All Chapters of The Billionaire's Shadow Rise Of The Forgotten Heir: Chapter 81
- Chapter 90
131 chapters
Chapter 81
The early morning air was cold, but Helios’s threat burned hotter than ever. Luther and Elara had barely caught their breath after the rooftop ambush when his encrypted phone buzzed.“We have your family, One wrong move, they’re gone.”Luther’s jaw tightened. Every instinct screamed danger. This wasn’t just another strike it was personal.“Stay calm,” he said to Elara, though his voice betrayed none of the panic he felt. “They want fear, we don’t give it to them.”Elara’s hand found his, gripping it briefly. It was a touch heavier than before, a grounding force in the chaos. “Then we hit back,” she said.“Exactly,” Luther replied. “We don’t negotiate with monsters.”The location was an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city. They arrived at the location at night scanning the perimeter. Drones that watched over the area hovered silently, with red sensors blinking in the dark.“Multiple exits,” Luther whispered, crouching behind a stack of crates. “We split fast and we will
Chapter 82
The first rays of dawn cut through the fractured city skyline, a faint reminder that somewhere outside this war, a normal world still existed. But Luther and Elara weren’t part of that world not today. They crouched atop a derelict high-rise across from Helios’s main operations hub, the nerve center of every nightmare he had unleashed on them.Below, security drones buzzed in tight rotations. Armed guards paced in practiced lines. Reinforced barricades circled the building like a steel spine.“This is it,” Luther murmured, holstering one weapon and checking the next. “We take him out here, we cripple everything he’s built.”Elara’s expression tightened with focus. “We stick to the timeline. No improvising unless we have to.”Luther smirked faintly. “We always have to.”She elbowed him softly, but her eyes lingered a moment longer than necessary. It wasn’t just adrenaline making her chest tighten. Every brush of their hands while prepping explosives… every moment they locked eyes wh
Chapter 83
Luther knew that dawn wouldn't make him feel better today, even though the sun had only just risen above the horizon.The city below them was waking up slowly, not knowing that there was still chaos going on below the surface.Helios lay bound in the corner of the control room, but the victory felt thin, too thin.“We can’t stay,” Luther said, scanning the glowing monitors. Half-broken screens flickered with encrypted files, hidden accounts, satellite pings, and contingency plans Helios had buried deep. “This is only one head of the monster he has backups everywhere.”Elara moved beside him, her fingers flying over the controls as she dug into Helios’s systems. A soft hum filled the room as she bypassed a new firewall. “He built redundancies into everything,” she muttered. “Data proxies, blind networks… He planned to survive even if this base fell.”“He won’t,” Luther replied, his voice hardened. “We hit the core before he rallies his supporters.”Elara stood so close that their a
Chapter 84
The steel shutters slammed down with a lot of force, shutting off the light in the warehouse. The echo sounded like thunder in the huge space, and then a low mechanical hum followed that shook the cracked concrete floor.Luther's weapon was already raised, and he was ready to kill.Fluorescent screens flickered behind him, throwing jagged fragments of light across his face.“He’s here,” Elara murmured, her eyes sharp despite the dimness. It wasn’t fear in her voice only the awareness of a predator recognizing another.A slow, mocking clap drifted from the far side of the room.Helios stepped from the shadows, confident as ever, his suit unruffled and his smirk as venomous as the man himself. “Congratulations,” he said, tone dripping with arrogance. “You’ve clawed your way farther than anyone predicted. But this is where your story ends.”Luther didn’t flinch. “You never learned,” he replied. “Corner me, and I bite back.”“Oh, Luther.” Helios chuckled. “You’re not cornered—you’re co
Chapter 85
The machine hit the floor with a force that cracked the concrete.Luther shoved Elara aside just as a massive steel arm swung across the room, slicing through pipes and sending sparks shooting through the air.“Move!” he yelled.The machine’s red sensors locked on them. It lurched, fast—far faster than something that size should have moved. Luther fired, aiming at the joints, but the bullets ricocheted off its armored plating.“Damn it!” he growled, grabbing Elara’s wrist and pulling her toward the far side of the basement.The creature smashed forward, tearing through old boilers like they were cardboard. Steam burst everywhere, filling the air with heat and blinding fog.“Elara, stay low!” Luther ordered, dropping behind a dented metal crate.But she didn’t listen. She crawled to another angle, firing at exposed wiring sparking along the machine’s shoulder.“Over here!” she shouted, trying to draw its attention from Luther.The machine pivoted, its sensors flickered, analyzing, adj
