2025-06-01 07:23:53The hum of the air conditioning unit in the Chancellor’s office was the only sound for a long moment; it was a stark contrast to the chaotic energy that had brought Isaiah here.
Mr. Bradley held Isaiah at arm's length, his eyes shining. "Isaiah, my son. You have come back into my life, and everything is about to change for you. I am sorry for not finding you sooner and for all the suffering you've had to endure throughout your life. But I promise you, you will never have to suffer again."
Mr. Bradley reached into the inner pocket of his impeccably tailored suit jacket. He withdrew a sleek and obsidian-colored card that caught the light in the room with a subtle and almost unseen shimmer. It wasn't plastic, nor was it metal. It looked… different.
He extended it towards Isaiah. "This is a premium black diamond card. It has ten billion dollars on it. Take this as a token of my apology. I don’t expect this to make the pain of the years vanish, but it is a start. A start at rebuilding our relationship and filling in the gap that has been in your life for all those years."
Isaiah’s eyes widened, fixating on the card. “Ten billion what?” The words echoed in his head. It was a nonsensical amount he just heard, so much so that he felt a strange disconnect as if the sound in the room had been muted and the world around him suddenly distanced itself from him. Isaiah’s hand moved, seemingly of its own accord, as he reached out and touched the cool and smooth surface of the card. It felt powerful and weighty, yet impossibly thin.
He held it, turning it over and examining the minimalist design. No bank logo and no name, just a tiny and almost invisible emblem in one corner of the card. It was surreal. He thought to himself, “Was this a prank? This whole story of me being his lost child might just be a ploy by Harold and Walter to further embarrass me later. But Mr. Bradley? This man owned this entire university, a man whose name is synonymous with power and wealth; he wouldn’t waste his time on such a childish stunt. His reputation alone precluded such nonsense.”
"Sit, son," Mr. Bradley said, his voice softening. "There's something very important I need to tell you."
Isaiah sank into the seat with the black diamond card still clutched in his hand, its presence a stark and unbelievable reality. The chancellor and his PA, which he now noticed, had discreetly left the room as they started talking, leaving them in complete privacy. The silence in the room stretched and was thick with anticipation.
Mr. Bradley leaned back, his gaze softening, a paternal warmth entering his eyes that Isaiah had never seen directed at him.
"Listen up, Isaiah," Mr. Bradley began, his gaze steady. "I have three other children. Two sons, one daughter—they came after you. You... you are my firstborn. My eldest son and your mother, Mary... she was the only woman I ever truly loved." He paused, a flicker of pain in his eyes “She was… everything.”
Isaiah felt a prickle behind his eyes. His mother had told him so little about his father, only that he was absent. To hear this man, this powerful and revered man, speak of his mother with such reverence and such profound love… it was overwhelming.
“When the time comes,” Mr. Bradley’s voice brought him back, firmer now, “I want you to take over my company. The Brad Zay Group.”
Isaiah blinked. “Take over?” His mind reeled. He was a university student, struggling to make ends meet, and now he was being offered a multi-billion dollar empire. Isaiah looked at his father, a man who seemed strong and vibrant. "When the time comes? Are you... are you planning an early retirement?"
A shadow crossed Mr. Bradley’s face, and the weariness Isaiah had glimpsed earlier settled deeply in his eyes. Mr. Bradley sighed a deep, weary sound. "No, son. I've been diagnosed with a very aggressive cancer. It's... eating me faster than they can contain.”
He looked down at his hands and then back at Isaiah with a noticeable sadness etched in his eyes. All my billions, influence, and power... and yet I can't defeat this one enemy that is cancer." His voice cracked slightly. "I have less than six months to live."
Isaiah felt a cold dread creep into his chest.
“I have less than six months to live.”
The words hung in the air, heavy and suffocating. Isaiah felt a tear escape and trace a path down his cheek. He’d just met his father after being missing all his life, and now… now he was losing him again and this time forever. The unfairness of it all and the cruel twist of fate left a bitter taste in his mouth. Today had been such a tough day for Isaiah that he could no longer contain the tears in his eyes as a result of an overwhelming rush of emotions.
Mr. Bradley reached out, taking Isaiah's hand. "No, son, not now. You have to be strong and grow into the man you were always destined to become. The Brad Zay Group is an eight-hundred-billion-dollar empire. I need you to begin real-life training. So you can take it over after I'm gone."
"But... my other siblings?" Isaiah asked, a tremor in his voice. "Why can't they run it? I’m sure they have more experience than I do. I can always play a role in assisting them, but..."
Mr. Bradley leaned in, his voice dropping to a confidential whisper. "I don't trust their mother, my wife. I've had multiple investigations done on her and my two sons... they're not mine. And even if they were, I can’t trust them with such responsibilities; they are too reckless. Too consumed by their own desires to handle a transgenerational empire."
He paused. "However, Ashley, my only daughter... she is confirmed to be mine. And as such, is your biological half-sister. But the boys... no."
He looked Isaiah squarely in the eye. "They are bound to be a problem for you on your way to the top. That's why I need you to subtly take over operations of the conglomerate, one company at a time."
