All Chapters of I BUILT THE UNDERWORLD WHILE YOU CALLED ME USELESS : Chapter 21
- Chapter 30
37 chapters
Chapter 21
Lucian stood in the Ghost Hub, the monitors still flashing with images of St. Jude’s Hospital in chaos. Board members in handcuffs, stock at zero, and his shell company now the legal owner for a single dollar. Seraphina’s stunned silence still echoed in his ear from the call. The first pillar had fallen, but Arthur Vale’s helicopters remained spinning at the mansion, the hard drive ready to fly. Lucian wasn’t done.He turned to the team, voice sharp. “The hospital is ours, but the real war is the information. The slums have eyes and ears everywhere. It’s time they get paid for it.”Silas spun in his chair. “What are you thinking, boss?”“Ghost Market,” Lucian said. He slammed a duffel bag onto the central table. It landed with a heavy thud. “A million dollars in untraceable cash. We’re launching an encrypted app tonight. Lower class trades secrets for debt relief. No more begging the Vales for scraps.”Boxer leaned forward, eyes wide. “A million in a trash bag? You’re serious.”“Dead
Chapter 22
Lucian stepped out of the Ghost Hub into the pale morning light, the notification from “Golden_Lion” still burning on his phone. The Ghost Market had exploded overnight—debts wiped, secrets flooding in, the slums buzzing with new power. But the hard drive and Arthur’s escape still loomed. He needed air and time to think.He walked to the small public park near the old transit lines, a rare green patch the Vales hadn’t paved over yet. Benches lined cracked paths, and a few kids played near a rusty fountain. Lucian sat on a bench, eyes scanning the tree line out of habit.A sleek black car pulled up at the park entrance. The door opened and a tall man in an impeccably tailored suit stepped out—Elias Thorne. Billionaire tech prodigy, known for building half the city’s surveillance backbone. Seraphina’s fiancé. Perfect on paper, arrogant in person.Elias strolled straight toward Lucian, hands in pockets, a smug smile playing on his lips. Two bodyguards hung back at a distance.“Well, well
Chapter 23
Lucian slipped into the glittering ballroom of the Oakhaven Grand Hotel wearing a crisp server uniform, silver tray balanced perfectly on one hand. The “Tech for Good” charity auction was in full swing. Crystal chandeliers sparkled above tables loaded with the city’s elite. Elias Thorne stood on the raised stage, microphone in hand, smiling like a king. Seraphina sat in the front row, elegant and tense, her eyes scanning the crowd.Lucian moved smoothly between tables, offering champagne flutes. No one looked twice at the quiet server with the faint slum accent.Elias’s voice boomed through the speakers. “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for supporting Tech for Good. Tonight, your generous donations will fund better surveillance systems to keep our city safe from the chaos below. Together, we build a brighter future.”A ripple of polite applause followed. Lucian stopped near a table of wealthy donors, tray steady.One older man in a tuxedo grabbed a glass and laughed. “Elias is right.
Chapter 24
The ballroom of the Oakhaven Grand Hotel descended into pure chaos as every guest’s phone blasted Elias Thorne’s private recording at full volume. Elias stood frozen on stage, face drained of color. Seraphina shot to her feet, her elegant gown suddenly feeling like a cage.“Turn it off!” Elias shouted into the microphone, but the sound only grew louder.His own voice continued playing across the room: “These poor donors are so easy… throw millions thinking they’re saving the city, when really they’re funding my next yacht. The trash stays down, the rich stay happy, and I stay rich.”A donor slammed his phone on the table. “Elias! You called us easy to manipulate? I just pledged fifteen million!”Another guest stood, red-faced. “You said you’d squash the Ghost like a rat? After we funded your precious surveillance tech?”Seraphina pushed through the shouting crowd, heart pounding. “Elias, explain this! Is that really you?”Elias jumped off the stage, eyes wild. “It’s a hack! Lucian did
Chapter 25
Seraphina’s fingers stayed locked around Lucian’s hand under the single umbrella, rain hammering the pavement around them. The stray dog pressed closer to Lucian’s leg, eyes watchful. Seraphina’s soaked gown clung to her, but she didn’t let go.“You still haven’t answered me,” she said, voice urgent. “Who are you really, Lucian? The man who destroys empires by day and shares an umbrella with a stray dog at night? It doesn’t add up.”Lucian looked down at their joined hands, then back at her rain-streaked face. “I’m the one who sees what your family tried to hide. The fine print. The graves. The lies. That’s all you need to know right now.”Seraphina’s grip tightened. “No. It’s not enough. Elias’s recording just played to every donor in the city. His company is bleeding. My father is still trying to fly out with that hard drive. And you’re standing here calm while everything burns. Tell me how you did it. Tell me why.”Lucian gently pulled his hand
