All Chapters of The Young Student Trillionaire: Chapter 261
- Chapter 270
358 chapters
Chapter 261
Ava took a deep breath, trying to steady the rapid thrum of her heart. She turned the knob slowly, allowing the door to creak open just enough to let Gerald in. For a moment, the hallway light didn’t touch his face, leaving him half-shrouded in shadow. But even in that dim light, his presence filled the room.Gerald’s eyes widened imperceptibly, though only Ava could have noticed. She was still clad in her towel, damp hair cascading over her shoulders, and despite herself, she realized he was staring. It wasn’t just a glance, it was the kind of look that made the air in the room suddenly thick, heavy with unspoken tension.He shook his head slightly, as if trying to refocus. “Ava,” he said, his voice low, almost hoarse. “I—” He stopped, running a hand through his hair. His mind wasn’t on the case anymore; it was on her. The kiss, the memory of it had refused to leave him just as it had refused to leave Ava. And to think that he had kissed her that day not because he had planned it bu
Chapter 262
The morning light filtered weakly through the blinds, painting pale stripes across the bedroom. Ava stirred under the covers, her skin tingling from the heat of the night’s intimacy, her mind still grappling with the reality of what had happened. The sensation of Gerald’s hands, his lips, the way he had held her—it all lingered like a storm refusing to dissipate.She opened her eyes slowly, realizing with a jolt that she wasn’t alone. Gerald was still there, on the edge of the bed, awake, staring at the ceiling—or so it seemed. His expression was guarded, yet something in the set of his looks betrayed tension, guilt, and perhaps… uncertainty.Ava shifted, pulling the sheets closer around her, feeling a sudden, almost irrational shyness. “Morning,” she muttered, her voice thick with sleep and lingering desire.Gerald turned, meeting her gaze, and for a long moment neither spoke. The air between them was heavy, filled with unspoken words, questions, and an awkward vulnerability neither
Chapter 263
Gary sat heavily in one of the plush armchairs, staring at the photographs on the wall again. The stories from the previous night had really opened something deep within him. And that had pushed him back to the photographs once again, as though staring at them might open up deeper layers into what exactly he was connected to.And then, as though the photographs actually did it, the feeling of asking Susan why she had remained hidden for over twenty years came back again. He had been so overtaken by Susan's story from the previous day about "Campus Quadro," as she tagged the group consisting of herself, Brenda, Julia, and Helsin, that it didn't occur to him to ask him that question again.But now that he had remembered, he decided it was time to ask before he and Courtney would finally leave later on during the day.“Mom,” he began, voice low but shaking, “I need to know something. "What's that?" Susan asked, her brow furrowing slightly. And that was because, as far as she was concern
Chapter 264
Susan froze the moment that question escaped from Gary's lips. and it wasn’t the kind of pause one takes to think—it was the kind born from old wounds tearing open all over again. She had deliberately refrained from revealing anything about Steven even with all the stories he had told them the previous night. But it was beginning to appear obvious that Gary was really bent on uncovering everything that had happened over twenty years ago. In a way, it made a feeling of pride tug somewhere around her chest, seeing her son asking such intelligent questions which even the best detectives might not even ask.Courtney sensed the shift immediately. She straightened, fingers tightening nervously around Gary’s arm.“Susan?” she whispered. “Is… is he dead?” She managed to add her voice to it.Gary’s breath hitched, his heart suddenly pounding harder than before. Something in Susan’s face—something painful, something haunted—told him the answer wasn’t going to be simple.Susan swallowed hard an
Chapter 265
Brenda’s breath quickened as the implications slammed into her all at once. If the bodies weren’t Steven and Susan, then whose were they?Her mind spiraled, the questions tightening around her like ropes. This wasn't supposed to be happening, especially not now that they were getting very close to awakening obsidian. The reason they had gone to such lengths to remove Steven and Susan from the picture was because they posed obstacles to their plans, and just when they thought their chapters had been closed for good, it was looking as though they were returning from the dead one after the other again.“Who lied?” she murmured under her breath. “Who dared to deceive me… to deceive Richard?”Her pacing grew frantic, her robe fluttering behind her like a restless shadow. She pressed a trembling palm against the cool glass of her window, staring into the night sky as though the stars might provide answers.She didn’t know what scared her more:That Steven might be alive… or that someone wh
