All Chapters of THE RETURN OF THE HIDDEN HEIR : Chapter 31
- Chapter 40
149 chapters
Chapter 031: Structured Plans
Moses glared at Vincent through the haze of great pain, his chest heaving, and his arms trembling against the chains. "What the hell have you done to her?!" he roared, fury clawing past the agony in his gut. Vincent tutted softly, shaking his head as if disappointed by a little child who had failed the simplest lesson. "I got info that you're crushing on her–your cousin's best friend. So I brought her to be with you." Moses cursed within him. How the heck had Vincent found that out? Even Dora had no idea he was crushing on her. But now, both her life and his was at stake. From the shadows, Vincent's men stepped toward. They were huge, solid figures whose faces barely caught the light. Vincent turned slightly and shifted Dora's weight. She didn't stir. Moses' heart slammed violently against his ribs. "Dora–"What have they done to her? He watched as Vincent handed her off to one of the men without ceremony. "Take her to the table," he instructed calmly. "Make sure she is chained
Chapter 032: Fault Lines Beneath the Chaos
The silence that followed Derrick's shake of head felt heavier than it should have."No, Ivy," he said quietly. "They didn't call." Ivy's shoulders stiffened and she swung her legs over the side of the bed. The sheets pooled around her thighs."They haven't," she corrected in a firm voice as she yawned. "But they will." Derrick leaned back against the window frame, sunlight outlining his profile but definitely failing to soften the look in his eyes. "I'm sorry to break this out, Ivy. But I really doubt they will." That made Ivy look up sharply. "And what's that supposed to mean?" she asked. "They have to call. They must find my grandmother, Derrick. She–" "–isn't the issue here," he interrupted in a tone that wasn't harsh, but firm and serious. Then he pushed off the window and turned fully toward her. "Just think about it, Ivy. The abductors haven't called yet. They didn't even drop any traceable lead. Look, if this were a simple kidnapping, they'd already be making noise."Her b
Chapter 033: Things She Shouldn't Know
Derrick thought well about the question she had just asked him.Then he replied, "I've seen what happens when people don't think logically in situations like this." Ivy chuckled dryly as she said, "I saw what you did there." Derrick chuckled too, and silence stretched after. Ivy's breathing gradually slowed, the initial surge of frustration giving way to reluctant consideration. She sank back onto the edge of the bed, elbows on her knees."So... I walk in there–" she started to say. "We walk in there," Derrick corrected. She looked up into his eyes with amusement. "What? No way. You have no shares in the private stock." Derrick chuckled. "You remember what Pa Lorenzo said earlier last night?" Ivy nodded slowly. "Right. You get half from each of them. But that hasn't happened yet, has it?"Derrick shook his head. "No. But everything can be arranged. As a matter of fact, it has been arranged already."He paused, then took a step closer to her. "All you need to do is to make up you
Chapter 034: Cold Water, Quiet Lies
"Yeah, right," Ivy replied, nodding slowly. Her eyes didn't leave Derrick's face as she did this, and it was clear to Derrick that she suspected something wasn't sitting well."Thank you," she added, then turned and walked off toward the bathroom. The door soon closed softly behind her.Derrick stood there for a moment, and when he was sure she was out of earshot, he let out a deep breath, then reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. The screen lit up his face as he walked out of the room, slipping quietly into the hallway. From where he stood, he could see the yellow tape that clung to the doorframe of the study room. He moved quickly toward the far end of the corridor, passing the study and other rooms. He reached and passed through a small door that led to a narrow service veranda, and only then did he stop. He dialed, the line barely ringing twice before it connected. "How long is the operation going to take?" Derrick asked in a whisper. Dominic's voice came through
Chapter 035: Bitter Notes on Borrowed Time
The bell above the coffee store door chimed as Derrick and Ivy stepped out into the morning.New York City was fully awake now. Engines hummed and honked in uneven rhythms, footsteps slapped roughly against pavements, and somewhere down the block a delivery truck hissed as its brake was applied. The air carried the mingled smells of well roasted beans, exhaust fumes, and damp concrete from a street that had just been washed. "See?" Derrick said as he took a slow sip from his cup. He sighed afterwards, visibly satisfied. "Now this is some good coffee. It comes strong, and has a clean finish. Someone cared enough to make it this good." Ivy snorted, cradling the cup she held like it had personally offended her. "Nah. It tastes like burnt regret and poor decisions." "That's dramatic, don't you think?" "It's accurate," she shot back. "I asked for nothing but a medium roast. And what did I get? Some charcoal with ambition." Derrick glanced at her. "You're really impossible, you know.
