Home / Urban / KICKED LIKE A DOG, RETURNED LIKE A HIDDEN HEIR / Enough hiding

Enough hiding

2025-10-03 17:03:16

Chapter 77

The night air outside the gala was cooler than the suffocating tension that had filled the hall, but Mrs. Morrelo didn’t feel it. Each step she took was deliberate, heels clicking softly against the marble floor as she exited with her chin raised. She would not give them the satisfaction of seeing her falter.

Behind her, however, the mocking laughter followed like poison-tipped arrows.

“She really thought she fooled us with that ring.”

“Look at the way she walked out — as if she’s royalty. What a joke.”

“Maybe she should audition for a drama; she plays the victim so well.”

Mrs. Vega’s shrill voice rose above the others, mimicking Mrs. Morrelo’s quiet dignity. She threw her scarf dramatically over her shoulder and strutted in circles, sending the room into another wave of laughter.

Mrs. Donatoes smirked, adding fuel to the cruelty. “Careful, Vega. Don’t make it too realistic — you might actually convince someone she’s worth something.”

The women laughed louder, their painted

Continue to read this book for free

Scan the code to download the app

Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Home coming
Chapter 189Alexander reached Paxton’s building in under twelve minutes.Too fast.The kind of speed that came from instinct, not planning.The lobby was quiet—too quiet. No security desk clerk. No ambient music. Just the low hum of electricity and the soft echo of Alexander’s footsteps as he crossed the marble floor.Matias’s voice came through his earpiece. “No forced entry detected. Cameras looped for forty-six seconds.”Alexander stopped walking.“Forty-six?” he asked.“That’s not a glitch,” Luca added. “That’s a signature.”Alexander’s jaw tightened. “They wanted him conscious.”He stepped into the elevator and hit the top floor.Paxton’s apartment door was open.Not broken.Open.Alexander entered slowly, every sense sharpened.The apartment looked… normal.No overturned furniture. No blood. No signs of struggle.But something was wrong.The air felt wrong.Paxton sat on the couch, hands resting on his knees, posture straight. His eyes followed Alexander, but his expression didn
Unauthorized
Chapter 188Alexander didn’t react immediately after Selena told him about her father.That silence worried her more than anger ever could.He stood by the glass wall of his office, the city stretched beneath him like a living map, every light a decision, every shadow a threat. When he finally spoke, his voice was low, controlled.“They didn’t pick him by accident.”Selena nodded. “I know.”“They’re looking for emotional leverage,” Alexander continued. “Something older than money. Older than power.”Selena stepped closer. “Then stop shielding me from it. Let me stand where I’m strongest.”Alexander turned to her, studying her face—not as someone he needed to protect, but as a partner choosing the battlefield.“You’re sure?” he asked.Selena didn’t hesitate. “If they’re going to use my family, then I should be the one facing them.”For the first time since Black Veil was activated, Alexander changed strategy.“Then we go on offense,” he said. “Not with force. With exposure.”The follow
challenge
Chapter 187At exactly 4:12 a.m., he stood in his study, staring at a locked drawer he hadn’t opened in over fifteen years. The wood was worn smooth where his thumb rested—proof that some habits never left, only waited.He opened it.Inside lay a single key and an old insignia—unmarked, unofficial, never registered. The kind of symbol that didn’t belong to governments but to operations governments pretended never happened.Leonardo closed his eyes.“So they found it,” he murmured.He didn’t call Alexander.Not yet.Because once spoken, some truths could never be taken back.Selena’s day took an unexpected turn.The council meeting was cut short when a junior analyst—barely thirty, too nervous to lie convincingly—handed her a sealed envelope.“No return address,” the analyst said. “It was marked personal.”Selena waited until she was alone before opening it.Inside was not a threat.Not a warning.It was a photograph.An old one.Leonardo—much younger—standing beside a woman Selena had
Survival
Chapter 186The first crack didn’t come from the enemy.It came from inside the room.Leonardo was the one who said it.“If Selena joins that council,” he said slowly, “she becomes a symbol. Symbols don’t belong to themselves.”Selena didn’t look away. “Neither do leaders.”Leonardo met her gaze. “Leaders choose when to be visible. Symbols don’t get that luxury.”Alexander watched the exchange without interrupting. This wasn’t about authority. This was about truth—three people standing on different sides of the same blade.Matias broke the silence. “There’s chatter already. Analysts are speculating about a fracture inside Morrelo leadership.”Selena exhaled. “That fast?”Alexander nodded. “They’re hoping for distance. Emotional, operational—any kind.”Selena turned to him. “Then let’s deny them that.”She reached for his hand again—but this time, Alexander didn’t immediately take it.Not because he didn’t want to.Because he understood what was coming.“If you step into that council,”
Future
Chapter 185The cost arrived quietly.Alexander discovered it at 6:14 a.m., while the city was still pretending to sleep.Three Morrelo-controlled humanitarian corridors—routes used to move medical supplies through conflict zones—had been suspended overnight. No explanation. No appeal window.Just a cold international directive stamped with unanimous consent.Leonardo read the notice twice, then once more aloud. “They’re citing ethical review failures.”Alexander’s fingers curled slowly against the desk.“That review board answers to no one,” Matias said. “It’s a ghost committee.”“No,” Alexander replied. “It’s a message.”Selena stood near the window, arms crossed, face unreadable.“They’re punishing the people you protect,” she said.Alexander didn’t deny it.“They want me to choose efficiency over exposure,” he said. “Silence over scrutiny.”Selena turned to him. “Then don’t.”That was the moment Alexander understood something dangerous.She wasn’t asking for permission.She was as
Message
Chapter 184Selena didn’t sleep.Not because she was afraid—but because something inside her had shifted.For the first time since Alexander pulled her out of the line of fire, she realized the truth he hadn’t said out loud:She wasn’t being protected anymore.She was being prepared.At dawn, she dressed herself without assistance. No guards hovering. No calls cleared in advance. She chose a simple outfit, hair loose, face bare of strategy.When Alexander found her in the private library, standing before a wall of old Morrelo portraits, he knew immediately.“You’ve decided something,” he said.Selena didn’t turn. “You once told me power doesn’t come from force. It comes from position.”“Yes.”She faced him then. “You moved me off the board because I was valuable. But you forgot something.”Alexander waited.“I was never fragile,” she said. “I was unseen.”His expression shifted—subtle, sharp.“What are you planning?” he asked.Selena stepped closer. “I’m going to step into the light.

You may also like

God of War, Returned For His Wife

Secretly The Quadrillionaire's Heir

Rise From Prison: Married To A Beautiful CEO

The Ruthless Son-in-law

The Trillionaire Driver.

From Nothing To Power

THE RETURN OF LIAM REYES

Everyone Underestimate Liam Cross

Latest Chapter

Home coming

Unauthorized

challenge

Survival

Future

Message