ASHES UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT

Joanne Rusiana LGBT+

JL Gaspar has spent eight years running.New names. New cities. New schools. Never staying long enough to make friends. Never staying long enough to be remembered.Because being remembered gets people killed.At sixteen, JL witnessed the execution of his mother by the most feared syndicate leader in Asia—a man known only as The Monarch. Worse, the Monarch is his father.After escaping the organization that raised him to become a weapon, JL disappears into the shadows with nothing except fake identities, survival instincts, and the terrifying ability to read people before they strike.But hiding becomes impossible when a chance encounter with a scout drags him into the world of K-pop.Now, under a stolen name and surrounded by cameras, JL debuts in the rookie boy group AHOF—a rising phenomenon built to dominate the industry.The stage should have been the worst place for someone like him.Too visible.Too public.Too dangerous.Yet for the first time in his life, JL finds something that feels dangerously close to home.The members of AHOF are fractured boys hiding scars beneath perfect smiles. Among them is Steven—the group’s cold leader and the only person who seems to recognize the violence JL carries behind his eyes.But fame shines light into dark places.As AHOF rises to superstardom, old enemies begin to surface. Missing trainees. Corrupt executives. Underground syndicates laundering money through entertainment companies. Assassins disguised as managers. Fans who know too much.And somewhere in the shadows, The Monarch is searching for the son who escaped him.JL thought he joined an idol group to survive.Instead, he may have walked straight back into the war he was born from.

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