All Chapters of THE HIDDEN DRAGON : Chapter 31
- Chapter 40
115 chapters
Chapter 31
The phone screen burned into my eyes. LILLIAN HAS BEEN TAKEN. Four words. No sender. No context. Everything else in the warehouse disappeared behind them.My hand was still closed around the jade pendant. Warm. Too warm, like it remembered something my mind couldn't hold onto anymore. A courtyard. Rain. A boy holding a wooden dragon. A voice calling me son. The images scattered the moment I tried to look at them directly, the way a dream dissolves the instant you reach for it in daylight.None of it mattered right now."Zane." Elder Han's voice. Close. Careful. "You went somewhere.""I'm here." My voice came out steadier than I expected."Your eyes weren't." He studied me the way he used to study opponents before a match, cataloguing weaknesses. "For a moment, you weren't looking at anything in this room."I didn't answer him. I couldn't explain something I didn't understand myself. I slid the pendant into my jacket beside the Dragon Key a
Last Updated : 2026-08-09
Chapter 32
I looked at the photograph again, closer this time. Behind Lillian's shoulder, half-hidden in shadow near the car's open door, stood a figure I'd dismissed as one more masked guard. Broad build. A long coat despite the summer heat. A silver ring visible on one hand resting against the doorframe."Explain," I said.Leon didn't move for a long moment. When he did, it wasn't toward me. He turned to one of his lieutenants, a wiry man with a shaved scalp standing near the warehouse entrance. "Pull up the Ashford file. Now."The man disappeared without a word."Leon." My patience had a floor, and I was standing on it. "You have thirty seconds.""His name was Damien Cho." Leon's voice had gone flat, stripped of its usual polish. "Former Black Dragon Alliance enforcer. He crossed me during a shipment dispute six years ago. I had him executed personally and confirmed the body myself before it went into the harbor." He looked up
Last Updated : 2026-08-10
Chapter 33
Midnight came without a sound. Pier 9 was almost completely dark. Only a few yellow lamps along the waterfront remained alive, their weak reflections trembling across the black surface of the river. Rows of abandoned containers stood like silent walls around the loading area.I stepped out of the black sedan and immediately felt something was wrong. Too quiet. A place like this should have had noise—workers, engines, ships, distant traffic. Instead, there was nothing. Not even the wind seemed willing to stay.Elder Han came around the other side of the vehicle, his eyes sweeping across the pier. "Do you see them?" "No." He frowned. "The message said midnight." I looked at the Dragon Key inside my coat. "We're early." "No." His voice was low. "They're already here."I stopped. He pointed toward the far end of the pier. A single warehouse light flickered twice. Then went dark. I didn't move. My eyes adjusted to the darkness. T
Last Updated : 2026-08-12
Chapter 34
The first gunshot shattered the silence. I moved before I heard the second. Lillian was still trapped near the loading platform, surrounded by armed men, while Elder Han stood several meters behind me with Damien Cho watching everything unfold like a man who already knew how the night would end.I ducked behind a steel container as bullets tore through the railing above my head. "Han!" I shouted. He looked at me. "What happened that night?" His expression tightened. "I wasn't there." The answer hit harder than the gunfire. "What?" "I wasn't at your grandfather's estate when he died."Another burst of gunfire forced me lower. I glanced toward Lillian. Two men were moving toward her. I couldn't wait. I pushed away from the container and sprinted. One attacker stepped into my path. His fist came toward my jaw. I caught it. Twisted. Then drove my elbow into his ribs. He folded.A second man attacked from behind. I turned just in
Last Updated : 2026-08-12
Chapter 35
The man's words were still ringing in my head. Your mother. I barely had time to process them before the stranger raised his weapon. I moved. My body reacted before my mind did. I grabbed Lillian around the waist and pulled her behind the nearest steel container as a shot cracked through the night. The bullet struck the container with a violent clang. "Stay down." Lillian pressed against me, breathing hard. "Zane..." "Don't move."Another burst of gunfire tore across the pier. I looked over the edge of the container. The stranger was gone. So was the man who had claimed to know my mother. My jaw tightened. Coward. Or professional. Either way, he had disappeared before I could ask a single question.Elder Han rushed toward us. "Zane!" "I'm fine." "You're bleeding." I looked down. A thin line of blood ran from my forearm. Nothing serious. But Han wasn't looking at the wound. He was staring at my face. "What?" His expression changed.
