All Chapters of THE RETURN OF THE HIDDEN HEIR : Chapter 41
- Chapter 50
149 chapters
Chapter 041: Decaying Power
Dora's words came in a flurry, each revelation causing her eyes to widen with shock. When the line finally beeped dead, Ivy didn't move. She stood in the hallway, dazed. Confused. Different thoughts raced through her mind, the chaos that Dora's story had left causing her head to throb painfully. But then Derrick’s chuckle reached her, snapping her out of the fog clouding her thoughts. She ran a hand through her hair, sucking in air through clenched teeth as she tried to steady faltering breath. Then with a calm resolve, she turned. Ivy didn't walk back into the boardroom–she stormed. Her palm hit the glass doors hard and they swung with a sharp, controlled force. The soft whir of its hinges cut through the low hum of conversation inside. Every eye turned instantly to Ivy–her presence suddenly bringing an unmistakable shift of energy that showed something important had just gone wrong. Her gaze dropped to Derrick who was seated, not just anywhere, but in Ma Lorenzo's chair. One a
Chapter 042: Trust and Kisses
For a moment, Ivy didn't speak. Then she gave off a short and humourless laughter. "Enough," she said. "I know enough." She leaned back against the wall, then folded her arms as though that might keep her from shaking. "I know Dora was taken last night, just right outside my family's gates. And I knew she woke up chained in a dark filthy place with no idea where she is. Also, someone poured water on her like she was some ordinary plant that needed watering." Her voice hitched as she said this, one that made Derrick take a step closer to her. But she moved backward, visibly resisting his comforting presence. She cleared her throat and continued. "And Moses, who is supposedly in the custody of the police, is there with her, hurt and bleeding too." This got Derrick's attention. "What? Moses is there with her?" She nodded. "He is. And the phone she used to call was hers. It was also placed just beside her." Derrick's jaw tightened. "That was deliberate.""Look, I don't care if it
Chapter 043: Conditions
Derrick's lips parted as if to answer, and for a fleeting second, Ivy thought he'd finally explain. But instead, his jaw tightened and he looked away from her. It wasn't abrupt, but with a deliberateness that felt worse than silence. "Derrick?" she called, frowning. "What's the matter?" She watched as he turned his back on her and walked to one of the empty chairs near the long table. He sat, leaning forward slightly, his hands loosely clasped. "I'm afraid, but I can't tell you," he said at last, his voice raw and controlled. Ivy stared at him in disbelief. Her hand suddenly flailed upward in a sharp, frustrated gesture. "What the hell is wrong with you?" she snapped. "You asked me to trust you just a moment ago. Now you're keeping things from me again?" Derrick didn't look at her as he stood back on his feet. He walked straight past her, heading for the door that led to the elevators. "Derrick," she said, startled now, as she spun on her heel. He didn't answer She hurried a
Chapter 044: The Wrong Choice
The phone slipped from Dora's fingers and hit the table with dull sound. For a brief moment, she simply stared at it, more like the device might just ring again. Her hands trembled violently, the cold from the still moist table seeping into her bare skin. It anchored her to the reality she could no longer escaped. Just then, Moses' voice cut through the silence. "I warned you about making that call. You made the wrong choice, Dora." Dora's head snapped up. "But what was I supposed to do?" she roared, her voice breaking as tears found it's way down her cheeks. "What the hell was I supposed to do?" The sound echoed back at her, warped and distorted by the walls. It was just as if the dark room was mocking her desperation. The chains around her wrists and ankles suddenly felt heavier than they had a few moments ago. Maybe it was just her body slowly giving up the struggle. She could feel the iron bit into her skin as she shifted, even her slightest movement demanding way more stren
Chapter 045: Old Ghosts, New Wounds
Derrick waited until Ivy's taillights dissolved into the traffic before he moved.The street was its usual self–horns blaring somewhere down the block, voices overlapping in impatient burst and much more.Derrick turned slowly, scanning the sidewalks and the reflections in the glass storefronts. No one was watching. Even Lucy had gone back into the company building.Satisfied, he slipped a hand into his coat pocket and closed his fingers around the cool edge of his phone. Then he stepped off the curb and raised his arm just as a yellow cab rolled into view.The driver leaned out slightly as Derrick flagged him down. He had sharp eyes, but he also was uninterested in anything beyond the transaction. Derrick slid into the backseat."And where to?" the driver asked as he pulled away from the curb."Blacksite Ops," Derrick replied.Just as he said this, the driver's eyes lifted to the rearview mirror, meeting Derrick's gaze for just half a second."Blacksite Ops, you say?" the driver repe