Chapter 036: Glass Doors and Silent Authorities
Derrick returned the greeting with a polite nod, his expression easy and unhurried. Ivy, on the other hand, didn't as much as slow a step. "I'm here to represent my grandmother in the scheduled board meeting," she said in a crisp tone, glancing at her wristwatch. "And it happens that I'm late." The secretary's smile faltered just a little. Vera–immaculate as ever in her dove-gray suit–tilted her head just slightly, as narrowing as though she were recalibrating what she'd just heard. "I'm sorry," she said, carefully. "You're here to represent Madam Lorenzo?" "Yes," Ivy replied, already angling toward the glass doors. "That's exactly what I said." Vera's brows knit together, and she shifted the tablet under her arm as she brought up her iPad with a smooth, practiced, motion. "I'm sorry to object, Miss Lorenzo. But if Madam Lorenzo wasn't going to attend, she would have informed me directly. There's no such update on her schedule, and the board is truly expecting her."Derrick step
Chapter 037: The Room That Remembered Nothing
"Who are you?" Dora asked into the air. The strange voice gave no reply to this, and it made Dora slowly believe that she was beginning to hear things.Darkness had a great weight to it, and she was aware of this even before the pain she felt became significant. There was an oppressive, airless heaviness that pressed against her skin as though the room itself were leaning in to listen and laugh at her fate. When she shifted, the sound of heavy metal was quick to answer her in a faint scrape and dull clink. Realization slowly settled as her senses came back online one after the other. Her wrists were still bound, the cuffs biting coldly into her flesh that was still wet due to the cold water splashed on her. She drew a careful breath, noting how the air smelled of dust and rust. "Hello?" she tried again, hoping the voice would speak to her this time. It didn't. Her voice only carried farther than she expected, bouncing off unseen walls. But as her voice echoed, she thought she he
Chapter 038: Walls That Care to Listen
"I don't know," she said, her voice low. "I never saw Ma Lorenzo. Not even once. I was only zapped just outside the Lorenzo gates. One moment I was standing there, the next–" she swallowed. "I woke up to a bucket of cold water on my body." A short silence followed her testimony. But on the other side of the dark, Moses let out a breath that sounded like a laugh, only that there was no humor in it. "Sorry about that," he said quietly. "Huh?" Dora frowned. "Sorry about what?" "The water," he replied. "The guys here tend to use that. It seems efficient." Dora moved uneasily just as much as the chains allowed. Then she lowered her voice. "Moses...you do happen to know who's behind this, don't you?" She hesitated, then added, "Because I do know. I've got–" "Hush," Moses said at once. His lungs burned as he made the sound, but he continued, "Don't speak of them."Her mouth closed instantly. "The walls here," he continued, more carefully now, "they could be listening." She knew what
Chapter 039: Rooms That Shape the Future
The boardroom settled into its usual rhythm once the meeting officially began. It wasn't a childish frantic, overlapping laughter, or ceremonial exchange. Instead, the conversation unfolded with measured confidence. Voices of the board members took turns like practiced musicians in an orchestra. The man sitting just beside Ivy cleared his throat. "We can no longer pretend that traditional logistics will carry us through the next decade," he said, fingers steeled on the polished table. "Automation isn't just optical anymore. It's a survival metric now." A woman across from him nodded. "I totally agree with that. But we should be aware that automation without predictive intelligence is wasted capital. We need more adaptive systems and AI-driven forensics that are tied directly to consumer volatility. Another voice joined in quite smoothly. "Now, this brings us to emerging markets. We are aware that the South Atlantic corridor is still underutilized. They suffer from political insta
Chapter 040: On the Brink of Intelligence
The applause did not die quickly. It softened at first–hands slowing as expressions settled. But the shift in the room remained unmistakable. Something fundamental had indeed changed. The boardroom no longer regarded Derrick as a common accessory that stood politely by the elevator doors. He wasn't Ivy's 'bodyguard' anymore. The silver-haired woman was the first to speak. "That," she said, nodding once, "was an exceptionally grounded analysis. I must say I'm impressed." Several others murmured their agreement. "You didn't just describe problems," another man added, adjusting his glasses. "But you framed solutions that acknowledge uncertainty without surrendering to it. Now, that takes a lot of discipline." A third voice, one that was calm but impressed, followed. "You made bold statements, yes. Just like what you said about Blacksite Ops. But you weren't reckless. In fact, everything outlined could be perfectly implemented–phased, stress-tested, and refined. That's a rare combo