Jamie didn't make it in time to stop Axel.

So instead, he gently helped Ollie up, worry all over his little face. "Where does it hurt, Ollie?"

"Here... and here..." Ollie whimpered, pointing to his butt and his leg.

Jamie rolled up Ollie's pant leg—and froze.

Holy—

A massive bruise had already formed on Ollie's calf—deep purple and ugly.

Jamie's tiny fists clenched. His blood boiled.

He was going to stop Axel from causing trouble, but now?

Now he was ready to help him.

You think Ollie's got no one backing him up? Think again.

Jamie bent down and kissed the bruise gently. "It's okay, Ollie. Mommy always says if we blow on it, the pain goes away."

Ollie sniffled and nodded. "Mm-hmm..."

Meanwhile, Axel had already chased Kayla out of the station.

Just as she was about to get into her car, he jumped in front of her, fierce and furious in the most adorable way.

"You ugly witch! Who gave you the guts to hurt my baby brother?!"

Ugly? Kayla's perfectly drawn brows twitched as she glared down at the pint-sized menace.

She wanted to slap him into another dimension.

But—Damien was in the car.

She needed to look good in front of him, needed to act like she loved kids.

So she gave Axel a few death glares, then hissed under her breath, "Who are you calling ugly, you little brat?"

"You!" Axel shot back instantly. "You're not just ugly—you're old and mean too! Old, ugly, and mean—you're hopeless!"

Then he pulled out a tiny switchblade from his pocket and started scratching the side of the luxury car.

Kayla's eyes went wide as long, visible scratches appeared on the sleek black paint.

"Hey! You little brat! Do you have any idea whose car that is?! Are you crazy?! Stop—STOP!"

She lunged to grab him. Axel dodged. She chased. He ran.

Around and around the car they went—like a monkey teasing a zoo visitor.

Inside the car, Damien watched it all through the tinted window with a deep frown.

He had come personally to pick up Kayla.

"Go check what's going on," he told Caleb.

"On it."

Caleb was just reaching for the door when—

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

Four loud explosions shook the car.

The whole vehicle dropped with a violent jolt.

"AAAHHHH!" Kayla's scream pierced the sky.

Damien's brows furrowed. He shoved the door open and stepped out.

What he saw made his jaw tighten.

All four tires had blown clean off, smoke curling into the air as they rolled away.

The luxury car now sat like a dead beast—slumped, ruined.

And in front of it, standing like a tiny warlord, was a little boy with a mask on his face and fire in his eyes.

"I just got here today, so I'm not gonna go too hard on you," the boy declared. "But if you ever tease my younger brother again, I won't be so nice next time. You ugly, old, bad woman!"

Damien was surprised. Who is this little demon? And where the hell did he get that kind of confidence?

And this... wasn't going hard?

If this was him going easy, what would "serious" look like?

Who the hell raised this tiny chaos engine?

Before the kid could walk off, Damien reached out and grabbed the back of his collar.

Axel's feet left the ground.

"Hey! Who the heck are you? Put me down!" Axel kicked and twisted in the air.

Damien turned him around to face him, expression cold.

"Whose little man are you?" His voice was calm, but had an edge of steel.

"I—" Axel blinked, stunned.

Whoa.

This man… He looked just like him and Jamie.

Like… a grown-up version of them.

Wait. Was this their so-called deadbeat dad?

But Mommy said Daddy was dead. He died young, sick or something. Right?

So this guy just looked like him. Had to be.

Axel blinked his long lashes, then crossed his arms like a little boss.

"Alright, listen. Since you look like my daddy, I'll let you go this time. But put me down now, or I won't be so nice. I'm scary when I'm mad, okay?"

He even stuck out his tongue and made a silly face.

Boo. You scared yet?

Damien's eyes narrowed.

This kid had nerves.

If it weren't for the fact that his eyes looked exactly like his son Rory's, he would've already called the cops.

"You do realize what you did back there is a criminal offense, right?"

"She started it!" Axel shot back, pointing at Kayla. "Ugly, old, mean lady hit my baby brother!"

Kayla was almost pissed off. Did he just call her ugly and old again?! SHE'S GONNA LOSE IT.

Damien's voice dropped, ice-cold. "Doesn't matter who started it. What you did was wrong."

Axel frowned. "You're not my daddy. You don't get to tell me what to do. Who even are you?"

Damien's patience thinned. "Where are your parents?"

He could let the kid go—but not the parents. This car cost five million. And this was day one.

Also… those tire explosions looked like they were caused by small, precision charges.

No way a kid pulled that off alone.

Was someone using this brat to get to him?

Either way, he needed answers.

Axel's bravado wavered a little.

Every kid on Earth had the same weakness, "I'm calling your parents."

Axel was no different. He wasn't afraid of the world—but he was afraid of upsetting his mommy.

She never hit them.

But when she was sad... that was worse than any punishment.

He pouted, lips sticking out. "Go find my daddy then. My mommy's busy. She doesn't have time for you."

Damien scoffed. "Where's your dad?"

"In hell. Eighteenth level. Go visit him sometime."

Damien was speechless. What the actual fu—

Kayla saw her chance and jumped in.

"Dami! You heard that, right?! He's cursing you to hell! This kid has no manners. And look at the way he's dressed—clearly raised by some broke, trashy parents. Ugh, poor people always raise little criminals."

Axel snapped, "Oh please! You're calling me rude? You're a grown-ass woman who kicked a five-year-old! What'd your mom teach you, huh?"

Kayla's face turned purple."I'm twenty-eight!"

Axel gasped. "For real? Damn—I thought you were eighty-eight."

"You little—!"

"Shut it, hag. Keep running your mouth and I'll teach you what your parents clearly didn't."

Right then, Axel's smartwatch started ringing.

Mommy.

She must've come out of the restroom and realized he was gone.

Axel's face changed instantly—panic, guilt, love.

He looked at Damien.

"I got stuff to do. Can't play with you anymore. Bye!"

And with that, he twisted, kicked, and gave them the slip and got the hell out of there..

"Keep the jacket! You're welcome!" he shouted over his shoulder as he vanished into the crowd.

Damien stood there, holding an empty jacket, his face darker than thunderclouds.

"Find out who that kid is," he ordered. "And bring his parents to me. Also—get someone to inspect those tires. I want to know exactly what blew them out."

"Yes, sir!" Caleb waved the bodyguards toward the station.

Damien turned to Kayla, eyes cold. "Why did he say you hurt his brother?"

Kayla immediately switched faces, all innocence and fake sweetness.

"Me? Hurt a kid? Come on, Dami. That little brat's brother probably saw I looked rich and tried to fake an injury, scam me or something. Go ask my agent if you don't believe me. These kids learn to lie young—you know what they say, trashy parents, trashy kids. Honestly, just throw the whole family in jail and call it a day!"

Damien stared at her without saying anything.