All Chapters of Awakened Behind Bars: The Golden Finger : Chapter 31
- Chapter 40
76 chapters
Chapter 31: A long way to go
"Let’s see what you can do now,” Irius said, settling the teacup on the ground.Desmond straightened, rolling his shoulders once, then drew in a slow, steady breath.He turned slightly, planting his feet firmly. The air around him felt chiller.He closed his eyes. In his mind, he pictured the teacup. Every invisible seam holding it together.He imagined it breaking. He lifted one hand slowly, palm facing forward, and let the Golden Onyx energy gather beneath his skin. For a second, nothing happened.Then, a sharp shattering sound broke the silence.Desmond’s eyes flew open expecting the teacup to have cracked in half or four pieces.But the teacup hadn’t cracked in half. It had shattered completely.Porcelain fragments scattered across the ground, broken into dozens of uneven pieces, some reduced nearly to dust. Desmond's eyes widened. “I actually did it…” he breathed.He looked up at Irius. Irius stood still, his gaze lowered to the broken remains, his expression unreadable.Desmon
Chapter 32: Look at me. Not him.
As Desmond stood at the entrance, the moonlight spilled across the polished floor, stretching in a pale silver line that led straight to the bed in the center of the room. His eyes widened slowly, he felt air leaving his lungs.“Asher…” he called softly.The curtains near the window shifted slightly with the night breeze, letting more light fall across the figure lying on the bed.Asher.He wasn’t wearing a shirt, only a pair of black trousers hung low on his hips. His body was exposed under the cold wash of moonlight, and that was what made Desmond freeze.Desmond turned and switched the lights on. There were marks everywhere. Deep gashes ran across Asher's chest and abdomen, some stitched roughly, some still raw. Dark bruises bloomed across his ribs and shoulders, spreading beneath his skin. There were dried streaks of blood along his side. A bandage wrapped tightly around his midsection, stained through with a dull, rusted red. Desmond stepped further into the room, his shoes s
Chapter 33: Something life threatening
“What kind of sounds?” Desmond asked quietly.The maid’s voice trembled. “Like…Like bones hitting metal.”“We rushed to the training room eventually,” she said. “But the door was locked from the inside. We kept knocking. He told us to leave.”Her eyes glistened faintly now. “But we didn’t. After some time, it became too quiet. That was when we forced it open.”Desmond’s jaw tightened.“When we entered…” she continued softly, “Mr. Stone was on the floor, bleeding. The equipment around him was damaged. The reinforced walls were cracked. There was blood on the impact panels.”Desmond slowly turned his head toward Asher whose face remained calm.“He had done it to himself,” the maid whispered. “He inflicted those wounds on himself.”“He told us not to inform you—”“I did it to punish myself,” Asher said, cutting her off but not harshly.Desmond just stared at him, trying to process the words.“That night,” Asher continued, “I spoke to you harshly. I was completely out of tone, yelling at
Chapter 34: I can find my way home
Vivian was sitting in the classroom, idly tapping her pen against the desk while the bell signaling break rang. Some of the other students had already started filing out, laughing and chatting, but she stayed behind for a moment to finish packing her things.She carefully closed her book and slid it into her bag, ready to head to the school canteen for lunch.As she rose to her feet, she almost bumped into someone. She froze and looked up, and her breath hitched.He was tall, broad-shouldered, and strikingly handsome. Fair skin, hazel eyes that seemed to study her in amusement, and a beanie pulled snugly over his head. It was Alex, the boy who always wore beanies. He had a whole collection of them in different colours, saying he had really bad hair and was ashamed of it.“You startled me,” Vivian said, stepping back.Alex cleared his throat lightly and stepped aside, offering a small, sheepish smile. “My bad.”They had grown close over the past few weeks, ever since Vivian had helped
Chapter 35: The purge room
Back at the Golden Empire, Desmond and Asher had brought the affected man to a private room. The man was still groaning and muttering incoherently, so they had chained him to the side of the bed to keep him from thrashing about or harming himself further.Asher had explained that the man had somehow come into contact with Blackfinger’s aura, and it was trying to take over his body. Blackfinger was the total opposite of Goldenfinger. While Goldenfinger healed and restored, Blackfinger existed to destroy. It caused self-harm and self-destruction, feeding off chaos and pain.That was why the man had aimlessly leapt from the chandelier earlier, not caring if he broke bones, sprained muscles, or even died.Desmond looked at the man, then at Asher, his expression tense. “This is bad. What do we do?”He was genuinely worried. This man was a member of their staff, part of the Golden Empire, and Desmond couldn’t just stand by while he self-destructed. He had been so anxious earlier that he ev
Chapter 36: Is she with you by any chance?
