All Chapters of Tell the World, The Hidden Magnate is Back : Chapter 71
- Chapter 80
109 chapters
TEAR THIS CITY APART!
The package arrived with morning coffee and engagement congratulations from people Lily had never met—wrapped in silver paper, tied with black ribbon, beautiful in way that should've triggered every alarm but didn't because happiness made people careless."Another one." Lily set her mug down, reaching for the box with smile that came from spending two days fielding well-wishes. "People are being so generous."Ethan looked up from tablet where he'd been monitoring Victoria's known associates, instinct prickling with warning he couldn't articulate. "Who's it from?""Card says 'anonymous admirer.'" She pulled ribbon loose, paper falling away to reveal velvet case that screamed expensive. "Oh my god, Ethan, look at this."The watch inside was masterpiece—rose gold with diamond markers, brand that started at six figures and went up from there.Lily lifted it from cushion with reverence, metal cool against fingers that were already reaching for clasp."Wait—" Ethan's warning came half-secon
TRIED TO KILL
Hours bled together in ICU waiting room that became prison.Nurses brought updates that were carefully neutral—"stable but critical," "responding to treatment," "too early to tell."Marcus returned with preliminary results."Package was delivered by courier service—legitimate company, order placed online using stolen credit card. Security footage shows man in late twenties, average build, nothing distinctive. Professional.""The watch?""Swiss manufacture, purchased three months ago through private dealer in Geneva. Cash transaction. Buyer used fake identity that's already disappeared into system.""So we have nothing." Ethan's voice was flat defeat."We have this." Marcus pulled up email on tablet. "Anonymous tip sent to me twenty minutes ago. Claims Victoria's operating from safehouse in industrial district. Includes coordinates and security layout.""It's a trap.""Probably." Marcus didn't disagree. "But it's only lead we have."Ethan stared at coordinates, calculating odds and str
WE DESTROY HER TOGETHER
Three days felt like three years when measured in heartbeats that refused to settle.Ethan had memorized every beep from the machines monitoring Lily's vitals, every rhythm that meant stable versus critical, every sound that preceded nurses rushing in with urgency that made his stomach drop.He'd slept in chair beside her bed, showered in hospital bathroom, eaten meals Marcus brought that tasted like cardboard because everything tasted wrong when the woman you loved was unconscious.The doctors said her body was healing, that poison was metabolizing, that brain activity showed normal patterns.But she hadn't opened her eyes.Until she did.The change was subtle—flutter of eyelids, shift in breathing pattern, fingers twitching against sheets in way that suggested consciousness returning from wherever it had been hiding."Lily?" Ethan was on his feet instantly, hand finding hers with desperation he'd stopped trying to hide. "Can you hear me?"Her eyes opened slowly, pupils contracting a
IT'S A TRAP!
Ethan didn't sit, didn't show weakness, didn't apologize for crimes he hadn't committed."The documents are fabricated. Expertly done, but fake. And I can prove it."He nodded at Marcus who pulled up presentation that had been assembled in past hour using resources that shouldn't exist but did when you had Ghost Protocol at your disposal."The emails shown in leaked documents? Metadata proves they were created three days ago using software designed to forge digital communications. The transaction records? They reference accounts that didn't exist during the dates specified. The offshore holdings? They're real—but they belong to Victoria Blackwell, not me."The screen showed evidence that made several board members lean forward with interest that replaced skepticism."Furthermore," Ethan continued, voice carrying prosecutor's certainty, "we have documentation proving Victoria Blackwell has engaged in systematic insider trading for past fifteen years. SEC investigation that was buried t
GO BACK INTO FIRE
Marcus's hands shook when he typed the coordinates.Small thing. Barely noticeable to anyone who hadn't spent five years watching him coordinate operations with mechanical precision that never wavered.But Ethan noticed."Run that location again." His voice carried edge that made the SUV's atmosphere shift from tense to dangerous.Marcus hesitated—another tell, another crack in facade that had always been flawless."Sir, I—""NOW."Marcus's fingers moved across tablet, pulling up satellite imagery of warehouse district where Harrison had supposedly tracked Victoria's location, where Ryan had supposedly confirmed her presence, where everything was supposedly coming together for final confrontation.Except the thermal readings were wrong.Too many heat signatures for Victoria traveling light. Too organized for trap meant to look improvised. Too perfect for anything except carefully constructed kill box designed by someone who knew exactly how Ghost Protocol operated."Who gave you these
WHAT NOW? YOU KILL ME?
