All Chapters of RISE OF THE SCORNFUL CRYPTO LORD: Chapter 111
- Chapter 120
121 chapters
111: BURIED SECRETS
Liam's POVI pushed myself off the wall and walked back toward Ashley who was still standing near the nurses station looking like she'd just witnessed something her brain couldn't quite process.The security guards had disappeared somewhere probably to file reports about what happened or maybe to pretend they hadn't seen anything at all because that seemed easier than trying to explain it."What just happened?" Ashley asked when I got close enough that she didn't have to raise her voice."I don't know," I said even though that wasn't entirely true because I knew exactly what had happened but understanding why or how was a different matter entirely. "Is Elijah awake?""Last I checked he was resting but the nurse said he might be conscious now." She glanced down the hallway toward his room. "Do you want to see him?""Yeah." I needed to talk to him about multiple things including making sure he knew his parents had been here and were now gone in a way that probably meant they wouldn't be
112: THE CHASE
Liam's POVI stared at the photograph on the coffee table between us while Vincent's words about mysterious deaths settled into my mind like stones dropping into water.Two people dead within a year and both deaths ruled as accidents that didn't add up when you looked closer was exactly the kind of pattern that made my skin crawl because it meant someone had been careful enough to make murder look random."Do you know how they died?" I asked while keeping my eyes on the faces Vincent had pointed to earlier."One of them drove off a cliff on a road he'd driven hundreds of times before," Vincent said and his voice had gone quiet like he was remembering something he'd tried to forget. "The other one had a heart attack at thirty two years old with no history of heart problems and a clean bill of health from a physical exam two weeks before.""That doesn't sound like coincidence.""It wasn't." Vincent leaned back in his chair. "But proving that was impossible because whoever arranged it kn
113: BLOODY SAMARITAN
Liam's POVI stood there watching the two men disappear down the street and told myself this wasn't my problem because I had enough complications in my life without adding more by getting involved in whatever situation that woman was running from.She'd gotten away with her child and that was enough because I'd already done my part by saving the kid from getting hit by a car and anything beyond that was crossing a line I didn't need to cross.I turned around and started walking back toward my penthouse while ignoring the nagging feeling in my gut that told me I should have done more.The streets were darker now and fewer people were out which made the walk feel longer than it should have been because I kept hearing footsteps behind me that turned out to be nothing when I looked back.My shoulder still hurt from hitting the pavement and I rolled it a few times trying to work out the stiffness while thinking about everything that had happened today. Michael's father's warning about the
114: THE INTERROGATION
Liam's POVI burst into the living room with my heart hammering so hard against my ribs I could feel it in my throat and the first thing I saw was Claire's legs sticking out from behind one of the large armchairs near the window.She was crouched down low with her body pressed against the furniture like she was trying to make herself as small as possible and when she heard me come in her head whipped around to look at me with eyes that were wide with fear.Then I saw Sarah standing in the middle of the room with a gun in her hand pointed directly at me and everything in my body went cold at once.The weapon looked too big for her small hands but she held it steady enough that I knew she'd used one before and wasn't just waving it around hoping to scare us.David was behind her clutching at her shirt and crying softly in a way that made my chest ache because he was just a kid caught in whatever nightmare his mother had dragged him into."Put your hands up," Sarah said and her voice was
115: MANIPULATION
Liam's POVI moved toward the door before my brain had fully caught up with what my body was doing and reached for the handle just as the officers were about to step into the hallway. "Wait."The older officer turned back to look at me with his eyebrows raised. "Sir we need to take her in for questioning about the discharge of a firearm in a residential building.""I know but I need a moment before you do that." I could feel Claire's eyes burning into the side of my head but I didn't look at her because I knew what I'd see there and it would make me second guess what I was about to do."Liam what are you doing?" Claire asked from behind me. "Let them take her.""Just give me a second," I said while still not turning around."No," Claire shot back and I heard her footsteps crossing the room toward where I was standing. "You're about to do something stupid and I'm not going to stand here and watch you risk our safety for someone who just tried to shoot us."She appeared beside me and I
