All Chapters of The Exile's reckoning : Chapter 41
- Chapter 50
173 chapters
The Daughter
The safe house felt smaller than it had an hour ago. Kai stood in the center of the room, his mother's terrified face still burned into his retinas from Marcus's photo. Julie sat on the couch, cradling her injured arm. Reece leaned against the wall, barely standing after the offshore extraction. Nadia hovered near the door, guilt etched into every line of her face.And Helen Sterling—dying, pale, but somehow still the most dangerous person in the room—held a tablet in her weathered hands."So let's kill him together," Helen had said, her voice steady despite the tremor in her fingers.Kai looked at her, then at the tablet. "What do you have?"Helen's smile was grim. She tapped the screen, then turned it toward the room. "Everything. Every secret Marcus Blackwell has buried for thirty years." She swiped through files—bank records, encrypted emails, photographs. "But we start with his greatest weakness. The one person he might hesitate to sacrifice."The image on the screen made Kai's b
The Fracture
Kai stepped back inside the safe house, his arm still tingling from where Lila had clung to him. The door clicked shut behind him, sealing out the cold night air. Julie stood in the center of the room, arms crossed, her injured arm cradled against her chest. Her eyes were fire."Are you out of your mind?" she said.Kai stopped. "Julie—""She's his daughter." Julie's voice rose, sharp enough to cut. "Marcus Blackwell's daughter. The man who killed our mother. And you're out there holding her like she's the victim.""She is a victim," Kai said evenly.Julie's laugh was bitter. "She's his blood. His weapon. How can you possibly trust her?"Kai moved further into the room, keeping his voice low. "She didn't know. You saw her face. She didn't know.""Or she's a really good liar," Julie shot back. She turned to the others—Helen, Reece, Nadia—all watching in silence. "Am I the only one who sees this? He's known her for what, a few weeks? And now he's ready to bet all our lives that she's not
The Call
Dawn broke pale and cold over the safe house. Lila sat at the kitchen table, staring at her phone like it was a loaded gun. Helen stood beside her, tablet in hand, earpiece wire coiled between her fingers. Kai leaned against the counter, arms crossed, his face unreadable. Nadia was at the window, watching the tree line. Reece sat in a chair, his injuries keeping him still.Julie was nowhere to be seen."He'll call within the hour," Helen said quietly. "He always checks in after chaos. Needs to know his pieces are still on the board."Lila's hands trembled. She pressed them flat against the table. "And if he doesn't?""He will."The phone buzzed at exactly six a.m.The sound cut through the room like a gunshot. Lila flinched. Helen moved quickly, sliding the earpiece across the table. "Put it in. I'll coach you through. Stay calm. Play ignorant. You're scared, but you don't know why."Lila's fingers fumbled with the earpiece, nearly dropping it twice before she got it seated. The phone
The Dinner
The black car arrived exactly at six-thirty. Sleek, expensive, with windows tinted so dark they looked like oil. Lila stood on the porch of the safe house, wearing the only nice dress she had—simple, black, professional. Underneath, she was wired with devices that felt like insects crawling under her skin.Kai stood beside her, his jaw tight. "Last chance to back out.""No, it's not," Lila said quietly.The driver stepped out—tall, broad-shouldered, earpiece visible. He opened the rear door without a word. Lila walked toward the car, her heels crunching on gravel. She didn't look back. If she looked back, she'd lose her nerve.She slid into the leather seat. The door closed with a heavy thunk, sealing her in. Through the window, she saw Kai watching, his hands in fists at his sides. Then the car pulled away, and he disappeared.Inside the safe house, Helen's voice came through everyone's earpieces. "Tracker active. Following signal now."Kai stared at the tablet in Helen's hands, watc
The Offer
Marcus set down his wine glass and leaned back in his chair, his fingers steepled in front of him. The city lights glittered behind him like a crown. Lila sat frozen across from him, her heart hammering, waiting for the threat she knew was coming.But it didn't come."I'm not going to hurt you," Marcus said. His voice was calm, almost kind. "That would be counterproductive.""Then what do you want?" Lila asked, her voice tight.Marcus smiled. "I want to make you an offer."Lila blinked. "An offer.""Kai Cross wants revenge," Marcus said, gesturing with one hand as if discussing the weather. "He wants to burn down everything I've built because he believes I killed his mother. And he's right—I did. But revenge is a dead-end road, Lila. It leads nowhere except more blood." He leaned forward. "I, on the other hand, want succession. Someone to carry forward what I've built. Someone brilliant enough to see the bigger picture. Someone moral enough to fix my mistakes."Lila stared at him. "Yo