Victoria's invitation arrived at 3 AM via encrypted email that bypassed every security protocol Marcus had installed."Let's end this like civilized people. Peace talks. Neutral location. Just you and me. Tomorrow. 8 PM. Downtown parking garage, level 5. Come alone or don't come at all."Ethan read it twice, searching for subtext that was obvious as neon sign."It's a trap." Lily spoke from doorway, still wearing his shirt from earlier, expression mixing concern and resignation. "Obviously a trap.""Obviously." Ethan didn't look up from screen. "She'll have forty mercenaries positioned throughout garage. Snipers on upper levels. Exit routes blocked. Probably explosives rigged to turn the entire structure into crematorium if things go wrong.""So you're not going.""I'm absolutely going." He met her eyes with determination that transcended tactical stupidity. "Because Victoria's mistake is thinking I don't know it's trap. Thinking I'll walk in unprepared. Thinking she's three steps ahe
I HATE YOU, ETHAN CROSS
Victoria sat in metal chair, hands secured, door locked, alone in room with man she'd spent months trying to destroy.Ethan didn't threaten. Didn't shout. Didn't do anything except pull up tablet and show her screen after screen of information that made her face go progressively paler."This is Julian Reeves. Your primary financial backer. Arrested three hours ago for money laundering." Next screen. "This is Director Morrison. The FBI agent you bribed. She's being indicted for corruption." Another screen. "This is Senator Blackwood. He provided you with classified information. He's resigned and facing federal charges."He kept scrolling—name after name, ally after ally, each one showing arrest record or indictment or plea agreement that mentioned Victoria Blackwell as co-conspirator."Your offshore accounts? Frozen by international task force that's been building case for six months." More screens showing bank records with red SEIZED stamps. "Your shell companies? Dissolved. Your prop
WIFE'S MURDER
The courtroom was theater and battlefield combined, packed with journalists who'd camped outside for three days to secure seats, cameras from every major network positioned for angles that would make evening news look dramatic, spectators who'd lined up at dawn because watching powerful men destroy each other was entertainment money couldn't buy.Victor Cross sat at defense table looking remarkably composed for man facing fifty-three counts including murder conspiracy, money laundering, and crimes that would guarantee life sentence if convicted.He'd fired his legal team two weeks prior, announcing he'd represent himself with arrogance that suggested either brilliance or delusion.Ethan sat three rows behind prosecution, Lily beside him, watching father who'd tried to destroy him now attempting to talk his way out of consequences thirty years in making.Judge Richardson—veteran of high-profile cases who'd seen everything and was impressed by nothing—banged gavel with authority that si
SOME THREATS DON'T STAY BURIED
The jury deliberated for fourteen hours across two days that felt like two decades.Ethan sat in courthouse hallway with Lily's hand locked in his, neither speaking because words felt inadequate for moment that would either validate everything they'd survived or suggest justice was negotiable commodity.Marcus paced nearby, phone silent for once, having exhausted every contact who might have inside information on jury's leanings.Other spectators filled benches—journalists maintaining vigil, legal analysts offering predictions that contradicted each other, Victor's former business associates who'd come to witness fall of man they'd feared for decades.The bailiff emerged at 4:47 PM on second day with announcement that made every conversation stop mid-sentence."Jury has reached verdict."The courtroom filled with urgency that bordered on panic—people scrambling for seats, cameras adjusting angles, prosecution and defense taking positions that would determine rest of Victor Cross's exi
AND EVERYTHING WENT DARK..
The alert came at 3:42 AM with urgency that turned sleep into adrenaline in single heartbeat.Marcus's voice through phone was controlled panic. "Sir, Vivian escaped. Prison transfer went wrong. Carla Mendez caused distraction at courthouse, Vivian disappeared during chaos. Authorities are searching but she's gone."Ethan was already moving, pulling on clothes with efficiency that came from too many emergencies. "When?""Forty-seven minutes ago. Could be anywhere in city by now."Lily sat up, reading his expression with understanding that came from months of watching crises unfold."She's out.""She's out." Ethan grabbed weapon from safe, checked magazine, holstered it with movements that were muscle memory. "And she's got nothing left to lose. No allies. No resources. Just rage and desperation."He turned to her with expression mixing protection and apology."Pack a bag. You're going to safehouse. Right now. No arguments."For once, Lily didn't fight him."How long?""Until we find h