Last Updated : 2026-08-12
Chapter 36
The stranger's words stayed in the air long after he stepped backward into the smoke. "He was protecting you from her." My hands tightened. "Wait." I moved toward him, but Elder Han caught my arm. "Zane, don't." I looked at him. His face was pale. Not cautious. Not surprised. Afraid. That frightened me more than the stranger."Who is she?" I demanded. The stranger stopped. Only his silhouette remained visible through the smoke and flickering flames. "Your grandfather knew what she was capable of." "What does that mean?" He turned his head slightly. "It means he knew enough to keep you away from her." "That's not an answer." "No." His voice was calm. "It's the only answer you're getting tonight."I stepped forward. "Tell me her name." For the first time, the stranger hesitated. Then he said quietly, "You already know the family name." My eyes narrowed. "Shen?" He didn't answer. Instead, he disappeared into the smoke. I a
Last Updated : 2026-08-13
Chapter 37
The lights exploded above us. Glass rained across the floor. I grabbed Lillian and pulled her against me as the safehouse dropped into darkness. Elder Han moved at the same time, placing himself between us and the door. Three knocks. Then silence. My hand tightened around the small jade pendant beneath my shirt. It was burning against my chest."Stay behind me," I whispered to Lillian. "I am not helpless," she whispered back. "I know." I looked toward the door. "That is why I need you alive." A voice came through the darkness. "Zane." My body went rigid. I knew that voice. Damien Cho. Elder Han's breathing changed beside me. "Don't shoot," Cho called. "If I wanted you dead, you wouldn't still be standing." "That depends on how badly you want to die," I answered.The door opened slowly. Cho stepped inside with both hands raised. His coat was torn. Blood darkened one sleeve. There was a fresh cut across his cheek, and for the first time
Last Updated : 2026-08-13
Chapter 38
The first bullet punched through the safehouse door before I could reach the hallway. "Move!" I grabbed Lillian by the arm and pulled her behind the concrete support column as another burst tore through the wall. Dust exploded across my face. Elder Han was already moving, his hand gripping the concealed panel beside the bookshelf. "Tunnel," he said. "Now."Cho fired twice toward the windows before ducking behind the overturned table. Blood was spreading across his sleeve. "You're hit." "It's nothing." "That much blood says otherwise." He gave me a humorless smile. "Then I suppose I'm having a bad night." Another explosion shook the building. Elder Han slammed his palm against the hidden mechanism. The bookshelf shifted, revealing a narrow passage descending into darkness.We rushed inside. I stayed behind Lillian, listening to the gunfire above us. Then something strange happened. The shots changed. They weren't coming from
Last Updated : 2026-08-16
Chapter 39
The boardroom doors opened before I could say another word. Lillian walked in first. I followed half a step behind her. Every face around the table turned toward us.Nobody asked whether she was all right. They were waiting to see whether she was weak. That told me everything I needed to know. Lillian had changed out of the clothes she'd worn during the escape, but the exhaustion hadn't left her face. A faint bruise remained near her temple.Her movements were controlled, but I knew her well enough to notice the tension in her shoulders. Victor Shen stood at the head of the table. He looked almost pleased to see us. "Lillian," he said. "I'm glad you decided to attend." She pulled out a chair. "I was told there was an emergency board meeting." "There is." She sat. I remained behind her.Victor glanced at me. "And apparently the useless husband has decided to attend too." A few directors laughed quietly. I ignore
Last Updated : 2026-08-18
Chapter 40
The boardroom doors closed behind the fleeing director. I was already moving. "Lillian, stay here." She grabbed my arm before I could take another step. "No." I looked at her. Her expression was calm, but there was a firmness in her eyes I had learned not to underestimate. "If someone inside this company is connected to the people hunting us," she said, "then I need to know who." I couldn't argue with that.Leon was already walking toward the door. "Then we're wasting time." Victor remained beside the table, watching all three of us. I noticed the way his fingers tightened around the edge of his chair. He was nervous. Not because Lillian had kept her position. Because the director had left. That distinction mattered."Victor," I said. He looked at me. "Do you know him?" His jaw tightened. "I've seen him around." "That's not what I asked." He didn't answer. Leon stopped beside him. "You've known him for years." Victor's
Last Updated : 2026-08-18