All Chapters of RISE OF THE SCORNFUL CRYPTO LORD: Chapter 51
- Chapter 60
66 chapters
51. THE WAREHOUSE TRAP
Liam's POVI drove to the warehouse alone despite every instinct telling me this was a setup. Elijah had tried to convince me to bring backup or at least let him follow from a distance but I refused because Michael's message had been clear about coming alone. If there was any chance this was legitimate information about Ashley or my father, I couldn't risk losing it by disobeying the instructions.The warehouse was in an industrial area on the far edge of the city where the buildings were old enough to be abandoned but not valuable enough to be demolished. My headlights illuminated rusted metal siding as I pulled up to the entrance. I turned off the engine while sitting in the car for a moment trying to see if anyone was watching from the shadows.Nothing moved in my field of vision so I got out with my hand resting on the gun I had started carrying everywhere. The warehouse door was slightly open which meant someone wanted me to walk right in without having to announce my presence.I
52. THE TWIN REVELATION
Liam's POVThe three of us stumbled out of the warehouse while gunfire continued behind us. Elijah had backed the car up after his dramatic entrance, giving us just enough time to cut Michael free from the chair before Ashley's men regrouped.I threw Michael's arm over my shoulder while Elijah took his other side so we could half carry him to where the car was waiting with its engine still running."Go, go, go!" I shouted as soon as we had Michael in the back seat.Elijah floored the accelerator while bullets pinged off the rear of the vehicle. The tires screeched as we sped away from the warehouse with me twisted around in my seat watching to see if anyone was following us."Where are we going?" Elijah asked while navigating through dark streets at dangerous speeds."I learnt there is a safe house the family keeps for emergencies," I replied, giving him directions to a location on the outskirts of the city.Michael was slumped in the back seat bleeding from multiple wounds. His breat
53. THE BOARDROOM BATTLE
Liam's POVWhile I was dealing with Michael's confession about Ashley being an imposter seeking revenge, Claire's world was falling apart in a completely different way. She called me three times before I finally answered the phone, still sitting in the safe house trying to process everything I had just learned."The stock dropped forty percent," Claire said without greeting. "Charles has been spreading rumors to investors about management instability. The board just called an emergency meeting for tomorrow morning.""How bad is it?" I asked."Bad enough that we might lose everything all over again," Claire replied, her voice tight with stress. "Can you be there?"I wanted to tell her no because I had too many other problems to handle, but I heard the desperation in her voice that made it impossible to refuse."I'll be there," I promised.The next morning I arrived at the Harrington Tech building still wearing the same clothes from the night before because I hadn't gone back to my hote
54. FATHER AND SON
Liam's POVI waited five minutes after Ashley left the boardroom before slipping out through the back entrance myself.Getting caught there would raise too many questions about my connection to the company beyond just being Claire's husband. The board was still arguing inside about whether Ashley's threat was real when I closed the door behind me.The hallway was empty when I looked for Ashley but she had already disappeared like she had never been there at all.I checked the elevator lobby, the stairwell entrance, even the bathroom near the conference room, but found no trace of where she had gone. Either she was incredibly fast at leaving or she had planned her exit route before even entering the building.My phone buzzed with a text message while I was standing in the empty corridor trying to decide my next move. The message was from my adoptive father asking if I could meet him for drinks that evening.I stared at the screen remembering the warning from the old Don's letter about
55. TRIAL OF BLOOD
Liam's POVI walked out of the bar into the cool night air while my mind replayed the conversation with my father over and over looking for hidden meanings in everything he had said. When I reached my car, I sat behind the wheel without starting the engine because exhaustion suddenly crashed over me like a wave.I realized I hadn't gotten any good sleep since everything began spiraling out of control. Between discovering my real identity, dealing with Ashley's betrayal, protecting Claire from her own family, handling Michael's confession about the twin sister, every day brought new crises that demanded my attention. My body was running on adrenaline that was starting to wear thin.My phone rang while I was sitting there thinking about finding a hotel room where I could sleep for twelve hours straight. The caller ID showed it was from one of the senior Rossi family members. I considered ignoring it but knew that would only make things worse."The council wants to meet tonight," the voi
