All Chapters of Rise Of The Phoenix: Dylan’s Rebirth: Chapter 381
- Chapter 390
416 chapters
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The older salesman’s voice cracked as he muttered, almost choking on his words. “I… I can’t believe it. This—this doesn’t happen. People don’t just—” He stopped himself, shaking his head like he was trying to wake up from a bad dream.Dylan stood there calm, the jingling of the keys soft in his palm. He wasn’t rushing, wasn’t gloating. He just looked at the two men with a steady gaze, and that silence was louder than any shouting.The younger salesman’s lips trembled. He shifted from one foot to the other, rubbing his damp palms down the sides of his slacks. “I—I didn’t mean it like that,” he stammered, his eyes darting anywhere but Dylan’s face. “I wasn’t—I wasn’t trying to be rude. I just thought—you know—policy… rules…” His voice faded off, thin as paper.Dylan tilted his head slightly, as if he was listening, but his face gave nothing away. He just let the younger man’s excuses crumble in the air.The older salesman leaned forward in his chair, trying to put steel in his tone, but
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The younger salesman sat hunched over, his face hidden in his hands, rocking a little like a man on the edge. His voice was muffled but desperate.“Tell me I’m dreaming, Mike. Please tell me this is just one of those weird nightmares where you wake up sweating and laugh about it later.”The older salesman—Mike—dragged a hand down his face, his cheeks pale, eyes bloodshot from the pressure of the moment. He shook his head.“Nightmare? Kid, if that was a dream, I don’t ever wanna know what reality feels like. That… that boy wasn’t bluffing. You saw his eyes.”The younger man—Kevin—jerked his head up, his eyes wide.“Yeah, I saw! That’s the problem. His eyes weren’t just… normal. It was like he was… daring us. Like he already knew how it would end before it even started.” He leaned forward, lowering his voice. “Mike, who the hell was that?”Mike clenched his jaw, staring at the wet footprints that trailed to the door. His voice came out low.“Not just some kid, that’s for sure. People li
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Meanwhile – Dylan’s SideIn the black car, Dylan leaned back against the leather seat. The man beside him—the one with slicked-back hair—glanced sideways.“They’re spooked.”“Good,” Dylan said simply.The man smirked. “You like breaking them, don’t you?”Dylan didn’t smile. “It’s not about breaking. It’s about showing them the cracks were already there.”The car rolled forward, rain blurring the city lights. The man asked, “So, what next? Do we pull them in or let them stew?”Dylan finally looked at him, his eyes sharp as glass.“Let them stew. Fear cooks slower that way. By the time I go back… they’ll hand me everything without me asking.”⸻Back at the showroomKevin suddenly stood up, pacing again. His words tumbled out fast.“We can’t just sit here! Mike, we have to do something. Call the manager, tell him the truth, maybe he can fix it!”Mike snapped, “No! Didn’t you hear what they said? We tell no one. That includes the manager.”Kevin spun on him, eyes wild. “So what, we just w
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Mike hesitated, then slowly lifted the top sheet. The paper was filled with numbers, names, and signatures—but as he scanned down, his eyes widened.“Th-This… this is… our sales numbers?” Mike whispered.“Yes,” Dylan said. “And your so-called policies. Look closer.”Kevin leaned over, squinting. “Wait… those… those aren’t just numbers. Those… those are falsified reports. Signed off by… by us?”Mike swallowed hard. “That’s impossible… we would’ve noticed…”Dylan’s gaze didn’t waver. “You didn’t notice because you weren’t paying attention. You were too busy thinking rules and hierarchy would protect you. But the real world doesn’t care about hierarchy.”Kevin’s face went pale. “W-What… what does this mean?”Dylan opened the folder wider, revealing contracts stacked behind the first sheet. “It means every decision you’ve made, every excuse you’ve given… it’s all under review. And someone high above is not impressed.”Mike’s jaw tightened. “Someone high above? Who?”Dylan’s eyes darkened.