Chapter 046: What the Ground Keeps
The gates recognized the Ferrari, a soft mechanical hum rippling through the air as the metal net barricade ahead began to move. Sections slid apart with seamless efficiency, the attached steel retracting as though the field was just inhaling. They were no guards, only the quiet movement of a system doing exactly what it had been designed to do. Dominic guided the Ferrari forward without slowing. The car passed through the opening, tires rolling from asphalt onto packed earth, and the gates sealed behind them with a muted finality. Derrick noted as the field stretched out in all directions. It was vast, flat, and completely empty. But it looked like the kind used to recreational leagues and weekend crowds, as Derrick could see some faint white markings on the ground level. There were no buildings or sheds, just open land under a wide, indifferent sky. Dominic cut the engine as soon as they got to what seemed like the middle of the vast space."Alright sir," Dominic sighed as he o
Chapter 047: The Trap in the Call
A dark humor curled at the edges of Dora's fear, and she let it slide outward into an incredulous smile, one that definitely didn't reach her eyes. "What do you mean?" she asked, managing to keep up a steady voice despite the terrible pain she felt. Vincent didn't answer immediately. Instead, he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a dark, fragrant tobacco. Then he tamped it done with a practiced thumb, and turn puffed it to life. Smoke lazily curled in the air between them, reaching the harsh fluorescent light above. Dora watched him carefully, noting the meticulousness of his movements. She watched as his eyes sharpened and met hers briefly before they drifted to a distant corner of the room. "Derrick Morgan," he began in a smooth voice, "will assume that phone call was nothing but a damn setup. That it's us trying to distract him." He gestured lightly toward the men arrayed around the room. Then his lips curled faintly. "He'd send some of his men to this location, jus
Chapter 048: Men Who Think In Shadows
Derrick stood with his hands loosely clasped behind his back, his eyes forward, and posture relaxed in a way that suggested confidence much more than ease. The very faint hum of machinery was the only sound as Dominic stood beside him. Dominic had just pressed a button, and when the doors slid open, a room was revealed. It was vast and far larger than Derrick had expected. Concrete pillars rose like buried trees, their surfaces reinforced with steel ribs. Very bright industrial lights glowed overhead, casting a clean illumination that was without a single warmth. And everywhere Derrick turned his eyes to, there were men. "This is the heart of this place," Dominic muttered loud enough for Derrick alone to hear. "It is totally sound proof, and resistant to some bombshells. But not all bombshells." Derrick nodded slowly, his eyes still fixed on the dozens of men. "I see." The men stood in organized clusters, dressed in dark, tactical gear. They held their rifles with familiarity rat
Chapter 049: The Hourglass Room
"Here's a fact you all need to absorb," Derrick said as he stopped pacing. His voice lowered. "The man behind the kidnap is Vincent Maguire." The reaction to this was immediate. A ripple passed through the room–murmurs, tightened grips, and exchanged looks. These men knew that name. And even worse, they understood what he was capable of. "Oh, dang it," someone said quietly. "Gonna be a tough ride," another muttered. "Even Four Eyes can't think us through this one," came a grim voice from the back.Dennis turned to the direction the last voice came from. "Hey–" Derrick raised a hand just then, cutting him short. Silence fell again. Then he turned to Dennis."You know about the Maguires, right?" Dennis nodded. "We've crossed path with Vincent's operations quite a number of times." Derrick glanced at Dominic, then turned back to Dennis. "Alright then. Tell me, what do you know about him?" "Vincent Maguire isn't one who plays where you expect," Dennis replied quite evenly, adjusti
Chapter 050: The Weight of Seconds
Dora stared at her phone that lay on the table like a loaded weapon. The hum of the bright lights had subtly changed pitch, and it now carried a sharper edge. Even the timer pulsed red, indicating they had just fifty four minutes left before the bomb goes off. Vincent's voice lingered in the air long after he had finished making his threats. "You can save yourself some time," he had said. "Use the phone. It's already routed to Derrick Morgan himself." Dora had screamed then, the sound tearing out of her raw throat. "I don't have his number. I never freaking did!" There was a pause. "That's been taken cared off," Vincent replied smoothly. "All you need to do is make the call." Dora's fingers curled into fists at her sides. She hadn't touched the phone yet. She even tried not to look at it. Then she whispered a cure under a breath, one that only she was meant to hear. "Go to the deepest hell, Vincent." A soft chuckle answered her. "You forget that I can hear you," Vincent said