All Chapters of THE RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL HEIR : Chapter 11
- Chapter 20
57 chapters
Chapter 11 – Shadow vs. Heir
Location: The Hollow Grounds – Eastern Wing 2:34 A.M.Metal groaned under their boots as Jeffrey and Subject Zero circled each other like twin wolves in a cage. Sparks flickered from busted panels overhead, casting eerie shadows across their nearly identical faces.Camilla ducked behind a steel beam, pistol drawn, but Jeffrey lifted a hand.“No,” he said calmly. “This is between us.”Subject Zero’s voice rasped through his mask.“I was born here. Bled here. Trained to replace you. And yet…” He stepped forward. “They still feared you more than me.”Jeffrey didn’t flinch. “Because I didn’t need to be programmed to be lethal.”And then they moved, Flesh slammed into flesh, bone struck steel, the air filled with the brutal percussion of warriors unchained.Zero moved like liquid violence, spinning elbows, chain whips laced with taser coils, a barrage designed to kill quick.Jeffrey countered with precision: blocks born from underground fight pits, strikes taught by ghosts, and instinct ca
Chapter 12 – The Queen’s Gambit
2:59 A.M. Location: Goodman Private Airfield – “The Nest”A swarm of black drones hovered above the burning treeline, lenses zeroed in on Jeffrey Goodman, the long-lost heir now framed in the flames of the past. On their screens, Eleanor’s cold, ageless face smiled.“You survived the Hollow Grounds. I must say, I’m impressed.”Her voice was sweet venom. “But then again… you always did have your father’s knack for ruin.”Jeffrey raised a pistol toward the lead drone. “I also have his knack for revenge.”Eleanor’s smile didn’t fade. “Is that what this is? A vendetta? You come back from exile like some wounded beast… dragging ghosts behind you?”Camilla’s voice crackled in Jeffrey’s earpiece. “We have to go. I don’t think she’s just watching. Those drones are armed.”Eleanor continued, voice sharp now. “You still don’t see the game, Jeffrey. You think this ends with me. But I’m not your enemy.”She leaned closer to the camera. “I’m the last protection you have from what’s coming.”A targ
Chapter 13 – Vault Vanta
4:07 A.M.Location: Edge of the Sahara – The Forgotten CityThe SUV ground to a halt in front of an ancient, sand-buried ruin. The place looked like a crumbling temple, but Knox’s scanners pulsed with hidden activity beneath the surface.“This is it,” he said, voice tight. “Vault Vanta. Blacksite zero. Built by your father and his predecessors before the Goodman Empire went legitimate.”Jeffrey stepped out, the desert wind tearing at his coat. His jaw clenched as he studied the crumbling pillars, half-swallowed by dunes.Camilla frowned. “This doesn’t look like a fortress. It looks like a tomb.”Knox gave a humorless laugh. “That’s the point.”They pushed through the ruins until they found a monolithic steel hatch disguised beneath collapsed stone. Faded Goodman insignias were carved along the sides.Knox hacked the panel, but the system resisted, fighting back with counter-code.“This thing’s alive,” he muttered. “It’s running on a neural defense net. If I lose, it’ll fry me from the
Chapter 14 – Blood for Blood
The steel restraints bit into Jeffrey’s ankles, cold metal gnawing through fabric and skin as alarms shrieked like sirens in hell. The throne chamber pulsed with red light, bathing everything in a sickening glow.The sound of Eleanor’s laughter echoed from the walls, cruel and triumphant, while the screens still flickered with his face, every triumph, every betrayal, every scar burned into memory.Jeffrey’s chest heaved with rage. His hands curled into fists so tight his knuckles cracked. Across from him, two cages stood like judgment itself: one holding Henry Goodman, his father, battered and broken, yet alive and the other containing Zero, his loyal ghost, bloodied and gasping.And between them, stepping out of the shadows, came The Reaper. The masked assassin’s boots struck the steel floor with deliberate rhythm, each step echoing like a death toll.The crimson scythe dragged behind him, its edge glowing as if hungry for flesh. He raised his head, dark visor gleaming, and spoke in
Chapter 15 – Brothers in Blood
The scythe’s edge shrieked as it tore through the air, a crimson arc aimed straight for Jeffrey’s heart.He twisted at the last instant, the blade raking across his chest instead of piercing it. Pain exploded white-hot, blood soaking his shirt as he staggered back, gasping. The wound wasn’t mortal, but it was deep enough to slow him.Across from him, Asher Goodman, the brother who had stolen his crown, the shadow raised to eclipse him, stood tall, scythe humming like a beast alive.His cracked visor hung loose, revealing his face fully now. The perfect features their father once praised, marred only by a scar slicing from temple to jaw. Eyes like fire glared at Jeffrey with bottomless hatred.“All this time,” Jeffrey rasped, clutching his chest. “The Reaper was you.”Asher’s lips curled into a sneer. “Who else could cut out your heart better than the one born to replace it?”The room was chaos. Knox was frantically pulling Henry from his cage, cursing at the burns along his body. Cami
