All Chapters of The Exile's reckoning : Chapter 171
- Chapter 174
174 chapters
The Ultimatum
Vincent Prime’s voice came through the phone again. Different call. Different demand. More specific.“New offer. Simpler. You for one hostage. Kai Cross surrenders himself. I release Lila’s father. Everyone else stays secured. You have thirty minutes.”“Location?” Kai asked.“Abandoned Byzantine monastery. Greek mountains. Eighty miles north. Helicopter waiting at your position. Come alone. Come unarmed. Or Arthur Blackwell dies first. Then the others. Thirty minutes.”The line went dead.Kai looked at his team. “I’ll go.”“No.” Julie’s voice immediate. Absolute. “It’s a death trap. He’ll kill you.”“He’ll kill hostages if I don’t. And keep taking more. Friends of friends. Anyone connected to us. Better I surrender now. Save who I can.”“Your death doesn’t stop him,” Nadia said. “It just removes our best operator. We lose you, we lose the war.”“I’m not irreplaceable. You’re all trained. You’re all capable. You can finish this without me.” Kai’s voice was firm. Decision made. “And if
Last Updated : 2026-02-08
Eleanor’s Secret
Kai’s finger tightened on the trigger. Vincent Prime bleeding. Wounded. Vulnerable. One shot. End this. Revenge for Eleanor. Justice for everyone.But Vincent Prime spoke fast. Desperate. “Eleanor discovered something. Not just Council. Something above Council. Someone who created the entire system.”Kai paused. “What are you talking about?”“The Founder. Person who established shadow government in 1960s. Person who recruited original Council members. Person who designed architecture.” Vincent Prime coughed. Blood on his lips. “Council members don’t even know Founder’s identity. We take orders through intermediaries. Through encrypted channels. Through systems designed to keep Founder hidden. Anonymous. Protected.”“That’s impossible. Council runs everything.”“Council runs operations. Founder runs Council. Pulls strings we don’t even see. Makes decisions we implement without understanding why. Creates architecture we maintain without knowing original design.” Vincent Prime’s voice we
Last Updated : 2026-02-09
The Music Box
Vincent Prime’s finger hovered over the detonator. “Ten seconds. Decide. Music box or Arthur Blackwell’s life. Choose.”Kai held the music box. Small. Wooden. Eleanor’s melody trapped inside. Twenty-seven years of carrying it. Twenty-seven years of not knowing its true purpose. Cipher key. Evidence. Ultimate weapon against shadow government.Against one elderly man’s life. One innocent. One person whose only crime was being Lila’s father.“Nine seconds.”Through the wire, team monitoring. Julie’s voice urgent. “Kai, don’t give it to him! Eleanor died protecting that. We can’t lose it!”Lila’s voice. Torn. Desperate. “Save my father. Please. I’m begging you.”“Eight seconds.”Nadia. Tactical. “We can breach. Kill Vincent Prime before he triggers. Fifty-fifty chance.”Torres. Military. “Fifty-fifty isn’t good enough. Not with civilian life.”“Seven seconds.”Derek. Analytical. “If music box is cipher key, we could copy the mechanism. Photograph it. Replicate it later.”Theodore. Pragmat
Last Updated : 2026-02-10
Siege
Inside the monastery, Kai moved fast. Supporting Arthur. Elderly man struggling. Weak. Confused. But mobile. Breathing. Alive."We need to find exit," Kai said. Scanning. Assessing. "Byzantine monasteries always had escape routes. Secret passages. Emergency exits for siege situations. This place is eighth century. It has to have something."Vincent Prime's voice echoed through monastery. PA system. Speakers hidden throughout. Amplified. Omnipresent. "There is no escape, Kai. I've studied this building for months. Mapped every corridor. Sealed every exit. Covered every passage. You're trapped. Accept it."Gunfire erupted. Close. Eight guards entering chapel. Professional operators. Military-grade weapons. Hunting. Killing.Kai grabbed Arthur. Pulled him behind stone pillar. Ancient. Thick. Bullet-resistant. Barely.Bullets hit stone. Chipping. Fragmenting. Ricocheting. Close. Too close.Kai had no weapon. Lost during initial confrontation. Disarmed. Vulnerable. Just body. Just training
Last Updated : 2026-02-11