Chapter 266
Brenda trembled. “I understand,” she whispered. She already knew what she had to do to remain in Richard's good books; if not, she would have her life to start fighting for. Richard released her chin with a flick of disinterest, turning toward the door.“And,” he added casually, as though mentioning something trivial, “the same applies to your sister.”Brenda had expected that, and so, she wasn't entirely surprised. She had known that whatever had to be done to ensure Steven doesn't return from the dead to haunt them, the same also applies to her Susan.“Susan must not be a problem either,” Richard continued, opening the door but pausing in the doorway. “Fail me this time…”His voice dropped to a chilling whisper. “…and I will not be merciful.”The door closed behind him with a soft click but the silence he left behind screamed louder than any threat.Brenda collapsed onto her knees, trembling violently, clutching her chest as her heartbeat hammered against her ribs.“Steven… Susan…”
Chapter 267
Chance found Gerald deep in the shadows of the western arch of ridgewood abandoned tower. The Inspector was staring out, but his posture wasn't one of contemplation; it was the rigid stance of a man surveying a battlefield.“What do you know about Helsin and Wilfreda?” Chance asked, going straight to the point, and not waiting to beat around the bush or exchange any form of pleasantry.Gerald turned slowly. “I know they were taken by a level of professional that makes my most decorated CSSA tactical units look like mall security,” Gerald stated, his voice low and devoid of its usual bureaucratic cadence. “The kind that don't just avoid traffic cameras; they anticipate forensic counter-analysis. They use aerosolized solvent sprays at the point of entry to degrade DNA and fiber evidence. They’re ghosts.”He took a step forward, into a sliver of light. “This isn’t just about the relics, Chance,” Gerald said, his voice intensifying. “The Acherlands case, the political framing of your moth
Chapter 268
The walk from the CSSA headquarters was the longest of Gerald Seth’s life. Every reflective surface was a potential surveillance post, every slowing car a threat. The weight of his surrendered badge was a phantom ache on his hip, a constant reminder that the institution that had been his lifeblood now saw him as a pathogen to be purged.He didn’t go home. That was the first rule, and it was instinct. His apartment would be the epicenter of the storm—swarming with Internal Affairs agents planting listening devices, scouring his finances, and dissecting his personal life for more evidence. They would use it to paint him as unhinged, further cementing their narrative.He walked for ten blocks, his senses hyper-alert, before ducking into a grimy electronics store that smelled of solder and dust. All of this, he thought, leaning his head back against the cold, damp brick wall, because of a single, calculated, idiotic kiss. He had played with fire, believing himself the one holding the mat
Chapter 269
“He didn’t answer.” Chance’s voice was flat, the shock of the last hour hardening into something colder, and more brittle.Julia didn’t move from her place by the door, her silhouette rigid against the soft light of the hallway. “It’s late. He could be—”“No.” Chance cut her off, his thumb already jabbing the call button again. He put the phone back to his ear. This time, the hollow ring didn’t even start. Instead, a crisp, automated female voice intruded instantly, devoid of any warmth.“The number you have dialed is currently switched off. Please try your call again later.”Chance lowered the phone slowly. The screen’s glow lit his face, etching the lines of dread around his eyes.“Gerald has turned off his phone,” he said. The words weren’t just an observation; they were a diagnosis. A prognosis.Julia understood immediately. The cold fury in her eyes didn’t diminish, but it was joined now by a sharp, pragmatic fear. She stepped fully into the room, closing the door softly behind
Chapter 270
The coffee in Ava Rennet’s mug had gone cold, a forgotten prop in the late-night marathon of case files. The glow of her desk lamp was a lonely island in the dark expanse of her office. When the news alert chimed softly from her secondary monitor, she almost ignored it. Then she saw the thumbnail.Her own face. Gerald’s profile. The grainy, zoomed-in photo taken outside her law firm, capturing a moment that had felt like a secret pact, a dangerous spark in the fog of war.For a heartbeat, the world dissolved into a roar of white noise. The words on the screen swam: “Improper affair… suspended… under investigation…”Ava’s breath hitched, a sharp, painful intake. She felt the solid floor beneath her feet turn to liquid. Her first, visceral thought was a sinkhole opening beneath her, a desperate wish for the earth to swallow her whole. This was professional annihilation. This was the end of the carefully constructed fortress of her career, her reputation, her life.Then, a hotter, sh