The life of the underworld was something Ashley had dreamed of escaping all her life. Born as a bastard from an affair between an underworld kingpin and a prostitute, Ashley was meant to die even before she was born. The only reason she survived was that her father thought she was a boy.

From a young age, she understood that if she wanted to survive in this world of violence—on top of her father’s wife and daughter’s schemes—she had to be useful.

So, she made herself a promise: one day, she would escape this world.

Ashley almost succeeded… until her father found her again and thrust her into a marriage of convenience with his rival, Dominion, in his beloved daughter’s place.

Everyone in the underworld knew Dominion.

They were cruel, organized, and simply spawns of evil. And the man who stood above that power, Luciano, was said to be downright diabolical. Just their name alone could make anyone tremble.

And this organization was where Ashley now had to survive.

To make matters worse, the marriage also came with a child — Luciano’s mute heir.

Forced to become the wife of one of the most violent and powerful underworld organizations, and the mother of its future leader, Ashley made a vow.

“No matter what, I’ll escape this place!”

But she would soon realize it wouldn’t be as simple as that. Not when the feared members of Dominion clung to her feet, begging,

“Madam, don’t go!”

And when the mute stepson finally spoke, “Mommy, if you’re leaving, please take me with you.”

Finally, her diabolical, obsessive, and utterly territorial husband said,

“I’ve packed our things. Where should we go?”

***
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Earlier that day, Ashley had considered ignoring Marshal's invitation to dinner.


Was it out of character for him to reach out to her personally? Of course. He had never done so before.


But as his daughter, Ashley already understood the reason. It might not have been as important as it seemed.


If anything, he probably wanted to gauge whether he still had even the slightest bit of control over her. Or perhaps he simply wanted to remind her where she came from. Remind her of the chains around her. 


So Ashley went home and asked Lucian to have dinner with her.


Afterward, once she had gathered enough courage—and digested enough food—she finally went to face that damned family.


Now, Lucian glanced sideways and found her staring out the passenger-side window.


"You okay?" he asked, returning his eyes to the road as he carefully drove them home.


"I'm okay," she whispered. "I've always been okay."


Silence settled over the car once more.


Chapter 357 - Like An Idiot, Like A Dog