"Alright, let’s go,” Asher said, turning sharply. Desmond followed behind him as they entered the lift, riding it silently until it reached the designated floor. When the doors slid open, a huge, chill room stretched before them. Machines Desmond couldn’t quite name, hummed softly in the background. Desmond’s gaze swept across the space.“This is the Purge room,” Asher explained. “It’s a high-security chamber within the Golden Empire, built so that dangerous auras and energies can be extracted from a person safely, without putting anyone else at risk.” He stepped deeper into the room, Desmond following. “Think of it as a combination of a containment lab and an energy sanctuary.”A sudden groan and the sound of struggling caught their attention. Desmond turned to see two men, each over 6 ft tall, holding the affected man tightly. He growled and thrashed, still trying to resist.“Take him over there,” Asher instructed, pointing to an empty bed positioned at the center of the room.
Chapter 37: A missing student?
“Is…she with you by any chance?”Desmond’s hands trembled as he held the phone to his ear. His heart pounded so heavily in his chest.“Zoe…I don’t understand. Vivian isn’t with me. Isn’t she with you?”There was a long pause on the other end.“Zoe, talk to me!” Desmond pressed, his voice already strained, panic rising in his chest.“Well…” Zoe stuttered, her breathing uneven. “After she left for school yesterday morning, she never came back.”“What?” “Yes,” Zoe continued. “I went to visit my parents yesterday because my mom was unwell. I only got back today. The house looked exactly the way we left it. Normally Vivian would’ve cooked something. There was nothing made. Everything was untouched. That’s when I knew she never came home. And she’s not taking my calls either.”Desmond swallowed hard. His throat felt dry. “Okay… okay. I’ll try to reach her.”He hung up abruptly.Asher, who had been watching him closely, stood and walked over. “What’s wrong? You seem uneasy.”Desmond wiped h
Chapter 38: You might inhale it
As Desmond drove, his grip on the steering wheel was tight enough to make his knuckles pale. The blinking dot on the tracker guided them through several turns until finally.“We’re here,” Desmond said, slowing the car.They had arrived on a quiet, ordinary street. It didn't seem isolated nor abandoned. Cars were parked neatly along the road. A few people walked past casually, minding their business. Large houses stood behind tall gates, and across the street were a couple of small convenience stores and a fruit stand.Desmond stepped out quickly.“Vivian!” he called, his voice sharp.Asher exited the car more slowly, his eyes scanning the surroundings. “This place…” he murmured. “doesn’t look like somewhere kidnappers would keep someone.”Desmond turned in a slow circle, searching for anything suspicious like an unmarked van, a warehouse, or a broken-down building. But there was nothing.“It looks basic,” Noah added quietly.Desmond checked the tracker again. The blinking dot was stil
Chapter 39: A note
“There’s no need to get violent please…” she began, catching her breath. “He saved me.”Vivian’s voice rang through the abandoned warehouse.Desmond froze, his fist still gripping the man’s collar.“What?” he breathed, staring at her.“Yes,” Vivian said, stepping quickly in front of the stranger, putting herself between them. “He’s my friend. He came here and saved me.”Desmond’s eyes shifted slowly back to the man. He didn’t recognize him.Even after being grabbed by the collar, the man’s breathing hadn’t changed. He didn't seem scared at all. Instead, he seemed like he was observing.Something about that unsettled Desmond.Or maybe he was just being overprotective.Noah stepped slightly to the side, watching silently.The man dusted off his sleeve. “Relax,” he said calmly. “I’m not the bad guy.”Noah moved forward, suspicious. “How did you know she was here? How did you even find her?”The man sighed lightly. “I tracked her. Asked a few questions around.”Desmond’s gaze sharpened in
Chapter 40: When the time is right
Desmond’s eyes widened as the words on the note slowly became clear under the light.‘Don’t think you’re so smart. What we did today was intentional. The next time we try something like this, you’d never find your sister.’His jaw tightened instantly. The paper crumpled slightly in his grip.Asher, standing beside him, read it over his shoulder. He exhaled slowly and rubbed his forehead.“You know,” Asher said quietly, “we found Vivian too easily. I’m sure they were just testing us.”“Testing us?” Desmond snapped, turning to him. “Testing us with my sister?”Asher held his gaze calmly. “Yes.”“But why?” Desmond demanded.“Because they’re the enemy,” Asher replied evenly. “And they’re going to do everything against us. They wanted to see how fast we’d react. How we’d track. Who we’d involve. They were measuring us.”Desmond squeezed the paper tighter until it wrinkled completely. “I just want to end this bastard once and for all,” he muttered darkly. “I want to find him, kill him, and