The Debrief
The black car pulled up to the safe house just after midnight. Lila sat in the back seat, staring at her hands. They were shaking. They hadn't stopped shaking since she left the penthouse.The driver opened her door. She stepped out into the cold night air and walked toward the house. Every step felt heavier than the last.Inside, they were waiting.Kai stood by the window, arms crossed, his jaw tight. Julie sat on the couch, her broken arm in a sling, her eyes red-rimmed. Reece leaned against the wall, pale and exhausted. Nadia stood near the kitchen, her expression unreadable. And Helen sat at the table, the tablet in front of her, the audio feed still playing on a loop.The door opened. Everyone turned to look at Lila.She stepped inside and closed the door behind her. For a moment, no one spoke. Then Kai's voice cut through the silence, low and dangerous."Tell me you're not actually considering it."Lila met his eyes. "I'm considering it."Julie shot to her feet. "Are you out of
The Bait
Derek Sterling lived in a glass tower downtown, twenty floors up, with a view that cost more than most people made in a year. Helen sat at the table in the safe house, her fingers trembling as she pulled up the building schematics on the tablet."Security codes," she said quietly, her voice hollow. "Elevator override. Penthouse access. Everything you need."Kai stood across from her, checking the magazine in his pistol. "You're sure about this?"Helen didn't look up. "He's my son.""He killed someone in a hit-and-run," Kai said. "Marcus covered it up to control you. Derek's not innocent, Helen."Helen's jaw tightened. "I know what he is.""Then why hesitate?"Helen finally looked at him. Her eyes were red-rimmed, exhausted. "Because even monsters are someone's child."Kai held her gaze. "He helped destroy my family. He's complicit in everything Marcus did to you. If we use him as bait, Marcus has to respond."Helen closed her eyes. When she opened them again, something had broken insi
The Impossible Choice
The warehouse was silent except for Reece's labored breathing and Derek's muffled sobs. Kai stood by the window, staring at his phone. Lila's contact information glowed on the screen. He pressed call.It rang twice then went to voicemail."Lila, it's me, call me back please."He hung up and tried again but same result.Behind him, Helen stood with her arms crossed, her face carved from stone. "Let Derek die."Kai turned. "What?""You heard me," Helen said. "My son made his choices. He killed someone and walked away. He's complicit in everything Marcus did to control me. He's not worth Lila's life."Julie nodded from where she sat against the wall. "Derek helped destroy our family. He stood by while Marcus ruined us. Why would we trade Lila for him?"Reece lay on the table, pale and sweating. The field medic had extracted the bullet and bandaged the wound, but infection was already setting in. His voice was weak but steady. "It's not about Derek. Marcus doesn't want him. He wants you o
The Third Option
The warehouse door opened. Everyone turned. Kai walked in first, and behind him, Lila.The room went silent. Julie stood frozen by the table. Nadia stopped mid-motion, a weapon half-cleaned in her hands. Helen looked up from her tablet, her expression unreadable. Even Reece, feverish and pale on the makeshift cot, lifted his head.Lila stepped forward, her chin raised. "I'm not taking Marcus's offer."Julie's eyes narrowed. "Then why are you here?""Because we're not trading anyone either," Lila said. She moved to the table and spread her hands flat on the surface. "There's a third option."Nadia set down the weapon. "Which is?""I go to the meeting," Lila said. "Midnight. Sterling Pharma factory. Exactly like Marcus wants. But I'm not going as his prisoner. I'm going as bait."Kai crossed his arms. "She'll be wired. Armed. And I'll be close."Helen's fingers moved across her tablet. "The factory. I know that place. Sterling Pharma's original manufacturing site. Shut down eight years
The Factory
The Sterling Pharma factory rose out of the industrial wasteland like a corpse. Burned-out windows. Rusted metal. Graffiti-covered walls. The place had been abandoned for eight years, left to rot after the OxyElite lawsuits bled the company dry. Now it was a monument to suffering—thousands of lives destroyed, packaged and shipped from this very building.Kai stood at the edge of the property, staring at the ruins. The last time he'd been here was ten years ago. Half a mile down the road, at the intersection where his mother's car had been found. Twisted metal. Shattered glass. Blood on the asphalt."Kai." Nadia's voice pulled him back. "We're moving."It was six p.m. Six hours until midnight. Six hours to turn Marcus's trap into theirs.They moved as ghosts through the fading light. Reece limped toward the building across the street—five stories, flat roof, clear sightline to the factory's main floor. His leg was wrapped tight, but blood still seeped through the bandage. Nadia tried t