All Chapters of From Illegitimate To A Zillionaire Heir: Chapter 781
- Chapter 790
804 chapters
CHAPTER 780
Tedmond’s gaze darted from Persis to the assassin."No," Tedmond said, stepping forward a single inch. "If I drop the gun, I lose my leverage. If I keep it, I have a choice. And right now, I’m looking for a reason to give you one, too."Persis gasped for air, the cold steel biting into her skin. She saw Tedmond’s eyes flicker, not to her, but to the glass floor beneath the assassin's boots. He was calculating the structural integrity of the mezzanine after the interceptor’s impact."You want a way out," Tedmond continued, his voice weaving a web of magnetic logic. "The Architect failed you. He gave you a faulty uplink and an armored van that Albert cracked in four minutes.”“He sent you here to die as a distraction. Why be a martyr for a man who considers you a draft?""He'll find me," she whispered, her grip faltering."He won't have time," Tedmond countered. "Because here is how this ends. Option one: you kill her. If you do, I will not shoot you.”“I will walk over there, and I wi
CHAPTER 781
Tedmond stepped out of the car like a wraith of war. He stood back, giving the sisters their moment, but his eyes never left them. He looked at Perseia, and for the first time in their antagonistic history, there was a silent truce, a shared understanding of the cost of the last two hours."She’s fine, Perseia," Tedmond said quietly.Perseia’s eyes hardened. "She’d better be. Because if she wasn't, I wouldn't have waited for you to find the Architect. I would have started with the people you pay to watch her."Tedmond didn't argue. He simply nodded, accepting the weight of the failure.From the top of the stairs, a softer shadow emerged. Millicent stood there, supported by a nurse and the heavy doorframe. She looked fragile in the fading twilight, her lavender shawl wrapped tight, but her gaze was as sharp as a diamond.Persis gently detangled herself from Perseia and walked up the steps. She stopped a foot away from Millicent, struck by the weight of what her mother had endured.
CHAPTER 782
Tedmond’s jaw tightened. "What’s that?""He forgot that you don't build a kingdom on sand," Millicent said. "You build it on the bones of those who tried to take it."The raw, primal rage in Tedmond settled into something far more dangerous: a cold, calculated resolve. He looked at Persis, his gaze softening for a heartbeat before turning to flint."I’m not going to burn the city, Perseia," Tedmond said. "Burning is too quick. It’s too merciful."He walked to the desk and picked up a black burner phone. As he tapped a few commands, a list of encrypted coordinates scrolled across the screen. "I am going to buy every building he owns. I am going to seize every bank account he has ever touched. I am going to find every person he has ever loved, and I am going to show them exactly what happens when you try to turn a Washington into art."Persis stood, the blanket sliding from her shoulders. She walked over to him, her eyes reflecting the amber light. "Don't just take his things, Tedmo
CHAPTER 783
Tedmond’s words didn’t just dismiss Perseia; they cut through the room like a blade, severing her from the family she was trying to protect.Perseia’s arms dropped to her sides, her fingers curling into white-knuckled fists. She stared at Tedmond, shock flashing in her eyes, followed by a cold fury.Then she let out a short, sharp chuckle.“You didn’t just say that,” she whispered, her voice edged with dark amusement. She straightened, her tone hardening.“The Damon family is more than capable of protecting me, Tedmond. More importantly, we can handle the burden you’re trying to carry alone.”Her gaze flicked to Persis, then back.“Fine,” she hissed, closing the distance. “But don’t think you’re dumping my sister and your mother in some sterile Swiss bunker like evidence.”“I was thinking of a vacation anyway. The Damon estate in the South of France is empty. It’s a fortress, Tedmond.”“Private coast, signal jammers he can’t crack, and security that doesn’t exist on any public regist
CHAPTER 784
Tedmond stood perfectly still on the asphalt, his hand clamped firmly onto Persis’s shoulder, his fingers digging in slightly as the Damon bird lifted off. The roar of the engines faded into a low hum, then into the whistle of the wind, leaving them alone on the vast, empty runway."They're gone," Persis whispered, watching the blinking red lights of the jet disappear into the clouds."They're safe," Tedmond corrected, his voice a cold, hollow echo.He finally looked down at her, his eyes devoid of anything but the hunt ahead. "Now, Counselor... let's go find the man who thought he could frame us."He turned toward the waiting black SUV, his stride long and predatory. “This is going to be a long night,” he muttered to himself.Persis looked at Tedmond, her gaze serious. Even though he had been reluctant to take her with him, she was determined to make him glad she was there.The SUV sped away from the hangar, tires humming against the dark asphalt. Inside the cabin, the silence w
