Betrayed by My Bodyguard

I had a top-tier bodyguard, Liam Stone, for ten years. He turned against me with a blade, all for the housekeepers daughter.

Without a second thought for our history, I ordered his tendons severed, crippling him and exiling him from New York.

The comments section nearly exploded:

Seraphina Shaw is too cruel! Liam protected her for ten years, and the one time he didn't choose her, she destroys him?

Her love is terrifying. If she can't have it, she'll ruin it. What's wrong with Liam saving his beloved?

Liam, run! This wicked woman doesn't deserve your loyalty. Go to Chloe Davis; she's your salvation!

Me, cruel?

A traitor who backstabbed his master for an outsider, I thought the punishment was too light.

I scoffed, publicly tearing up his lifelong employment contract, and had all his belongings burned.

Then, I headed to the underground fight club and picked out the craziest, most ruthless psycho I could find.

A month later, Liam heard the news and rushed over, fighting his way past all the bodyguards at the entrance.

He knelt on the ground, bloodshot eyes fixed on me, clutching the hem of my dress: "Seraphina, what does that tattooed freak have that I don't?"

A knife pressed against my throat, the blade resting on my carotid artery. One millimeter closer, and I'd be bleeding out on the spot.

"Seraphina, Chloe didn't mean it. She just accidentally entered your study. She had no idea those were top-secret Shaw family files!"

Liam's eyes were bloodshot as he fiercely shielded the trembling woman behind him, looking at me with utter heartbreak.

"Why do you have to be so aggressive? Are you only satisfied if you chop off one of her hands?"

Chloe Davis, hiding behind him, was sobbing uncontrollably, clutching his clothes tightly: "Liam, don't talk back to Seraphina for me. It's all my fault. I'll give Seraphina my hand..."

"Chloe, don't be afraid. I'm here. No one can touch you today." Liam's voice was laced with an almost sickening sweetness. But when he turned to me, his gaze instantly turned cold.

"Seraphina, you're too cold-blooded. Even if she made a mistake, just kick her out. Why resort to such cruel methods?"

I lowered my gaze, looking at the blade against my neck, and suddenly found it amusing.

Ten years of investment, only to raise an ungrateful dog that bites its owner.

"Liam." I didn't even lift an eyelid, my voice calm: "Did I ever teach you, as the head bodyguard of the Shaw family, what happens when you point a knife at me?"

Liam froze for a moment, a flicker of struggle in his eyes. But feeling Chloe's trembling behind him, he tightened his grip on the hilt again.

"Seraphina, you gave me this life. I'll give it back to you if I must. But today, I have to take Chloe with me."

He lifted his chin, an air of righteous defiance about him.

He thought I'd compromise, as I had in the past, out of consideration for our ten years together.

Unfortunately, he miscalculated.

I was silent for a long time, then let out a sneer.

"Fine."

I took a step back, avoiding the blade, then raised my hand and casually snapped my fingers.

Almost instantly, sixteen dark figures emerged like shadows from the corners of the grand hall, surrounding Liam and Chloe.

This was the Shaw family's elite bodyguard unit, every single one of them Liam's former subordinate.

Liam's face changed drastically; he finally realized something was wrong: "Seraphina, you"

"Since you want to be her knight in shining armor, then return everything the Shaw family gave you."

I stared at him coldly, as if looking at an inanimate object. "Do it. Sever his hand and foot tendons. Cripple him."

The comments section was frantically scrolling, nearly exploding:

Seraphina Shaw is too cruel! Liam protected her for ten years, and the one time he didn't choose her, she destroys him?

Her love is terrifying. If she can't have it, she'll ruin it. What's wrong with Liam saving his beloved?

Liam, run! This wicked woman doesn't deserve your loyalty. Go to Chloe Davis; she's your salvation!

"Seraphina! You're crazy!" Liam roared in disbelief.

But he had no room to resist.

To protect Chloe Davis, he was restrained, and in less than three rounds, two bodyguards had him pinned to the ground.

"Ah!"

Accompanied by Chloe's shrill scream, the muffled sound of a blade tearing through flesh rang out.

Liam let out an extremely suppressed cry of agony, curling up on the ground in pain, his limbs twitching weakly.

The comments section went absolutely wild:

How is this any different from treating the male lead like a dog?! This is literally abuse!

