All Chapters of The Disgraced Husband Is the Septamillionaire Heir: Chapter 181
- Chapter 190
199 chapters
CHAPTER 126
Inside the Training FacilitySebastian had been searching the western section of the warehouse, running his hands along walls, tapping surfaces, looking for any inconsistency or hidden compartment. His wounded arm throbbed with each movement, but he ignored the pain, focusing entirely on the task at hand.Then his boot kicked something small that skittered across the dusty floor with a metallic sound.Sebastian froze, his eyes tracking the object as it rolled to a stop near a pile of old boxing gloves. He moved closer, crouching down to examine what he'd found.It was a small metallic ball, about the size of a marble, perfectly spherical and unnaturally smooth. The surface gleamed dully in the dim warehouse light, completely free of the dust that covered everything else in the abandoned facility."Caden!" Sebastian called out, his voice echoing through the vast space. "I found something!"He picked up the small sphere, turning it over in his fingers as he examined it more closely. The
CHAPTER 127
Caden's mind worked at lightning speed, weighing options and probabilities. The hum was getting louder. Whatever this device was designed to do, it was activating. And in a warehouse with only two exits—both likely monitored and possibly rigged—their options for escape were limited."Don't move," Caden said, forcing calm into his voice even as his tactical mind screamed warnings. "Don't drop it, don't throw it, don't do anything sudden. Just... don't move."He stepped closer, his eyes fixed on the small sphere that had suddenly become the most dangerous object in the room.The electronic hum continued to build, a countdown to something neither of them could see but both could feel approaching with inexorable certainty.Damn it, Sebastian!" Caden's voice cut through the warehouse like a whip, sharp with urgency and barely suppressed fury. "Your ignorance is going to get us both killed! Run! Get out of this building right now!"The raw seriousness in Caden's tone—so different from his u
CHAPTER 128
Sebastian was struggling to get up, his face contorted with pain as he tried to put weight on his twisted ankle. The moment he shifted his weight, agony shot through his leg and he collapsed back down with a groan of frustration and despair."My ankle," Sebastian gasped, his face pale with pain. "I can't—I twisted it. I can't walk!"Caden reached him in seconds, his hands already moving to help Sebastian up, his tactical mind calculating distances and time remaining with cold precision.Too far from the exit. Not enough time. Sebastian can't run. The device is seconds from activation.All the calculations pointed to the same inevitable conclusion: they weren't going to make it. Not both of them. Not with Sebastian injured.For a moment—just a brief, fleeting moment—Caden wanted nothing more than to knock Sebastian unconscious for his carelessness, for his ignorance in picking up an obviously suspicious object, for tripping at the worst possible moment.But anger was useless right now.
CHAPTER 129
"I said shut up," Caden interrupted, his eyes blazing with fierce determination. "I don't abandon people. Ever. Not when there's even the slightest chance of saving them. So stop trying to be a hero and focus on staying conscious, because this is going to hurt."Without warning or ceremony, Caden lifted Sebastian in a fireman's carry—ignoring the man's grunt of pain as his twisted ankle was jostled—and started running toward the exit with every ounce of speed and strength his trained body could muster.Behind them, the metallic sphere began to glow with an ominous red light, its mechanical components reaching their final activation sequence.Five seconds. Maybe four.Caden's legs pumped furiously, eating up the distance to the doorway. Sebastian's weight on his shoulders should have slowed him down, should have made the escape impossible.But Caden had been trained by Master Aldrich. Had spent ten years conditioning his body and mind to push past normal human limitations, to accomplis
CHAPTER 130
Caden stared down at Sebastian, whose dramatic speech about sacrifice and noble death was still hanging in the air between them. Despite the desperate circumstances—despite the seconds ticking away before detonation, despite the mathematical improbability of escape—Caden felt an almost overwhelming urge to laugh at the sheer melodrama of it all.He'd been dying to smack Sebastian upside the head for his carelessness since the moment his friend had picked up that obviously suspicious metallic sphere. The actual hit had been immensely satisfying."That was a great speech," Caden said, his voice dry despite the urgency of their situation. "Really moving, very heartfelt, probably would have made me cry if we had time for it. But here's the thing, Sebastian—I'm not leaving my best buddy behind to die in an exploding warehouse. So cut the noble sacrifice nonsense and hold on tight."Before Sebastian could process what was happening, before he could protest or argue or insist on his dramatic
