Page 118 of Ruthless Touch

“Who was that?” I whisper.

“No one,” he answers, voice hard. “No one important...”

The memory fades away, returning me to the present where I’m standing on the rooftop with the gun still trained on Unc.

Hot tears have started streaming down my face.

“You,” I choke out. “It was always you. You shot him!”

He gives no reaction either way. As if he’s waited for this moment for decades.

“I raised you on that grief, Elise. Shaped you into exactly what I needed—an assassin with no loyalty to anyone but me.”

My hand shakes. The gun wavers. The rage and bitterness storming inside me scream to pull the trigger.

For me to end this. Make him pay for what he stole from me.

But I can’t move.

I… I can’t do it. I can’t kill my uncle. Even if he killed Dad.

I’ve spent years training to be a ruthless killing machine. The assassin known as Black Silk. Yet now that it’s the moment I’ve prepared for my entire life, I’m fumbling it.

“Look at you,” he sneers. “So damn weak. No wonder you weren’t able to finish off Tae-hwan and the Cheongryong. No wonderIhad to step in and do it myself.”

“So it was you,” I whisper. “You poisoned Tae-hwan.”

“It wasn’t easy. I had to bribe deliverymen and staff to ensure the right bottle of soju made it to his office. You were taking too long, getting distracted by his son. I knew you two were getting close. Once I came to that loft to visit. You had been corrupted by him. So I handled it myself.”

“You knew sooner rather than later Tae-hwan would tell us the truth. He’d explain he was innocent. He didn’t kill Dad.Youdid.”

“They left me no choice,” he says, lowering his hands slightly. “I was always the outsider, and I was sick of it.”

“You mean you were jealous? That sounds more like it.”

“You know what? Yeah, I was, baby girl. It wasn’t fair,” he spits, his features twisting with bitterness. “Your father met Tae-hwan in the military. Jamie was stationed at Osan Air Base. During a joint exercise between American and South Korean forces, he met Tae-hwan. They clicked instantly—both middle-aged married men dissatisfied with their lives. Both hungry for something more than what they had.”

I keep the gun on him, eyes narrowing as I take in what he says.

“When Jamie got injured and was medically retired, he found out Tae-hwan had also ended his military service. But Tae-hwan hadn’t gone home to play house. He’d joined the Cheongryong.” A bitter smile crosses Uncle Jerald’s face. “It inspired your father. He got into black-market weapons dealing and partnered with Tae-hwan. For years, they flourished together. Made untold amounts of cash. They were unstoppable.”

“And my mom,” I say. “Where was she?”

“She hated it. Felt Jamie was getting in too deep, losing himself to the money and the danger. So one morning, she packed a bag and left. Just walked away from both of you.” He shrugs like it’s nothing. “Jamie threw himself even deeper into the business after that. That’s when I joined. I handled the financial side. Kept the books clean.

“But the bond between Jamie and Tae-hwan...” He pauses long enough to shake his head. “They were brothers in every way that mattered. Closer than Jamie and I ever were, despite sharing blood. It ate at me, watching my own brother choose some Korean gangster over his family.”

“So you betrayed them?” I offer weakly.

“I savedmyself,” he corrects. “When the authorities came sniffing around with fraud charges, I saw my opportunity. I copped a plea deal—gave them everything they needed on both Jamie and Tae-hwan. But I made sure the evidence pointed more heavily at Tae-hwan. Made him look like the mastermind.”

My stomach churns. “And Dad figured it out.”

“That’s exactly it. He thought it was Tae-hwan who’d ratted them out. They had a massive confrontation right there in that office. You and little Gun-woo were hiding under the desk, terrified.” Jerald’s eyes gleam as if fond of the memory. “Tae-hwan was furious, denied everything. And then I showed up.

“Tae-hwan took one look at me and knew. He grabbed his son and stormed out. And that’s when your dad understood too. He saw it in my face. He knew I’d betrayed him.”

“So you killed him…”