Liam is so tragic. He sacrificed everything for love, Seraphina Shaw, you'll regret this!

Regret?

I coldly watched Liam's face, pale as paper and slick with cold sweat.

The butler, quick on the uptake, handed me a document.

It was Liam's lifelong employment contract, representing the highest position within the Shaw family, second only to me.

I tore the contract to shreds in front of him, along with his expensive clothes and custom weapons from his room, ordering them all thrown into the outdoor fire pit.

Flames shot into the sky, illuminating Liam's desperate and humiliated face.

"Throw him, and the woman behind him, out of the Shaw estate like trash."

I picked up a damp towel nearby and slowly wiped the side of my neck where his knife had rested.

"Get out of New York. Don't defile my territory again."

After Liam was thrown out, all the servants and bodyguards dared not speak, even breathing cautiously.

No one had expected that Liam, whom Seraphina had favored for ten years, almost universally assumed to become half the master of the Shaw family, would be crippled and discarded like this.

The butler, bracing himself, came forward to ask for instructions: "Seraphina, the head of the bodyguard unit is vacant. Would you like to promote someone from the deputies, or..."

"Prepare the car." I cut him off, tossing the used towel into the tray. "To the city's underbelly."

The butler was startled: "You want to pick someone yourself?"

There could be no vacancy by my side.

What's more, I didn't like using secondhand goods. The head bodyguard had to be someone I personally selected, an absolutely loyal dog.

New York's underground fight club reeked of blood, cheap tobacco, and sickening sweat.

This was the city's most chaotic, darkest, lawless zone.

The club owner, terrified by my presence, scrambled out to greet me, fawningly presenting a roster, recommending a large number of so-called top fighters and retired mercenaries.

I coldly watched the people in the iron cages, fighting to a bloody pulp for a few thousand dollars, flipping through more than a dozen pages of the roster without finding anyone suitable.

Too weak.

None of them were what I wanted.

Feeling annoyed, I stood up to leave.

Just as I was about to step out of the private box, a bone-cracking sound, so grating it made my teeth ache, suddenly echoed from the octagonal iron cage below. This was followed by a deafening collective gasp from the entire crowd.

I turned my head, my gaze falling.

Inside the iron cage, a blood-soaked man was like a wild beast, fiercely biting his opponent's throat.

His opponent was a behemoth weighing over two hundred pounds more than him, yet he was locked onto the ground in an incredibly twisted, utterly reckless posture, eyes rolling back, on the verge of asphyxiation.

The man's upper body was bare, his pale skin covered in dense, writhing black thorn tattoos.

They extended all the way up his neck, exuding an extreme wickedness and savagery.

"Seraphina, don't look at him," the owner quickly explained, wiping sweat from his forehead.

"That's just an untamed madman. He doesn't even have a name, just the codename 'Wild Dog.' He bites everyone, doesn't obey orders at all. He bit a handler to death just last week"

The owner was still rambling, but I raised my wrist, cutting him off.

I walked to the edge of the iron cage, observing him.

Just then, the bloodthirsty madman seemed to sense something.

Under the blinding spotlight, I met a pair of dark, ruthless eyes, filled with an intense, almost obsessive focus.

He saw me.

In just one second of eye contact, the wild rage in his eyes miraculously subsided.

To the incredible astonishment of the entire audience, he crawled to the edge of the wire mesh, kneeling humbly on the ground before my high heels.

His chest heaved violently, guttural gasps escaping his throat.

The comments immediately streamed across the screen:

What the hell? This guy is so disgusting and scary, covered in tattoos like a freak!

Seraphina Shaw isn't going to fall for this monster, is she? Liam might have betrayed her, but at least he's a cold, handsome guy!

I ignored the taunting comments, slowly crouching down on the other side of the wire mesh.

"Take me with you." His voice was hoarse. "My name is Ryder Blackwood. Take me with you, and my life is yours."

I raised an eyebrow, looking at those wild, untamed eyes brimming with fervent devotion.

"Willing to be my dog?"

He nodded frantically, his pupils burning, his breath trembling.

I stood up, looking at the stunned owner, and said calmly:

"Deal. He's the one."

After Ryder was brought back to the Shaw estate, he exhibited a terrifying vitality and absolute obedience.

I gave him the best medical resources.

