2025-10-24 23:33:50
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CHAPTER 10: THE REUNION TRAP
The café was almost empty, just a few late customers and the low hum of rain against the windows.Stephen stepped inside, coat damp, collar turned up. The bell above the door gave a hollow chime.Alina was there, waiting in a corner booth. Five years hadn’t erased the sharp lines of her face, but the light in her eyes had dimmed. She looked up and froze. “Stephen…”He stopped a few feet away. “Alina.”“You” She stood, half-reaching, half-unsure. “I thought, Everyone said you were dead.”“Everyone prefers the version of me that stayed gone.”She sat again slowly, eyes flicking toward the window. “Who told you to come?”He slid into the opposite seat. “You did. Or at least, your ‘anonymous friend’ did.”Confusion crossed her face. “I didn’t send anything.”“I know.” He laid the printed message on the table. The ink blurred slightly from the rain.If you want her safe, come alone. Her hands trembled. “Safe from what?”“That’s what I’m here to find out.”The air hung heavy with unspoken h
CHAPTER 9: BREAKING POINT
Morning light was cruel. Stephen stood in front of the giant window in his penthouse, the skyline painted gold and gray.His phone vibrated nonstop, texts, emails, missed calls. Cassandra entered, tablet in hand, face pale. “It’s everywhere,” she said. “Every outlet’s running with it. Damian leaked your old photo, your real name, everything.”Stephen took the tablet, scrolling through headlines: ELIAS STONE EXPOSED AS STEPHEN BROOKE — FRAUD OR PHOENIX? THE MAN WHO LIED HIS WAY INTO POWER.He set it down gently. “So he finally played his card.”“It’s not just the press,” Cassandra said. “The board’s calling an emergency vote. They want answers before noon.”Stephen exhaled. “They’ll get them.”“You can’t talk your way out of this one, Stephen. He’s tied your new empire to your old crimes.”He turned to her, eyes calm. “Then we burn the connection.”Downtown – Media Frenzy. Cameras camped outside Vantage headquarters. The name Elias Stone was no longer armor, it was a target. Inside, ex
CHAPTER 8: EXPOSED
Morning headlines burned across every screen in the city.VANTAGE LOGISTICS FACES INTERNAL AUDIT OVER IDENTITY FRAUD ALLEGATIONSStephen, Elias Stone, stood in front of the monitor, coffee untouched. Cassandra read the article aloud, voice tight.“Anonymous sources claim the company’s founder falsified identity documents. Authorities may open a federal investigation.”He turned from the screen. “He moved faster than I expected.”“Damian?”“Who else?” Stephen exhaled slowly. “He’s not trying to destroy the company. He’s trying to unmask me.”Damian Cross watched the same broadcast from his office, the reflection of his own smile flickering in the glass. “Tell the press the whistle-blower’s credible,” he told his assistant. “Feed them the rumor about the mechanic from five years ago.”“That could backfire,” the assistant warned.Damian’s grin widened. “Backfire only happens if the target ducks.”At the Vantage Headquarters Cassandra burst into Stephen’s office with a folder.“Legal says
CHAPTER 7: COUNTERPLAY
The rain had stopped, but the city still gleamed like a weapon. Damian Cross stood at his penthouse window, phone pressed to his ear, eyes cold and sharp as the skyline below.“He’s alive,” Patrick’s voice came through again, breathless. “I swear it’s him, D. He’s using the name Elias Stone. He bought us out.”“Calm down,” Damian said softly. “Panic makes you stupid.”“You’re not listening”“I’m always listening,” Damian cut in. “And if Stephen Brooke’s really back, he’s not here to shake hands.”Patrick’s silence answered for him. “Good,” Damian said finally. “Then we’ll give him what he wants.”“What does that even mean?”Damian turned from the window, pouring himself a drink. The ice cracked loudly in the glass. “It means,” he said, “if he came for revenge, let’s make sure it looks like he’s winning.”“You want to let him?”“I want him comfortable. Victors make mistakes when they start believing they’ve already won.”He smiled, slow and deliberate. “And Stephen Brooke has always be
CHAPTER 6: THE HUNT
The first rule of suspicion was silence. Patrick Moore had never learned it. He slammed his laptop shut, cursing under his breath.Every search, every record on Elias Stone led to the same wall: Vantage Holdings. No history before five years ago. No photos older than that. No family, no past. A ghost who signed checks.He grabbed his phone. “Damian, he’s clean,” Patrick said. “Too clean. Like someone built him out of thin air.”“Then dig deeper,” Damian replied. His voice was calm, bored even. “Everyone leaves a trail. Find the dirt before it finds us.”Patrick ran a hand through his hair. “You don’t think”“I don’t think,” Damian interrupted. “I know. That man’s money smells like revenge. Find out who’s holding the match.”The call ended. Patrick stared at the black screen. Rain tapped the windows, same rhythm that had haunted his family for months.Two days later. Patrick sat in a café downtown, across from a nervous young woman in a blazer. “You’re the records officer?” he asked.“
CHAPTER 5: THE RETURN
Five years later, the city had changed, but Stephen Brooke had changed more. Now, people called him Elias Stone, founder of Vantage Logistics, the silent giant that moved half the city’s freight without a single billboard or interview.He lived in glass and steel now, high above the same streets that once swallowed him whole. He poured coffee slowly, the city a mirror in the window.On the screen behind him, a news anchor’s voice droned: “The Moore Group, once a top supplier in construction and imports, faces potential bankruptcy following months of unpaid contracts”Stephen muted the television. The corner of his mouth lifted, barely. A soft knock.Cassandra entered, tablet in hand, her presence sharper now, seasoned by the years beside him. “Press wants a statement,” she said. “Rumors about the anonymous investor interested in buying Moore Group are everywhere.”“Let them rumor,” Stephen replied.“You’re really going through with this?”He glanced at her reflection. “I didn’t build
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