Chapter 86
The elevator doors slid open with a metallic hiss, letting out a wave of cold, recycled air. Luther stepped into the top floor of the abandoned Helix Data Core, the dim blue lights pulsing against the steel walls. It once belonged to Cain Global, but now it was neutral ground or so he believed.Marcus walked behind him, scanning every angle, jaw clenched like he expected a bullet to hit them. “No guards, no sensors and this place is too quiet.”“Victor wants me here,” Luther said. “Which means he doesn’t need guards.”Celeste tightened her grip on the small encrypted case in her hands. Her pulse had been unsettled since they left the Syndicate base, but now it soared. “The message said this location holds the last missing cipher—enough to expose the entire Echelon project. If Victor didn’t plant a trap, I’ll be shocked.”Luther didn’t answer, his attention was locked on the large chamber at the end of the corridor the Core Room. The glass door slid open before they touched it.M
Chapter 87
The chamber went dark the second the floor swallowed Celeste.Metal slammed shut over the opening, sealing her inside whatever Victor had prepared beneath the Core Room.Luther was on his knees within a heartbeat, palms pressed against the cold steel. “Celeste!”His voice echoed through the silent chamber, coming back to him like a taunt.Marcus swept his flashlight across the walls. “The drop wasn’t random that panel retracted by design.”Adrian backed toward the far wall, his face pale. “You don’t understand what’s down there. That lower level—Victor built it for the Echelon trials. Luther, she’s in a containment chamber.”Luther stood slowly. His expression wasn’t rage—it was focus sharpened to the edge of something dangerous.“Explain,” he said quietly.Adrian swallowed hard, forcing the words out. “The Gene needs two components: the carrier and the stabilizer. You’re the carrier, Luther and you always have been. But a stabilizer—someone resistant to the probability shifts—wa
Chapter 88
The chamber shook hard enough that the overhead lights flickered, throwing jagged shadows across the circular walls. Luther dropped to one knee to steady himself, catching the platform before he hit the floor completely. The tremor ended as abruptly as it began, but the damage was clear: cracks ran through the metal plating beneath his feet like branching veins.Celeste’s scream faded into a strained, uneven breath. She hung suspended in the energy lattice, every muscle in her body tight with exhaustion.Victor stood behind the glass barrier, hands clasped behind his back, still composed. “Impressive,” he said calmly. “Your presence accelerated her response faster than anticipated.”Luther rose slowly. “Let her go.”“No.” Victor tilted his head. “You don’t get to make demands. Not in my chamber, not with my creation, and certainly not when you’ve already played into my hands.”Adrian moved forward, placing himself slightly ahead of Luther. His voice shook, but he forced himself to
Chapter 89
The chamber ceiling cracked open like a fault line splitting under pressure. Sparks shot downward in violent bursts as the entire facility trembled. Luther dragged Celeste away from the collapsing column of light, her legs barely responding as she gasped for breath.“Stay with me,” he said, steadying her with one arm.Her skin still flickered with traces of blue currents that frightened him more than he wanted to admit.Marcus covered their retreat, firing twice at the ruined console where Victor had stood seconds before. The chamber flooded with alarms.“Move!” Marcus yelled. “The whole sublevel is destabilizing!”Adrian sprinted toward them. “Luther, we need to go now—the phase has already hit the surface. The city’s going dark."Luther froze. “Now?”“Now,” Adrian said. “He activated it the second you pulled Celeste out of his chamber.”A deep metallic groan rolled through the floor. Pipes burst overhead. Water sprayed down like pressure jets cutting through steel. Celeste winced
Chapter 90
The city sirens wailed through the shattered night, a sharp, rising howl that rattled the broken windows around them. Luther didn’t slow as he pushed through the blown-out doorway of the old transit station, Celeste right behind him. Marcus limped at their heels, breathing hard, while Adrian brought up the rear with the stolen tablet cradled to his chest like it was made of glass.The city was sinking into chaos.Traffic lights blinked dead. Buildings flickered as generators overloaded. People ran across the square in confused waves, Screens on street corners lit up with Victor’s symbol and the sweeping V that rotated slowly like a blade.Echelon Phase Two was fully active.And they were out of time.“Where’s the emergency access?” Celeste asked, her voice tight as she pulled the scarf higher around her face to block the smoke drifting across the street.“Downstairs.” Adrian gestured toward a subway entrance swallowed in darkness. “If the backup servers are anywhere, they’re beneath