When a metal pipe struck Rex, the quiet sound shattered everything I believed. The man laughed, mistaking me for a weak stranger in a worn jacket. He didn’t see the training, the restraint, or the truth—he thought he was the hunter, until he learned he was prey.

When a metal pipe struck Rex, the quiet sound shattered everything I believed. The man laughed, mistaking me for a weak stranger in a worn jacket. He didn’t see the training, the restraint, or the truth—he thought he was the hunter, until he learned he was prey.
PART 1: THE RETURN

The sound of the steel pipe striking the dog didn’t …