56: FOLLOWING THE TRUTH
Claire's POVI sat in my office staring at financial reports that made no sense because my mind kept drifting back to Liam and the way he had been acting for the past week. He had told me about the Rossi family connection after that incident at the business function when Vincent had slapped Nathan, explaining that he was somehow connected to them through his real family history.But knowing he had ties to a criminal organization was different from understanding what that actually meant in his daily life.The injuries worried me most. Liam would show up with bruises he claimed came from accidents or minor mishaps that didn't add up when I thought about them carefully.A cut above his eyebrow that he said happened when he walked into a cabinet door. Scraped knuckles he blamed on tripping and catching himself. A limp that lasted three days which he attributed to pulling a muscle at the gym.Each explanation sounded reasonable on its own but when I put them all together, they formed a pa
57: THE RED DOT
Liam's POVThe silence between us stretched out until it felt like the air itself was pressing down on my chest. Claire stood there with tears almost running down her face while I tried to figure out how to make her understand why I couldn't tell her everything without making things worse."I need you to listen to me," I said quietly. "Really listen.""I'm listening," Claire replied, her voice tight with hurt."When I married you, it was supposed to be business," I began. "A transaction arranged by your father for reasons I didn't understand at the time. I thought I was doing you a favor, giving you an escape from your family's pressure.""I know that, I was the one who loved you." Claire said. "We both knew what the marriage was supposed to be, expect what you told me.""Listen, but somewhere between signing the papers and now, things changed for me," I continued. "You changed things. The way you fought for your father's company even when everyone told you to give up. The way you def
58: THE ULTIMATUM
Liam's POVI didn't think. My body moved before my brain could process what was happening. I grabbed Claire around the waist while throwing both of us sideways toward the floor just as the window behind us exploded inward with the sound of breaking glass.The first bullet hit the wall where my head had been seconds before. The second punched through the couch we had been standing near. The third shattered a picture frame on the opposite wall."Stay down!" I shouted at Claire while covering her body with mine.More shots came through the window in rapid succession. Glass rained down on us while bullets destroyed furniture all around the room. Claire was screaming but I couldn't tell if she was hurt or just terrified. I crawled toward the hallway dragging her with me while keeping both of us as low to the ground as possible."Are you hit?" I asked when we reached the hallway where we had some cover from the angle of the shooter."I don't think so," Claire replied, her voice was shaking.
59: THE CHOICE
Claire's POVLiam insisted I stay at his hotel after the shooting. I didn't argue because going back to my apartment with all those bullet holes felt impossible. The idea of sleeping in that bed where we had almost died made my stomach turn with fear.For two days we fell into a strange routine. We left for work together in the morning like nothing had changed between us despite Liam's mention of divorce.In the evening I would drive to my apartment to pack more of my belongings while Rossi guards waited outside to make sure no one attacked me. Then I returned to the hotel where Liam was waiting.We didn't talk about the divorce again.We didn't talk about much of anything beyond surface level conversations about work or what we wanted for dinner. The silence between us felt heavy with all the things we weren't saying to each other.On the third evening, I had just returned from another trip to my apartment with a suitcase full of clothes when there was aggressive knocking on the hote
60: SEVERED TIES
Claire's POVThe next morning I woke up to seventeen missed calls from various family members who weren't my mother, Nathan, or Christopher. When I finally listened to my voicemail, I heard my aunt's sympathetic voice telling me I should check the news before going into work.I turned on the television in the hotel room while Liam was in the shower. The business news channel was showing a press conference from earlier that morning. My mother stood at a podium wearing her most formal suit with Nathan on one side and Christopher on the other."The Harrington family has always valued integrity, honesty, and sound judgment," my mother said to the assembled reporters. "Unfortunately my daughter Claire has demonstrated that she does not share these values."My stomach dropped as I realized she was actually doing this publicly instead of just within the family."Claire has chosen to associate with known criminals despite repeated warnings from her family," Vivian continued. "She has put the