Chapter 26
Lucian walked out of Elias Thorne’s boardroom still wearing the damp janitor uniform, the single coin left shining on the polished desk behind him. His earpiece buzzed nonstop as he descended in the elevator.Silas spoke first, voice tight with urgency. “Boss, Vale Corporation just called an emergency board meeting. Their stock is free-falling after the hospital takeover and Elias’s crash. They need a bailout fast—three hundred million minimum—or the whole empire collapses by morning.”Boxer cut in. “They’re reaching out to every anonymous investor they can find. They’re calling the mystery buyer ‘Mr. V.’ They think it’s some foreign tycoon who can save them quietly.”Lucian stepped onto the street, rain still falling. “Good. Set up the basement studio. Jax, you’re on. We’re giving them exactly what they want.”Twenty minutes later, Lucian sat in the dimly lit basement beneath the 4th Street Station. Old concrete walls surrounded him. A high-end h
Chapter 27
Lucian sat in the dim basement beneath the 4th Street Station, holographic interface glowing in front of him. Jax stood ready in the projected luxury office, suited and stern. The Vale boardroom appeared on the main screen once again, Arthur Vale looking exhausted, Seraphina beside him with fresh documents.Arthur spoke first, voice eager. “Mr. V, the fifty-one percent transfer is complete. Your three hundred million has stabilized us. Thank you. We are ready for your guidance.”Jax leaned forward, repeating Lucian’s typed words with cold authority. “Guidance? Let’s be clear. This is not a gift. It’s a rescue. And rescues come with conditions. You will sell off three of your most profitable divisions within forty-eight hours.”Arthur blinked. “Sell? Which divisions?”Jax delivered the line hard. “Pharmaceuticals International, the private security arm known as the Cleaners, and the surveillance software subsidiary. All three. Full sale. No negotia
Chapter 28
Lucian slipped out of the basement studio into the narrow back alleys behind the 4th Street Station, the rain still falling in a steady drizzle. The Ghost Market buzzed on his phone with new trades, and Mr. V’s first orders were already forcing the Vales to list their pharmaceutical division for sale. But Arthur’s suspicion had turned dangerous fast.His earpiece crackled. Silas sounded tense. “Boss, the trace is live. Arthur hired a professional. Calls himself Reaper. He’s already in the industrial zone, moving toward your last known signal. Get back to the hub.”Lucian kept walking. “I’m handling it. Keep the mansion feed live. I want to see Arthur’s face when this fails.”He turned down a dark alley lined with overflowing dumpsters and rusted fire escapes. Footsteps echoed behind him. Lucian stopped, hands loose at his sides.A tall figure stepped out from the shadows, rain glistening on a black tactical jacket. The hitman—Reaper—raised a silenced pistol, barrel steady and aimed at
Chapter 29
Seraphina paced the private dining room of the Oakhaven Heights Restaurant, the table set with crystal and fine china. She had sent the invitation to Lucian that afternoon, calling it a “civil conversation” between old acquaintances. In truth, it was a trap. She needed to know if the beggar from the rain was connected to the mysterious Mr. V who was carving apart her family’s empire.Lucian arrived exactly on time, still wearing his faded jacket and scuffed boots, looking every bit the slum kid who had never eaten anywhere nicer than a street stall. He dropped into the chair across from her without waiting for the waiter.Seraphina forced a smile. “Thank you for coming, Lucian. I thought we could talk like civilized people for once. No rain. No dogs. No hidden recorders.”Lucian picked up the heavy menu, squinting at it. “Civilized? This place charges fifty bucks for a salad. That’s not civilized, that’s robbery. I’ll take the cheapest thing they got. And
Chapter 30
Seraphina stared at her phone after the “Dead Man” call ended, her face pale under the restaurant’s soft lighting. Lucian continued chewing loudly, sauce still on his fingers, playing the unrefined beggar perfectly.“What the hell was that?” Seraphina demanded, voice shaking. “Dead Man? Mr. V sending regards? Lucian, if you know anything about this, tell me right now.”Lucian wiped his hands on the expensive tablecloth, ignoring her glare. “Sounds like someone’s got your father’s number. Maybe Mr. V is done playing nice. You invited me to dinner to civilize me, remember? Looks like the real savage is the one squeezing your family dry.”Seraphina slammed her napkin down. “Stop the act! You knew that call was coming. The timing was too perfect. Are you working with Mr. V? Are you him?”Lucian leaned back, chair creaking. “Me? I’m the slum kid you laughed at, remember? The one who smells like trash. Why would Mr. V waste time on someone like me? Your