Semua Bab Vengeance of the Fallen Heir: From Cell to CEO: Bab 121 - Bab 130

ETHAN WILDER~The driver didn’t say a word, but the way he glanced into the rearview mirror was loud enough. He was looking for a reason, a sign that I’d snapped out of whatever trance had led us here. We were supposed to be at the Azure Royals Hotel. Right now, the conference room would be humming with the sharp energy of investors and sponsors, all of them eager to buy a piece of the Phoenix Empire’s second-quarter event.I ignored him. I stared out the window at the weathered stone gates of the orphanage I grew up in.When it became clear I wasn’t going to offer an explanation or a change of heart, he sighed, stepped out, and opened my door.I stepped onto the gravel and felt a phantom weight settle on my shoulders.The orphanage was draped in a serene, almost eerie silence. Eerie because it felt unnatural. As I walked inside, the high ceilings and arched windows made every one of my footsteps echo. I saw a group of children trailing behind a nun, their soft giggles bouncing off th

~~ALINA JOHNSON~~The drive back from the memorial park felt like drowning with the windows down. The traffic crawled past in a haze of dust and exhaust, but inside the car everything was too quiet. Ethan sat beside me, jaw locked so hard I could see the muscle jumping. He hadn’t spoken since I dropped Julian’s bomb on him.Julian is the one who took him. He’s the one who kidnapped Damian.The words still sat bitter on my tongue. My hands were filthy from the grave dirt I’d touched earlier, and they wouldn’t stop trembling. Not from the full-body terror from this morning when I thought someone was in the house. It was just adrenaline. “Ethan,” I said, voice rough.He didn’t look at me. His hand found mine anyway, gripping tight enough to hurt. “He’s fucking with us,” he said finally, low and rough. “Showed up because he wanted to watch you crack. Wanted to see if I’d lose it and come running.”“You did come running.”“I’ll always come running.” He turned then, eyes dark and stormy. “

~~SARAH BENETT~~I stood in my bathroom, staring at the plastic stick under the brutal LED lights. Two pink lines. Bold. Unmistakable. My stomach dropped so fast I had to grip the sink to keep from folding.I was foolish to think that the strip would bring a different result after the hospital itself had tested me positive.“No,” I whispered, voice cracking. “Not now. Not like this.”I already knew whose it was. There was never any doubt. Not Vincenzo; the idiot I was playing to keep my head above water. It was Julian’s. It had always been Julian. The man who treated me like a useful blade; sharp when he needed me, easy to clean and put away when he didn’t.A baby with Julian wasn’t a miracle. It was punishment. . Another chain wrapped around my neck, tying me to his madness forever. And I knew better than anyone that Julian’s kind of crazy had no floor.My phone buzzed hard on the marble counter, making me flinch. Vincenzo.The bank is demanding the original Power of Attorney docum

~~ETHAN WILDER~~The back door slammed behind us as we burst into the humid night. Headlights swept the alley like searchlights. I shoved Alina into the back seat of Eve’s battered Toyota, climbed in after her, and Eve floored it before I even got the door closed. The engine screamed as we tore down the narrow lane, tires spitting gravel.“Hold on!” Eve shouted, hands white-knuckled on the wheel. She took the next corner so hard the car fishtailed, scraping a concrete wall with a metallic screech.Behind us, two black SUVs roared into the alley, closing fast. Julian’s men. I twisted in the seat, gun already in my hand, but the narrow road made shooting risky, too many houses, too many innocent windows.“Ethan,” Alina gasped, clutching the diary and silver key to her chest like a shield. Her face was pale, eyes wide with terror. “They’re right behind us.”“I know.” I reached back and squeezed her knee, trying to steady her even though my own pulse was hammering. “Eve, take the back roa

~~ETHAN WILDER~~The drive to St. Jude’s felt like crawling through tar. Alina sat beside me, staring out at the passing city lights, her hands twisted tight in her lap. I’d been quiet too long. The guilt had been eating at me since we left my mother’s place, and I couldn’t carry it anymore.“Alina,” I said, my voice rough. “There’s something I need to tell you before we get there.”She turned to look at me, eyes wary. “What is it?”I swallowed hard, keeping my eyes on the road. “I didn’t just find out about the second key tonight. I’ve known my father might still be alive for a while. Vanhova told me. I went looking for him six months ago… and I found him. He’s been locked away in this place… the Grey Zone. They’ve been keeping him under the name Jon Weiner. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to give you false hope. Or maybe I was just scared to face it myself.”The silence that followed was brutal. Alina’s breathing changed, shallow and sharp.“You knew?” she whispered. “You