All Chapters of Shattered Mask: Chapter 111
- Chapter 120
144 chapters
CHAPTER 111
KNOWLEDGE OF DESTRUCTIONThe place went silent once again for minutes.Robert was the first to give voice to the terror that was vibrating through the room. He gripped the edge of the mahogany table, his knuckles white against the dark wood. He looked at Linda, then at Leslie, his eyes wide with the realisation of a man who had just looked into the abyss and realised the abyss was an old friend he had once spat on."What are we going to do?" Robert asked, his voice barely a whisper, yet it cut through the room like a jagged blade. "Now that we know. Now that we have seen the name, If Jack is a Rothwell... if he is the Heir we have been hearing about, the ghost who has been dismantling the city for the last wee
CHAPTER 112
A GAME OF FEELINGS Bernard leaned over from his seat, his eyes bright with a frantic, naive hope."Look, if we know who he is, that is our leverage, right?" Bernard asked, his voice high-pitched and eager. "We don't have to sit here and wait for the executioner. We can just go see Harnes. Or go straight to Jack. We tell them we know. We tell them we are sorry. We beg for forgiveness; we humble ourselves. hell, I will wash his cars for real this time if that is what it takes. If we play our cards right and show him we have changed, everything could go back to the way it was. He could flip a switch and we would be back at the top by tomorrow morning. " He said with all seriousness, not sure how he sounded saying that.Rober
CHAPTER 113
ANOTHER MEETING "You think you can just smile and apologise for Robert?" Linda asked, her voice dripping with scepticism."I can try," Leslie insisted. "What other choice do we have? If I go to him, the worst he can do is say no. But if he still feels anything for me... if I tell him about the baby… She trailed off, the weight of her pregnancy hanging in the air. She had not told the others that she was considering using the child as a bargaining chip, but the thought was there, dark and cold."He is the Heir, Leslie," Linda warned. "He isn't the man who fixed your sink anymore. He is the man who owns the grocery store where you worked
CHAPTER 114
FINDING A SOLUTIONRobert sat quietly at the far end of the table, his head bowed. He was not listening to the talk of legal manoeuvres or procedural delays. He was trapped in the theatre of his own memory.He thought back to the first time he had met Jack. He had seen a quiet, unassuming man in a faded shirt and had immediately dismissed him as an obstacle of no consequence. He remembered the feeling of triumph when he first took Leslie’s hand in front of him, the thrill of winning against a man he considered his inferior. He remembered the jokes he had made at Jack’s expense during dinner parties, the way he had treated Jack like an invisible piece of furniture while he plotted to take Jack’s wife and the Smith family fortune.
Last Updated : 2026-05-13
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CHAPTER 115
COMMUTE OF THE FALLENRobert remained quiet. He climbed into the back seat, the cramped space a physical reminder of how far they had fallen. He knew Linda was right from a strategic standpoint, but the pragmatist in him, the man who had watched his own empire vanish in an afternoon, knew that when the giants are fighting, it is the small things like a pay cheque that keep you from starving in the rubble.The drive into the city was a quiet affair. Linda drove with a focused intensity, her eyes fixed on the road as if she could steer them out of their destiny through sheer willpower. They passed the familiar landmarks of their former life: the country club they could no longer enter, the boutiques where they were now persona non grata, and finally, the towering build
CHAPTER 116
FIND A LOOPHOLE When they reached the offices of Vane & Associates, the silence in the car was absolute. Linda checked her reflection in the rear-view mirror; her armour was set. Leslie gripped her handbag so tightly her knuckles were white. They stepped out and entered the lobby, where the air was scented with expensive leather and aged paper. The receptionist, a woman whose professional politeness was as cold as a marble floor, informed them that Mr Vane was in a meeting."We have an appointment," Linda said, her voice echoing in the hushed lobby."Mr Vane is aware, Mrs Smith. He will be with you shortly," the receptionist responded
CHAPTER 117
A WIN FOR THE LOSERS "Thirty days," Leslie whispered. "That is all?""In thirty days, a lot can happen," Vane replied. "But you have to understand something. This isn't a battle of law anymore. It’s a battle of character. You are going to that meeting at the Rothwell Tower tomorrow. You aren't going to fight. You are going to listen."He looked at Linda. "If you trigger him, Linda, if you walk in there with that Smith pride and try to dictate terms to a Rothwell, he will crush you before you leave the lobby. You are no longer the elite. You are the defendants. Treat him with the respect you should have given him for three years, and you might find a version of hi
CHAPTER 118
TIME TO HEAR THE TRUTH"Settle down," Julius said, his voice like a bucket of ice water. "Sit. Both of you."The tone was enough to kill the joy instantly. Linda and Leslie slowly returned to their seats, their faces still flushed but their eyes now wary."The fifty-fifty split is a legal reality," Julius said, leaning back and folding his hands over his stomach. "But it is a weapon that cuts both ways. And there is something else in these documents, something I found buried in the 'Standard Conduct and Reciprocity' clauses, that you need to hear. It is worth noting, and it is the reason you must remain calm. " Julius told themJulius turned to page nine. His eyes grew dark.
Last Updated : 2026-05-15
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CHAPTER 119
TIME TO DECIDE "But then, even if there is no evidence of infidelity and you think you will win, there is something you should know. Before you start picking out which Rothwell penthouse you want to live in," Julius said, his voice dropping to a grave tone. "You need to understand the anatomy of the beast you are trying to slay. You need to know exactly what the Rothwell Empire is and why they were able to dismantle your lives with a single phone call." Julius pulled a separate file from his desk, a document on the Rothwell holdings that looked like it had been compiled by an intelligence agency."The Rothwell Empire is not just a pile of cash," Julius explained. &nb
CHAPTER 120
He looked from Linda’s hardened, desperate face to Leslie’s pale, tear-streaked one."Are you ready to proceed to finding what is best for you? Are you willing to risk total annihilation for the chance to sit at the top again?"The room was silent. Outside, the muffled sound of the city continued, a city that belonged to Jack Rothwell. Inside, the two women stared at the folder, the weight of their choices finally settling on their shoulders. They had spent three years ignoring the man in their house; now, they were being asked if they were brave enough to spend the rest of their lives fighting him.Linda looked at Leslie. The greed was there, but so was the terror. Robert was out there somewhere, valet parking cars for tips, while the man who should have been their son-in-law was deciding the fate of nations."Survival", Linda whispered, her hand hovering over the folder. "Or everything; There is no middle ground anymore.""Tell me, Julius," Leslie asked, her voice a ghost of its f