All Chapters of The Formidable System: Alex Cole Secret Heir: Chapter 1
- Chapter 10
17 chapters
Chapter 1
The Formidable System: Alex Cole Secret Heir Chapter 1 The banquet hall glittered like something out of a royal fairytale. Chandeliers poured golden light over velvet drapes, polished marble floors reflected the shimmer of gowns and jewelry, and a soft quartet played music that should have been the soundtrack to joy. It should have been the happiest night of Ethan Cole’s life. He stood at the center of the stage, a ring box trembling in his hand. His heart thumped so hard he thought the entire room could hear it. Months of planning, weeks of saving, every hope and dream he had clung to… they all converged in this single moment. Lily Sanders, the woman he had loved since university, stood before him in a sparkling white dress. Her smile was painted, her eyes glistening in the way that once made him believe the world was kind. Dozens of guests watched, cameras raised, anticipation thick in the air. Ethan dropped to one knee. “Lily,” he said, voice catching with emotion, “I’ve drea
Chapter 2
Chapter 2 The night was merciless. Cold wind swept across the empty street, tugging at Ethan’s suit jacket as he staggered into the darkness. The glitter of the banquet hall still clung to his memory like a cruel ghost, but here, under the flickering streetlamps, there was nothing but shadows and silence. His shoes scraped against the pavement. His tie hung loose around his neck. The laughter from the hall echoed in his head, a chorus of ridicule that refused to fade. Every step he took seemed heavier, as though the humiliation had fused itself to his bones. Ethan shoved his hands into his pockets, fighting to breathe. Why? The question spun endlessly in his mind. Why did she do it like that? In front of everyone? He remembered Lily’s words, sharp and merciless: “You’re nothing but dead weight.” They struck harder than any fist could. For years, he had believed love was enough. He had believed that with time, with patience, he could build a future worthy of her. But tonight proved
Chapter 3
Chapter 3The city blurred past the tinted windows as the black sedan slid through the night. Streetlights cast fleeting patterns across Ethan’s face, but inside the car, silence pressed heavy. Jonathan Hale sat across from him, upright and composed, as though he had been waiting years for this moment. His presence was unsettling. Not threatening, but too deliberate, too certain, as if he knew things Ethan didn’t. Ethan finally broke the silence. “You keep talking about my grandfather. But I already told you … I don’t have one. Both of them died before I was born.” Jonathan’s lips twitched into the faintest smile. “That is what you were told. But the truth is different. Much different.” Ethan’s stomach tightened. “What do you mean?” Jonathan reached into the inner pocket of his suit and pulled out a slim envelope. He placed it on the seat between them. “Inside is proof. A photograph of your mother with her father. And documents …legal ones…tying you directly to him.” Ethan hesit
Chapter 4
Chapter 4 The device sat in Ethan’s palm, heavier than its size should allow. It was smooth, black, and cold, yet the faint glow on its screen made it feel alive … almost aware of him. Welcome, Ethan Cole. Initialization in progress. The words pulsed softly, as though the System itself was breathing. Ethan swallowed hard, his throat dry. “This… this isn’t real. It can’t be real.” Jonathan’s steady gaze never left him. “Reality doesn’t ask for your belief, Ethan. It simply exists. Whether you accept it or not is up to you.” Ethan’s chest tightened. Just hours ago, he was the man everyone mocked … a fool, abandoned in front of a crowd. Now he was sitting in the back of a sleek black sedan, being told he was heir to an empire, holding a device that seemed to whisper promises of greatness. It was too much. Too sudden. Too impossible. He laughed bitterly, shaking his head. “Do you have any idea what happened to me tonight? They laughed at me. They called me trash. My own fiancée… s
Chapter 5
Chapter 5 The first light of dawn crept into Ethan’s apartment, sliding past the broken blinds to paint thin gold lines across the floor. He sat on the edge of his bed, fully dressed from the night before, as though sleep had been a luxury he could no longer afford. The device lay on the nightstand, its black surface pulsing faintly like a heartbeat. Ethan’s eyes never left it. “It has to be a trick,” he muttered to himself. His voice cracked from exhaustion. “Some elaborate setup… maybe Jonathan’s running a con.” But who would spend so much effort on him? A man who owned nothing, who meant nothing? He dragged both hands down his face, groaning. His humiliation replayed yet again in his mind — Lily’s laughter, Daniel’s smug look, the guests whispering as though his misery were entertainment. His chest burned every time he remembered. He grabbed the device suddenly, holding it up as if daring it to prove him wrong. “If you’re real,” he said bitterly, “show me something. Do somet