CHAPTER 131
Behind them, the metallic sphere's mechanisms reached their final engagement.Click.The sound was barely audible over the pounding of Caden's footsteps and Sebastian's labored breathing, but both men recognized it for what it was: activation.Caden's eyes, sharp and alert despite the physical exertion, had spotted something during their earlier fight with the operatives outside—a small concrete bunker about twenty feet from the warehouse entrance, partially hidden by overgrown weeds and rusted shipping containers.It was the kind of structure common in old industrial areas: a storage bunker or equipment shelter, built with reinforced concrete to protect valuable machinery or dangerous materials from the elements. Most people would have overlooked it entirely.But Caden's tactical training had catalogued it automatically as potential cover, potential shelter, potential salvation."Hold tight!" Caden barked as they burst through the warehouse doorway.Instead of veering away from the b
CHAPTER 132
Montgomery Luxe Headquarters - Vivian's OfficeVivian stood frozen behind her desk, the phone still pressed to her ear, Lieutenant Hayes's words echoing in her mind like a death knell.Explosion. Major structural collapse. Likelihood of survival extremely low."No," she whispered, the word barely audible. "No, that's not... that can't be..."Her glacial composure—that carefully constructed armor she'd worn for years—cracked like ice under sudden pressure. Her hand trembled as she gripped the phone, her knuckles going white with the force of it."Send me proof," Vivian heard herself say, her voice sounding distant and strange to her own ears. "Video, photos, anything. I need to see it.""Ma'am, I don't think—" Hayes started."Send it!" Vivian's voice cracked, the professional facade shattering completely. "Send it now!"There was a brief pause, then Hayes's reluctant acknowledgment. "Understood. Transmitting footage now."Vivian's phone buzzed with an incoming file transfer. Her hands
CHAPTER 133
She ended the call before Hayes could respond, unable to hear whatever platitude or condolence he'd been preparing.For several long minutes, Vivian simply sat there, staring at her phone, at the frozen image of the explosion on her screen, at the evidence of Caden's death that she couldn't bring herself to accept.Then, without warning, tears began streaming down her face.Not the controlled, dignified crying of someone maintaining composure. This was raw, ugly grief—the kind that came from somewhere deep and primal, the kind that couldn't be contained or controlled no matter how hard she tried."Damn you," Vivian whispered through her tears, her voice shaking with emotion. "Damn you, Caden Pierce. You promised. You promised you'd come back. You promised you'd be safe."Her hands clenched into fists, nails digging into her palms hard enough to leave marks."We just started," she continued, talking to the empty office as if Caden could somehow hear her. "We were just beginning to know
CHAPTER 134
Montgomery Estate - Main HallThe patriarch stood in his study, the phone still in his hand, his face ashen with shock. For the first time in decades, he looked every one of his seventy-five years—old, tired, defeated.He lowered himself slowly into his chair, his mind struggling to process what Vivian had just told him.Caden is dead.The man he'd handpicked. The man he'd known could protect this family. The man he'd been preparing to make his successor.Gone.The patriarch reached for his phone to begin making calls, to inform the rest of the family, to begin the grim process of dealing with loss.But even as his fingers moved across the screen, a small voice in the back of his mind whispered a question he couldn't quite silence:Is he really dead? Or is this something else?He pushed the thought aside. Hope in the face of evidence was foolishness. The video didn't lie. The explosion had been real, devastating, unsurvivable.Caden Pierce was dead.The patriarch began making his call
CHAPTER 135
The command center fell into tense, oppressive silence broken only by Lorenzo's ragged breathing and the quiet hum of electronic equipment. The guards positioned around the room stood frozen, their faces carefully blank masks that revealed nothing of their thoughts or reactions.None of them dared speak. None of them dared move beyond the subtle backward steps that increased the distance between themselves and their volatile boss.This wasn't the first time they'd witnessed Lorenzo's explosive rage when plans went sideways. Over the months and years they'd served under him, they'd learned to recognize the signs: the clenched fists, the pacing, the dangerous quiet that preceded violent outbursts.They'd seen him shoot subordinates for failures far less significant than this. Had watched him break bones and destroy equipment in fits of rage that left the command center looking like a war zone.So they waited. Silent. Still. Patient.Waiting for the storm to pass, for Lorenzo to exhaust