have been quite clever."

"Oh, she was," Song Yue chuckled. "Smart as a whip. Ren used to sulk every time he lost. One time, he overturned the entire board and stormed off crying. Song An? She just sat there laughing and started building little towers with the pieces."

He paused, eyes distant, as if watching the scene play over again.

"She used to sit right where you are now," he said softly. "And every time I beat her, she’d say, ’One day, Papa, I’ll beat you without mercy.’"

Amelia tilted her head. "Did she ever?"

Song Yue smiled. "No. She didn’t."

There was silence between them for a while. Then, as if recalling something important, he rose from his seat and walked toward one of the tall bookshelves that lined the room. He slid his right hand inside a hidden compartment and pulled out a small lacquered box. He opened it to reveal a delicate necklace. It was golden, with a jade pendant in the shape of a peony, beautifully crafted and obviously old.

"This," he said quietly, "I was supposed to give this to her, but I never got the chance. I held onto it, thinking maybe one day..." His voice trailed off before he looked at Amelia. "I want you to have it."

Amelia looked down at the necklace, touched by the gesture, and traced it with her finger. "It’s beautiful..."

She picked it up and wore it, a smile forming on her lips.

Before she could say more, they both heard a loud cry—

"Master!" a voice shouted from the hall. "Master—Song Ren has—!"

BANG.

Meanwhile—

In a warehouse on the outskirts of the city, Kai stood in front of long racks of firearms, everything from handguns to military-grade rifles. He inspected them carefully while one of his men stood beside him, noting down serial numbers.

"These came in clean," the quartermaster was saying. "No flags. Hei Long’s been more efficient lately."

Kai barely nodded, running his fingers along a matte-black sniper rifle. "Still need to run a few tests. The last batch had trigger sensitivity issues—"

The door slammed open and men in black tactical gear stormed in with guns in their hands.

"Get down!" one of them, who seemed to be the leader, shouted.

Kai didn’t flinch. His eyes narrowed, and his expression was calm and cold. "Tch. And here I thought today would be boring. Seems my dear uncle is tired of laying low, isn’t he?"

...

Amelia froze and fear rippled through her spine. Fresh, bright blood splattered across the floor as one of the guards fell at the threshold, dead.

Song Yue reacted instantly. He pulled open a drawer from the cabinet and took out a gun an old but well-kept pistol and cocked it.

"You need to run," he said quickly. "Behind the left bookshelf, there’s a tunnel that leads out of the estate. Find Kai."

"But—"

"No arguments, girl," he snapped. "Unless you want both of us to die here."

Amelia took a deep breath, burying her instincts screaming at her to help, screaming at her not to be selfish, and she obeyed. She turned and rushed toward the tall shelf Song Yue had mentioned, throwing aside books until her hand found the hidden latch. A panel clicked, revealing the entrance to the underground tunnel.

Just as she stepped toward it—

The door slammed open.

"Don’t move," came the cold voice behind her.

She froze.

Song Ren stood there, his gun raised, and his eyes burning with hatred.

"You take one more step, and I’ll shoot him," he said, pointing the gun toward Song Yue, who now stood just behind Amelia, holding a black shotgun of his own.

"Ren," Song Yue said, his voice low and dangerous. "Between you and I, do you truly believe you would press the trigger first?"

Song Ren chuckled.

"You still underestimate me... Father, you still think I am incompetent and I lack skill, that I am not comparable to your daughter, Song An."

"Yes, you are incompetent," Song Yue replied. "Not because Song An was better than you, but because you refused to learn from your mistakes, always thinking you are right and refusing to listen to instructions. When I gave you the chance to run the Song family, you almost ran this family bankrupt, spending money on unnecessary things, not thinking over contracts negotiated. You are smart, but you only know how to use it to plot against others; you don’t put it to good use. So how can you blame me for your own flaws?"

These words, rather than get through to Song Ren, made him flare beyond reason. His voice trembled with rage.

"You say it’s my fault, but you’ve been unfair from the beginning, always paying special attention to her, always praising her. You gave her everything. Even now, you give her son what ought to be mine!"

Bang.

Song Yue had aimed just close to Song Ren’s foot, not hitting him, just to get him distracted. In that moment of distraction, Song Yue pushed Amelia into the tunnel and quickly slammed the latch, closing the tunnel door.

Amelia fell on the concrete floor, her arms bruised, with the only words she heard before the tunnel fully closed—

"Run."