Bullied No More: Rise of the Forgotten Heir

CHAPTER 4: THE BOY WHO SHOULDN’T EXIST

“No.”

Victor said it quietly, but the word carried weight. Julian Crest stepped through the smoke like he owned it, hands in his pockets, jacket pristine despite the explosion behind him.

Two figures flanked him, both tall, both wrong. Their eyes reflected the light too sharply. Not human. Not entirely. Elias felt it then. Pressure.

Like the air itself was leaning in to listen. “You look disappointed,” Julian said, voice light. “That hurts, Victor. I thought we were friends.”

Victor moved Elias behind him. “You’re not allowed here.”

Julian laughed. “And yet… here I am.”

The man at the Ledger desk stood. “State your authority.”

Julian snapped his fingers. One of the figures beside him stepped forward and tossed something onto the floor. A ring.

Black metal. The same symbol burned into it as the one on Victor’s card, twisted, inverted. Victor went still.

Elias felt the shift immediately. The murmurs. The fear. “That symbol,” Elias whispered. “What is it?”

Victor didn’t answer. Julian did. “It’s proof.”

The man at the desk stared at the ring. “That crest was destroyed.”

Julian tilted his head. “So you thought.”

Victor’s voice was cold. “You’re wearing a dead family’s authority.”

Julian’s smile sharpened. “Funny thing about dead families. They don’t complain.”

Elias clenched his fists. “Why are you here?”

Julian looked past Victor, straight at him. “Because you embarrassed me.”

A beat. “And because,” Julian continued, “you don’t belong in my world.”

Victor snapped, “You don’t decide that.”

Julian shrugged. “I already did.”

The air vibrated. The two figures beside Julian moved at once, too fast to track. Guards shouted. Symbols flared. The hall erupted into chaos. “Stay back!” Victor barked.

Elias didn’t listen. He watched as one of the creatures slammed a guard into the wall hard enough to crack stone.

The other raised a handm shadows coiling around its fingers. “What are they?” Elias demanded.

“Enforcers,” Victor said. “Bound.”

Julian sighed. “Relax. I’m not here to burn the place down.” He glanced around. “Yet.”

The man at the desk recovered. “Julian Crest. By whose claim do you enter Ledger Hall?”

Julian smiled. “By inheritance.”

That did it. Shouts erupted. “That’s impossible!”

“The Crest line is mundane!”

“They were barred generations ago!”

Julian lifted his hands. “You’re all very dramatic.”

He turned to Elias. “Want to know why you and I are different?”

Elias’s jaw tightened. “I don’t care.”

Julian leaned closer anyway. “You were hidden. Protected. Wrapped in secrecy.” He tapped his chest. “I was stolen.”

Victor’s eyes narrowed. “You’re lying.”

Julian laughed. “Am I?”

He snapped his fingers again.

The ring flared. For a moment, just a moment Elias saw something behind Julian’s eyes. Not arrogance. Hunger.

“I was taken from a bloodline older than yours,” Julian said. “Raised without knowing what I was. Told I was ordinary.” His smile twisted. “Sound familiar?”

Elias’s pulse spiked. “You’re not Aurelian,” Victor said.

“No,” Julian agreed. “I’m what happens when your enemies get smarter.”

The man at the desk exhaled slowly. “A hybrid claim.”

Silence fell. “That’s illegal,” someone whispered.

Julian spread his arms. “So is pretending bloodlines don’t rot.”

Victor turned to Elias. “This is why you were hidden.”

Julian cut in. “No. This is why he’s late.”

Elias stepped out from behind Victor. “What do you want?”

Julian’s gaze snapped to him, delighted. “There you are.”

Victor hissed, “Elias”

“I asked what you want,” Elias repeated.

Julian studied him. “I want you gone.”

A ripple ran through the hall. “Not dead,” Julian clarified. “Erased.”

Elias swallowed. “You can’t do that.”

Julian shrugged. “Watch me try.”

The man at the desk slammed his hand down. “Enough. This hall does not permit”

Julian flicked his wrist. The man flew backward, crashing into the wall. Elias flinched. “You just”

“Disrespected the process?” Julian finished. “Yes.”

Victor moved instantly, placing himself between Julian and Elias again. “Touch him and you die.”

Julian smiled. “You first.”

The enforcers lunged. The world fractured. Stone exploded. Symbols burned. Elias stumbled as Victor moved, fast, precise, terrifying.

He struck one enforcer, sending it skidding across the floor. The other slammed him into a pillar. “Victor!” Elias shouted.

“I’m fine,” Victor grunted. “Stay”

Julian appeared in front of Elias. Too close. “Hi,” Julian said softly.

Elias swung without thinking. His fist connected. Pain exploded up his arm. Julian didn’t move. He looked down at Elias’s hand, then back up. “That all you’ve got?”

Elias staggered back, shaking his hand. “What are you?”

Julian leaned in, voice dropping. “Better.”

He raised his hand and froze. Something wrapped around his wrist. Light. Chains. Tomas Hale stood behind him, face pale, eyes glowing faintly. “You don’t get to touch him,” Tomas said hoarsely.

Julian stared. “What did you do?”

Elias’s heart raced. “I bound him.”

Julian laughed once. “You made him your shadow?”

“Yes.”

Julian’s smile vanished. “That was stupid.”

He ripped his arm free. The chains shattered. Tomas screamed and collapsed. Elias rushed forward. “Tomas!”

Julian grabbed Elias by the collar and lifted him off the ground. “Listen carefully,” Julian said, eyes burning. “You think this place makes you special?”

Elias gasped. “You’re afraid.”

Julian paused. Just long enough. Victor slammed into him, knocking him back. “Enough!” Victor roared. “You’ve made your point.”

Julian straightened, brushing off his jacket. “Have I?”

He looked around at the ruined hall, the watching faces. “Congratulations,” Julian said to Elias. “You survived your introduction.”

He stepped backward, smoke curling around him. “This isn’t over,” Julian added. “It’s barely begun.”

The smoke swallowed him. The hall fell silent. Elias collapsed to his knees. Victor knelt beside him. “Are you hurt?”

Elias shook his head, breath ragged. “He’s like me.”

“Yes,” Victor said quietly. “And worse.”

The man at the desk approached, blood on his lip. “This changes everything.”

“How?” Elias asked.

The man looked at him grimly. “Your existence is now contested.”

Elias frowned. “Meaning?”

Victor helped him stand. “Meaning,” he said, “that from this moment on”

A bell rang. Louder than before. “every family in the city will choose a side.”

Elias looked at the shattered hall, the unconscious Tomas, the place where Julian vanished. “And mine?” Elias asked.

Victor met his gaze. “You don’t have one yet,” he said. “You have to build it.”

A messenger rushed in, breathless. “Victor. Reports from above.”

Victor stiffened. “What now?”

The messenger swallowed. “Your mother’s grave… it was opened.”

Elias’s blood turned to ice. “What?” he whispered.

The messenger met his eyes. “It’s empty.”