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The storm didn’t let up.Rain hammered the windshield in sheets, the wipers dragging back and forth like they were barely holding the world together. Dylan’s knuckles whitened around the steering wheel as the black sedan glided down the slick road, tires hissing against the soaked asphalt.His nerves were still raw from the confrontation at the dealership. Every word he had thrown at Mike and Kevin replayed in his head like shards of glass scraping.Too easy, he thought bitterly. They folded too quickly. That means they’ll scheme when they’re desperate. People always scheme when cornered.His jaw flexed. He couldn’t afford to get sloppy. Not now. Not with everything about to unravel.A crack of lightning split the sky, bleaching the night for an instant. Dylan’s eyes flicked to the left, where the skeletal frame of a half-finished construction site loomed on the edge of town. Rust-colored beams jutted upward like broken ribs, black against the storm-lit sky.And then—he noticed it.A
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The knife wielder sneered. “You talk too much.” He twirled the blade between his fingers as if showing off a new toy. Water sluiced off its edge and made a thin, wicked hiss.“Maybe we should cut that tongue out,” the scarred man added, voice rough as gravel.“Or maybe,” Dylan said, stepping closer until he could feel the rain hammer his shoulders, “you put the knife down, get in your shiny SUV, and drive away before this gets loud.”The third man — tall, broad-shouldered, with the kind of jaw that suggested he’d never learned the softer parts of life — barked a laugh. “Loud? You think anyone’s gonna hear you in this storm? You’re already a dead man.”Dylan’s smirk widened. “Funny. If I’m dead already, why do I see four guys hesitating?”A woman behind the cement bags — hair plastered to her face, hands trembling — cried out suddenly, “Please! Don’t fight! They’ll kill you!”Dylan turned his head toward her for a fraction of a second, his voice low and measured. “Stay low. Keep your e
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The knife wielder advanced again, blade whispering as it cut through the humid air. “Enough.” His voice was soft, but the intent was clear: he would end this now.Dylan didn’t flinch. Instead he flicked his chin toward the woman. “You know what else I heard? That your boss has someone in the finance office who’s gone quiet. A folder called Nova2. Heard of it?”The men exchanged glances. The scarred man tightened his grip on the woman’s arm. “You’re trying to bluff. You don’t know—”“Maybe I don’t,” Dylan said. “But you do. And if you go back with an empty car, someone’s gonna ask pointed questions. People get curious when money moves without paperwork. People like me get curious when a woman is paid to do a job and ends up on a street corner in the rain.”The knife wielder’s hand wavered. “So what? You gonna run to the cops? Tell them your pretty little theories?”Dylan’s smirk returned. “I already called them. Twice.” He could see the breath leave the knives’ owners in a visible exha
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Then the knife wielder laughed, a defiant, ugly sound. “We don’t have to walk away.”“Then you pick,” Dylan said, voice cold as river ice. “Her… or me?”For a long second no one moved. Rain kept falling, spitting and thick, painting everyone with a sheen. The woman’s breathing was a delicate thing, a metronome of hope and fear. The scarred man swallowed. The tall one’s jaw worked. The knife wielder’s fingers tightened on metal.“You think you can talk us into leaving?” the scarred man asked finally, voice like a blade rubbing stone.“I think I can make you leave in a way that keeps both our heads intact,” Dylan replied. “But it’s your choice.”“Boss won’t—” the tall man began, but the knife wielder cut through him.“Enough.” He lowered the knife a fraction. His voice was low, dangerous. “We get in the car. We go. But we take what’s in our hands and we’re out. No more speeches.”Dylan watched them, every tiny twitch catalogued. “Back in five minutes or less,” he said. “You don’t stop.
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Dylan’s boots crunched against the wet asphalt, rain streaming off his coat like liquid steel. He stepped forward, every inch a predator coiled for the strike. The men froze, the tension of the storm and his presence warping the space between them.“Walk away now,” Dylan said, his voice low, chilling, carrying over the pounding rain. “And you breathe tomorrow.”The tallest man, a hulking figure with broad shoulders and a jaw set like an anvil, laughed harshly. “Breathe tomorrow? Who the fuck do you think you are, washed-up nobody?”A shorter man with a scar running down his cheek, knife glinting, smirked. “Yeah, man. You’re in over your head. Best get the fuck out while you can.”The tallest one nodded at the others. “This guy doesn’t know what he’s dealing with. Rico doesn’t like losing. You’ll regret sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.”Dylan’s gaze didn’t waver. “I’ve got no nose to stick. Just ears. Eyes. And the ability to make bad decisions very, very expensive.”A new v
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Her hands shook as she pressed them together, as if trying to hold herself together. “My father… he’s an accountant. He found… something. Big. Fraud. Money moving. People… people in power. They… they wanted me to bring papers, keep it safe. They never… they never meant to hurt me. Just make sure it got delivered.”Dylan’s mind clicked into overdrive. The mention of fraud, of papers, of money moving — it wasn’t just coincidence. He had seen something similar before. “The folder,” he muttered under his breath. “Nova2?”Her eyes widened. “Yes… yes, that’s it! He… he told me to keep it hidden. Only to deliver it if he couldn’t… if he couldn’t finish. Please… you have to believe me.”Vince spat into a puddle and sneered. “So now she’s got a secret folder and we’re supposed to turn into her personal courier service? Cute story, sweetheart. What’s in there, huh? Names? Numbers? Porn? You expect us to just—”“To sit down and die quietly?” Tank grunted, one hand on his useless leg. “Nope. Boss