Chapter 6
Chapter 6 Ethan sat at the edge of his bed long after Jonathan had gone. The house was quiet, the city beyond still humming with its indifferent rhythm, yet his mind was anything but still. He kept replaying Jonathan’s words, the System’s interface, and the unbearable memories of humiliation that had dragged him here. “System,” he whispered again, almost mockingly. “If you’re real, then prove it.” No reply came. The silence felt heavier than ridicule. Ethan rubbed his palms against his jeans, torn between laughter and despair. Maybe I’ve finally lost it. First, a ruined engagement, then a fantasy device promising salvation. What’s next? Voices in my head telling me I’m destined to be king? Yet a tiny flicker inside him refused to die. Hope, fragile but persistent, clung to him like a stubborn weed pushing through cracked stone. He looked around his sparse room. Nothing about it screamed destiny — peeling wallpaper, a single chair, and a desk stacked with books he hadn’t touched
Chapter 7
Chapter 7 The morning sun leaked through the curtains, pale and reluctant. Ethan hadn’t slept much. His mind had wrestled with the System’s task all night, swinging between disbelief and fragile resolve. Task: Prove your worth by earning £100 within 24 hours. He sat on the edge of his bed, rubbing his temples. “£100. Sounds small… but not when you’re me.” His phone buzzed…a text from his landlord reminding him about overdue rent. Another from a utility company threatening disconnection. Life wasn’t giving him breathing space. Ethan slipped the restored watch onto his wrist. Its ticking steadied him. Alright. One day. Let’s see if I can pull this off. Out on the Street, he stepped into the brisk morning air. People bustled past, each locked in their own urgent rhythms …men in suits, delivery riders, mothers pulling kids along. Ethan felt like a ghost among them, invisible. “Earn a hundred. Without deceit, without theft. How?” he muttered. “I can’t exactly walk into a job interv
Chapter 8
Chapter 8 By the time Ethan returned to his flat, the city sky was bleeding into dusk. The last streaks of amber and violet stretched across the horizon like bruises, fading into the encroaching dark. Streetlamps flickered to life one by one, their pale orange halos casting weak circles against cracked sidewalks. The air was cool, damp with the smell of rain that hadn’t yet fallen. Ethan’s steps were lighter than they had been in months. His shoes scuffed the uneven pavement, but for once, he didn’t feel crushed beneath the weight of failure. There was something in his pocket that hadn’t come from pity or scraps. A hundred pounds. It wasn’t wealth, not by any measure, but it was his. Earned through his own hands, his own skill. Not charity. Not leftovers. For once, he felt more than the boy people mocked. Inside his flat, the dim corridor creaked with every step. His door resisted as always, groaning on rusty hinges before giving way. The smell of his own space greeted him. stale
Chapter 9
Chapter 9 The gym smelled of sweat, rubber mats, and the faint metallic tang of iron. Machines clanked and weights thudded against padded flooring, the rhythm of discipline echoing through the cavernous hall. Mirrors stretched across the walls, reflecting bodies honed by years of relentless effort. Men and women sculpted into something almost inhuman in their precision. Their veins bulged, muscles flexed, their grunts timed with each rep. And then there was Ethan. He stood at the edge of the weight rack, shoulders slouched, his palms clammy against the cold steel of a barbell. Compared to them, he looked like a stranger who had stumbled into the wrong world. A boy lost among warriors. “Beginner detected,” the System’s cool text shimmered faintly across his vision. “Adapting training program.” Ethan grimaced. “Yeah, no kidding.” He tried to lift, but his hands trembled, wrists threatening to give way. His reflection mocked him, gaunt, tired, untrained. Yet, with every shaky rep, t
Chapter 10
Chapter 10 The side street was silent. Not the calm kind of silence, but the kind that pressed against your eardrums and made every sound feel magnified. Ethan’s breathing seemed too loud, each inhale scraping at his throat. Somewhere in the distance, a car hummed past, its tires sloshing through wet asphalt, and the faint drip-drip-drip of a leaking pipe echoed from above. And then...movement. A figure detached itself from the shadows. Tall. Lean. Wrapped in black from cap to boots, his face obscured by a cyclist’s mask. Only his eyes were visible. dark, unreadable, glinting faintly under the yellow glow of the lamppost. He didn’t advance. He didn’t retreat. He simply stood there. Watching. Ethan’s chest tightened. The System pulsed faintly across his vision: [Threat Detected. Unknown Identity. Risk Level: Moderate.] His palms dampened, his voice cracked before he steadied it. “Who’s there?” The man said nothing. Just the unnerving silence of someone who didn’t need to speak