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Chapter 341
The observation deck was quiet now—too quiet after the alarms had finally died. The station’s viewport stretched wide and black, the golden shimmer on the horizon no longer a distant pulse but a steady, encroaching glow. Isaiah stood alone at the railing, hands resting on the cool metal, frost tracing faint patterns where his fingers touched. The rest of the bay had emptied: soldiers to their posts, trainees to their quarters, Nero and Ragnar to whatever urgent briefing Noirman had called. Even Elena had slipped away after her confession, taking Kate with her.For the first time in hours, or maybe days, he was alone with his thoughts. He stared at the approaching light and weighed it.What were the pros of fighting. The station had firepower. Shields. Trained personnel. His team—Ruko, Spiff, Fen, the outcasts—had already proven they’d die for him. V'He could win. The frost came easier now, stronger. He could feel it in his bones: whatever the Zortox had left in him, it answered when
Chapter 340
The grand foyer of the Bradley mansion felt smaller than it ever had—high ceilings pressing down, crystal chandelier throwing fractured light across marble floors like broken promises. The family stood in a loose, uneven circle: Nathan near the staircase, arms crossed, jaw tight; Jenny supporting Ashley, who leaned heavily against her, blood still crusted at her temple; Luke and Jackson flanking them like silent sentinels; Fayour hovering near the edge of the group, eyes red and darting; Anthony at the center, charcoal suit rumpled now, silver hair catching the chandelier glow; Julia a step behind him, black dress immaculate but hands clasped so tightly her knuckles showed white.No one had sat. No one had moved to clean Ashley’s wound. The air smelled of old wood polish, jasmine from the open windows, and the faint copper tang of blood.Anthony spoke first, voice low, measured, but carrying the weight of years.“The Bureau took Isaiah,” he said. “The Universal Bureau of Magic. They’v
Chapter 339:
The Bradley mansion loomed at the end of the long private drive like a dark monument carved from money and secrets. Floodlights washed the white stone facade in cold blue-white, turning the manicured lawns into flat, artificial green. Nathan killed the engine in the circular driveway, tires crunching on gravel. The silence that followed was louder than the drive had been.He stepped out first. Jenny followed from the passenger side. Luke and Jackson climbed out of the back, doors closing with soft, expensive thuds. The night air smelled of cut grass, night-blooming jasmine, and something metallic. Blood, perhaps, or just the promise of it.The front doors opened before they reached the steps. Fayour stood there. Blond hair disheveled, hoodie sleeves pushed up to his elbows, eyes red-rimmed and wide. He looked younger than Nathan remembered, like the nineteen-year-old he actually was instead of the polished heir he’d been trained to play.“Nathan—”Nathan moved past him without stoppi
Chapter 338
The back field felt suddenly too open, too exposed under the darkness of the night. The dying oak cast a thin, jagged shadow that sprawled across the grass. Jenny sat on the broken bench, knees drawn up, hoodie sleeves pulled over her hands as the temperature had dropped. Luke stood rigid beside her, arms folded so tightly his biceps strained against his shirt. Jackson leaned against the trunk of the oak, one boot propped on a root, trying to look casual while his eyes kept darting between Nathan and the distant campus buildings.Nathan had just crushed the earpiece under his heel. The small skin colored shards lay scattered in the dirt like broken teeth. He was opening his mouth to speak when his phone buzzed again.He pulled it out. It was Fayour. The name on the screen hit him like a cold fist to the sternum.He answered on the first ring, speaker off, phone pressed hard to his ear. “Fayour.”A ragged inhale on the other end, then a voice so choked it barely sounded like his young
Chapter 337
The red emergency lights still pulsed like a dying heartbeat. Isaiah stood at the center, frost still clinging to the edges of his sleeves. Elena faced him, calm as ever, the faint glimmer in her emerald eyes now unmistakable, like captured starlight.No one had moved since her admission.Then the bay doors hissed open again.Kate entered.She was a storm in human form—broad-shouldered, dark-haired, eyes the color of storm clouds. She wore the same black tactical gear as always, but tonight it seemed tighter, sharper, as though her body had already decided violence was inevitable. She took one look at the scene, Elena standing too close to Isaiah, Ragnar’s hand hovering near his sidearm, Nero braced like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop, and her expression shifted from watchful to feral.In the next heartbeat she charged.She moved like a blade through water, silent, lethal, unstoppable. Her right hand came up in a slicing arc that could have taken a head clean off at the shou
Chapter 336
The training bay still smelled of scorched metal and ozone. Melted rifle barrels lay in twisted heaps near the walls, cooling with faint metallic pings. The frost Isaiah had summoned lingered in thin sheets across the deck, glittering under the red emergency lights like shattered glass. No one moved to clean it. No one moved at all.Soldiers stood frozen in half-raised postures, rifles lowered but fingers still curled around grips. Ruko’s tattoos had dimmed to a dull silver flicker; Spiff kept flexing and unflexing his hands as though testing they still worked. Fen stared at the empty center of the bay where the Zortox had stood, mouth slightly open.Isaiah remained where he had faced them, five feet from nothing now, hands loose at his sides. The frost on his fingertips had retreated, but the cold still rolled off him in slow waves.Nero jumped down from the observation platform, boots thudding against the deck. He walked straight to Isaiah, stopping just short of the lingering ice.
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