CHAPTER 785
The room was silent, save for the distant, low hum of the safe house’s ventilation system.She didn't turn on the lights; she didn't need them. The moonlight filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting long, skeletal shadows across the plush carpet.Persis walked toward the glass, her movements stiff, like a clockwork doll winding down. She pressed her forehead against the cool pane, looking out at the dark silhouette of the jagged hills.But now, the jet was gone. Thomas was gone. Tedmond was downstairs, calculating his next move.And the wall finally broke.It started with a violent, uncontrollable shiver that began in her knees and raced up her spine. Her hands, which had been so steady while she held the glass shard against her captor’s throat, began to tremble uselessly at her sides.The mantle of the hero had fallen away, leaving her hollow. She was no longer the defiant survivor, she was once again the discarded object shoved into a laundry bin like refuse. Me
CHAPTER 786
Thomas met his gaze with the steady, unflinching honesty only he was allowed."She is not fine, sir. She is... unraveling. As she must. One cannot be hunted like an animal and then simply turn out the light and sleep. She is facing the shadow now."Tedmond’s jaw worked, a flicker of pain crossing his face. He reached out, his hand hovering over a water glass before dropping back to the desk. "I should be up there. I should be holding her.""If you go up there now, you will only remind her of why she had to be brave," Thomas said softly. "Let her have the floor for a while. Let her be small, so she can be the storm again tomorrow."Tedmond let out a long, shuddering breath, rubbing his face with his palms. "I’m tired, Thomas. I feel like the air in this city has turned to lead.""I can see that, sir," Thomas replied, his voice a warm, grounding hum. "Which is why you should go to the guest suite. Close your eyes. Even you need to dream of something other than conquest for a few hours
CHAPTER 787
The first light of dawn was a pale, bruised grey as it filtered through the heavy curtains of the master suite. Tedmond’s eyes snapped open at exactly 05:00. There was no grogginess, no slow return to consciousness, just the immediate, cold transition from sleep to alertness.He lay still for a moment, the weight of the previous day settling onto his shoulders like lead. Then, he felt the steady, warm rhythm of breathing against his arm. He turned his head slowly.Persis was there. Sometime in the middle of the night, she had migrated from the floor to the bed, or perhaps he had moved her in a state of half-sleep he couldn't quite remember. She was curled on her side, her hair a wild halo against the white silk pillowcase. Her face, usually so sharp with legal precision, was softened by exhaustion.Tedmond watched her for a long minute. He reached out, his hand hovering over her shoulder, hesitant to break the only peace she’d had in twenty-four hours. Finally, he leaned over a
CHAPTER 788
Jaxson Wyatt wasn’t just a cousin; he was a Lead Cyber-Forensics Analyst for the FBI’s Counter-Intelligence Division. If anyone could find a digital leak that Albert had missed, it was him.The call connected on the second ring."Well, well, well. If it isn't Short-Circuit. Did the world finally end, or did you just run out of people to sue?"Jaxson’s voice came through the line with that same obnoxious, self-assured drawl that had made Persis want to kick him in the shins since she was five years old.Being seven years older, he had spent their entire childhood treating her like a particularly annoying lab rat.Hacking her first diary to read at the dinner table, hiding her dolls in the ventilation ducts, and calling her Short-Circuit every time her temper flared.Persis gripped the phone tighter, her knuckles whitening. "Jaxson. Cut the crap. I need a favor.""A favor? From the guy you’ve had blocked since 2022, or was it that 2020 Christmas incident? I’m touched. Truly," he chuckl
CHAPTER 789
“If I try to force my way in to help you, Albert will spot me in three seconds, think I’m the Architect, and fry my motherboard from three states away. I can’t watch over you if he blocks me before I even see the staff roster.”Persis froze for a heartbeat, then a slow, melodic chuckle escaped her throat.The chuckle turned into a genuine, bright laugh, the first one since the world had gone dark in the boutique.“Wait,” she gasped, her eyes dancing with dark amusement. “Are you telling me… that Jaxson Wyatt, the man who once hacked my high school’s grading system just to give me a ‘C’ in Home Economics, is scared of my husband’s IT guy?”“I am not scared!” Jaxson barked, though the defensiveness in his voice gave him away. “I am being strategically cautious. The man is a digital pit bull.”“I’m an analyst, P. I deal with high-level counterintelligence and state secrets. I don’t spend my life building Fortress Washington out of pure paranoia and Red Bull.”“Oh, Jax,” Persis teased, he