Chapter 16 – The Knife Between Brothers
The dagger’s edge flashed silver, screaming toward Jeffrey’s throat. Time fractured into heartbeats. He barely twisted aside, steel grazed his neck instead of puncturing his jugular.Blood sprayed hot across his collar, the sting searing his nerves. With instinct older than thought, Jeffrey’s hand shot out, clamping Asher’s wrist in a bone-crushing grip.The blade trembled inches from his windpipe. Both men snarled, muscles straining, sweat dripping, blood smearing their faces. The chamber echoed with the grind of metal against desperation.“You never learn,” Jeffrey hissed, veins bulging in his forearm. “Every trick you pull, I see coming.”Asher spat blood, laughter twisted into madness. “Then why are you still bleeding, brother?”With his free hand, Asher slammed a knee into Jeffrey’s ribs. Pain cracked through his side like lightning. Jeffrey coughed blood, but his grip did not falter. He twisted, bones snapping beneath his palm.Asher screamed as his wrist broke. The dagger clatt
Chapter 17 – The Shot in the Dark
The second gunshot cracked like thunder. But it wasn’t Jeffrey who fell. Eleanor’s eyes widened for the first time in years. The dagger slipped from her hand, clattering to the bloodstained marble.She staggered back, clutching her shoulder where crimson bloomed through silk. The serpent had been struck.Jeffrey blinked through the haze of pain and blood loss. His vision swam, his body heavy, but he forced his eyes upward.At the breach in the wall stood a figure cloaked in smoke, rifle still raised. His face hidden beneath a hood, only his stance betrayed him, calm, deliberate, death wrapped in shadow.“Who the hell” Knox whispered, stunned.The hooded figure chambered another round with chilling ease. His voice, low and steady, cut through the chaos. “You touch him again, Eleanor, and I’ll paint these walls with your skull.”Eleanor’s soldiers spun, rifles snapping toward the intruder. But he didn’t flinch. He moved like he owned the battlefield, a predator surrounded by prey too fo
Chapter 18 – Blood and Betrayal
The sword came down like lightning. Steel shrieked against marble as the intruder’s blade split the floor where Jeffrey had been standing seconds earlier.Knox had ripped him back just in time, both of them crashing into the rubble. Sparks still hissed from the impact when the red-clad soldiers surged forward, rifles blazing.The throne room erupted into carnage again. Jeffrey’s pistol was still raised, his finger brushing the trigger, aimed at the Reaper.But the Reaper wasn’t even looking at him anymore. His attention was locked on the newcomers, eyes narrowing with a flash of recognition.“Hellfire Legion,” he muttered, voice low, dark. “Of all the devils to crawl out tonight…”Jeffrey didn’t know the name, but the tone told him everything. These weren’t mercenaries. They weren’t opportunists. They were worse, wolves who had come for blood.The Reaper was a blur again, his rifle kicking thunder, his knife flashing. One soldier dropped with a hole through his visor, another with his
Chapter 19 – The Gate of Shadows
The floor exploded beneath their feet. Marble shattered into jagged shards as the ancient throne room cracked open like an eggshell.A blast of heat surged upward, carrying the stench of ash and rot. Jeffrey was hurled against a broken pillar, the impact knocking the wind from his lungs.From the fissure in the earth, a sound rose, neither human nor beast, but something older, something that shouldn’t have existed. It was a roar, but threaded with whispers, as though a thousand voices spoke through it.Zero clutched Camilla’s arm, his usually cold face pale with terror. Henry screamed for everyone to run.But Jeffrey didn’t move. His father’s empire, his legacy, his revenge, everything was tied to that crack in the earth. And something in his blood whispered that this was meant for him.The light grew brighter, blood-red symbols crawling across the stone floor like fire. Then it emerged. At first, only a claw, long, black as obsidian, glistening with molten veins.It dug into the marb
Chapter 20 – Into the Abyss
The scream didn’t end. It echoed from the pit long after Camilla’s body was swallowed by fire, a sound that tore through the marrow of Jeffrey’s bones.He stumbled forward, his hand outstretched, as if sheer will could drag her back from the inferno. But the fissure had closed around her, leaving only a thin red glow and the smell of burning flesh in the air.For the first time since his exile, Jeffrey Goodman felt powerless.“No ” His voice broke. He slammed his fists against the stone floor, blood mixing with soot. “No!”Zero was already on his knees, clawing at the fissure as if his bare hands could rip it apart. His usually cold eyes were wild, burning with desperation.“Camilla! Camilla!” His voice cracked on her name, and Jeffrey realized something he had never seen before in Zero: pure, unrestrained panic.Henry collapsed against Knox, muttering frantic prayers, his rosary clutched so tight his knuckles bled. And then there was the Reaper. Silent. Motionless. Watching.Jeffrey’