116: STAYING ALIVE IS ALSO RISKY
Liam's POVI looked at Sarah standing there with that cardboard box and wondered if she'd heard my entire conversation with Vincent or just caught the tail end of it when she appeared behind me.Her face gave nothing away and I couldn't tell if she knew I'd been talking about her or if she was genuinely just explaining why she'd climbed out a window very early in the morning.But what really got to me was the logistics of how she'd managed to escape from a penthouse that was twenty floors up with a small child in tow and come back without a single scratch or bruise on either of them.The fire escape only went down so far and after that there would have been a significant drop to the alley below unless she'd found some other route I didn't know about."How did you get down from the twentieth floor with David without getting hurt?" I asked while gesturing toward the building behind me.Sarah shifted the box to her other hip. "This isn't the first time we've had to leave a building quick
117: IN THE END
Liam's POVVincent moved toward Sarah like he was going to grab her arm and drag her inside his house but I stepped between them again because I could see in his eyes that leaving her here would be a death sentence that just happened slower than a bullet."She's staying with me," I said while keeping my voice firm."That's not smart, Liam." Vincent replied and his jaw was still tight with barely controlled anger. "I can keep her secured here until the meeting.""Secured," I repeated and let the word hang in the air between us. "That's just another way of saying you'll make sure she doesn't survive long enough to face the vote."Vincent's face darkened but he didn't deny it and that told me everything I needed to know about what would happen to Sarah if I left her in his care. "She killed my brother.""I know," I said. "But if we're going to do this the right way then she needs to be alive for the meeting and I don't trust that she will be if she stays here."Vincent stared at me for a
118: AGAINST ALL ODDS
Liam's POVEverywhere was utterly silent between us and I watched Sarah's face move from resignation to confusion as she processed what I was about to say.The room had gone quiet after the vote with everyone waiting to see what would happen next and I could feel the weight of thirteen pairs of eyes on me while I made a decision that would either cement my authority or destroy it completely."No," I said and my voice came out stronger than I felt inside.Sarah's eyes went wide and her mouth opened slightly like she couldn't believe what she was hearing.The surprise on her face was genuine because she'd walked into this meeting expecting to die and had made peace with that outcome somewhere between my penthouse and this room.Vincent stood up so fast his chair scraped across the floor with a sound that made everyone flinch. "What do you mean no?""I mean I'm not letting you execute her," I replied while keeping my posture relaxed even though every muscle in my body was tensed for a fi
119: THE CHOICES THAT SHAPES US
Liam's POVThe man standing in front of me looked almost identical to the Mr. Rossi except for subtle differences that became more obvious the longer I stared at him.His face had the same sharp angles and his eyes were the same color but there was something different about the way he carried himself like he'd lived a completely separate life from the man I thought I knew."I'm not the Mr. Rossi you're thinking of," he said and his voice was smooth and cultured in a way that suggested expensive education and years of practice commanding rooms full of people. "I'm his twin brother."My brain struggled to process that information because Vincent had never mentioned anything about Mr. Rossi having a twin and that felt like the kind of detail someone would bring up when talking about their dead father.Unless Vincent didn't know or unless this was some elaborate con designed to get me to lower my guard."What do you want?" I asked while keeping the gun pointed at him even though I'd lower
120: ALLIES AND ENEMIES
Liam's POVI stood in that hospital hallway for what felt like hours but was probably only a few minutes while my mind worked through every possible solution to the problem Claire had just dropped on me.The Rossi shares being withdrawn would destroy the company's stability and once that happened everything else would start falling apart like dominoes lined up in a row.The first thing I needed to do was talk to Mr. Rossi's twin directly and see if there was any way to negotiate with him.Maybe he'd accept something other than my complete surrender of leadership or maybe I could find leverage that would make him reconsider his strategy. It was worth trying even if the chances of success felt slim.I pulled out my phone and scrolled through my contacts until I found the number for the Rossi family estate.Someone answered on the second ring and I asked to speak with Mr. Rossi. There was a pause and then a voice I recognized from earlier came on the line."I was wondering how long it wo