On the day of his bone-setting surgery, the doctors had prepared general anesthesia, but he gripped the edge of the operating table, stubbornly refusing any anesthetic injections.

"Why aren't you using it?" I asked coldly through the intercom from outside the sterile room.

He was drenched in cold sweat, the veins on his neck bulging from the intense pain, but his dark eyes stubbornly gazed at me through the glass:

"With the medicine, my mind would be dull. I can't... I can't lose consciousness in front of Seraphina."

He was afraid I'd abandon him while he was unconscious.

I said nothing, just quietly watched him endure three grueling hours of bone-setting and suturing.

Throughout, he bit through his lip, but didn't utter a single cry of pain, his gaze never leaving me for a second.

Less than a week after his injuries healed, I threw him into the Shaw family's bodyguard training camp.

Liam had grown up in the Shaw family, trained systematically, and it took him three full years to pass the ultimate bodyguard leader assessment.

Ryder, however, took only half a month.

He was like a tireless, pain-immune killing machine, madly absorbing every skill for killing and self-preservation.

Combat, firearms, counter-surveillance, extreme off-roading He grappled in mud and blood.

Every time he fell, just hearing my name would inject him with a fervent adrenaline, making him shakily stand up again and pin his opponent fiercely to the ground.

The comments section was full of mockery and disdain:

This isn't a person at all, it's a soulless monster, isn't it?

He's covered in disgusting tattoos and scars. How can he compare to our aloof and noble Liam? Seraphina Shaw is truly blind.

A wild dog is just a wild dog, never fit for polite society. Just wait until Liam recovers; he'll teach him a lesson!

Watch out, this mad dog will eventually turn on its master. Seraphina Shaw is playing with fire.

I looked at these idiotic comments and took a sip of the black coffee on my desk.

Aloof and noble? In an arena of death, nobility is the most useless thing.

What I needed was an absolutely sharp, unwavering blade, not a bleeding-heart do-gooder.

A month later, at New York's annual elite charity gala.

I turned down invitations from other escorts and made a high-profile appearance with a transformed Ryder Blackwood.

As soon as we entered the ballroom, the previously bustling venue fell silent for a moment.

"Is that the Shaw family's new bodyguard? His presence is terrifying"

"I heard that the previous one, Liam, was crippled and kicked out. I thought Seraphina would be heartbroken for a while, but I didn't expect her to replace him so quickly."

"This new guy looks much more ruthless than Liam. Truly Seraphina Shaw's style"

I picked up a glass of champagne, effortlessly handling the guests who came to make polite conversation.

Just then, my peripheral vision caught a commotion in the corner of the hall.

I turned my head and met a pair of shocked and humiliated eyes.

Liam Stone was wearing a cheap, ill-fitting suit, like a dutiful security guard, shielding Chloe Davis from the pushing crowd beside him.

The moment our eyes met, Liams face went white.

His gaze was fixed on Ryder Blackwood beside me, watching Ryder stand openly in the spot that had once belonged exclusively to him.

The immense sense of loss and humiliation made Liam's body tremble uncontrollably.

Chloe Davis also saw me.

Her eyes darted around, and she deliberately pulled Liam, limping over to us.

"Seraphina" Chloe began timidly.

"I know you hate me. You threw Liam out of New York; we've been struggling so much."

"We only came here today to beg for a job opportunity. Please, have mercy, don't let anyone blacklist us anymore"

She was feigning helplessness and lying, trying to portray me to the crowd as a bully who ruthlessly persecuted them, while they were star-crossed lovers.

Indeed, some strange looks came from the crowd.

Liam, seeing Chloe cry, instinctively shielded her behind him: "Seraphina, if you have a problem, come at me. Don't make it difficult for"

Before he could finish, things took a sudden turn.

Ryder Blackwood, who had been silently standing by my side, suddenly took a menacing step forward.

He moved with lightning speed; people barely registered his actions, only hearing a loud *bang*!

Ryder's single hand was clamped tightly around Liam's neck, slamming his entire body violently against the marble wall.

The immense impact made Liam groan in pain. He desperately tried to pry Ryder's fingers off, but found the other man's arm as hard as steel, unmoving.

"Ah! Murder! Let go of Liam!" Chloe shrieked.

The entire hall fell silent, everyone stunned by the sudden violence.

Ryder tilted his head slightly, his voice chilling:

"Who are you to dare address Seraphina by her first name?"