2025-08-07 22:20:54The phone buzzed again.
Jessica (incoming call). Adrian stared at the screen, thumb hovering above the answer button. Just her name made his chest ache. Even now—after everything—his fingers itched to hear her voice, to demand why. System Notification: Mission — Resist temptation to respond. Reward: Access to legacy account. His jaw tightened. The phone rang a second time…..then a third time…..then silence. He exhaled, slow and shaking, as the screen dimmed. A new notification appeared: Reward Unlocked. Accessing: Legacy Account – Cole Family Holdings. Balance: $250,000. Status: Active. He blinked. Half a million in under twelve hours—from nothing. No jobs. No friends. No explanations. Just restraint. The system—whatever it was—rewarded him every time he refused to stoop to the level of those who tore him down. He wasn’t sure whether to feel grateful… or disturbed. ———— By morning, Adrian had booked a room at a cheap but clean motel under a new alias. He showered, changed into clothes he’d bought with cash, and stared at himself in the mirror. Wet hair. Tired eyes. A man erased. He barely recognized the stranger looking back. New Mission: Walk away from confrontation. Reward: Access to emotional scan module. He hadn’t even left the room yet. Then came a knock on the door. A harsh, impatient one. Adrian opened it—and immediately stepped back. A tall, greasy man in a torn denim jacket stood there, breath stinking of booze. Behind him, two others. Rough-looking, desperate. Not the kind who cared about reasons or warnings. “You the guy who checked in last night? Room 12?” the leader asked. Adrian didn’t respond. The man sneered. “Boss wants your wallet. Said you came in flashy. You don’t want trouble.” Adrian’s fists curled. Old instincts surged. His body tensed—military training whispering across his nerves. One hit. Just one. He could flatten this guy. But that voice came again. “Control is strength, Host. Every time you don’t fight, you take something back.” Adrian exhaled. He stepped aside, hands raised slightly. “Take it.” He tossed the wallet on the floor. The thug blinked, surprised. Then he laughed and picked it up. “Didn’t expect that. You’re smarter than you look.” They walked away, jeering. Adrian shut the door. Mission Complete. Emotional Scan Unlocked. You resisted violence in a high-stress situation. He sat on the edge of the bed, breathing hard. He felt like a coward—and yet, the system was teaching him something. Let them think you’re weak. Watch how they act when they think you’ve lost everything. ———— By noon, Adrian had checked out, taken a cab downtown, and visited a lawyer—one of his mother’s old contacts. The man greeted him with a strange formality. “So… it’s begun.” “You knew?” Adrian asked. The lawyer nodded. “Your mother set this up years ago. She said if you ever accessed the legacy account, I’d know you were ready.” “Ready for what?” The lawyer slid a file across the table. “Your real inheritance. Not just money—assets, patents, silent partners, dormant trusts. She built something most people would kill for. And it’s all been waiting for you.” Adrian opened the folder. His breath caught. Company stakes. International funds. Even encrypted research access codes linked to a tech company he didn’t know she owned. One patent name stood out: “Project: Silence.” Filed under: Eleanor Cole. Confidential. Technology: Emotional Biometric System. The system in his head… was hers. ————- Later that day, Adrian walked through the city, hoodie up, hands in his coat pocket. He wasn’t the same man who’d been thrown out 24 hours ago. Now, he had control. Not just of himself—but of a game no one else knew he was playing. The real twist? He didn’t even need revenge. He only needed patience. Let them implode on their own. ————- Across town, Jessica sat in her luxury office with bloodshot eyes and trembling hands. The silence after Adrian hadn’t picked up was deafening. Michael hadn’t called her since last night, and her father had suffered a mild stroke that morning after reading a financial report. The Benson Group stock was down 11% in one day. Her family’s empire was starting to crack. And worse—she had no idea why. ———- Adrian sat at a quiet bar as the sun began to set. Low music, no crowd. Just the soft clink of glass and distant traffic. A woman walked in—sharp suit, hair in a sleek bun, corporate folder in hand. She didn’t notice him at first. She passed by, handed a sealed file to a man in the corner, then turned to leave. But her face caught his eye. Tasha Reid. One of the few people from his mother’s old world. And one of the smartest analysts in the city. She looked thinner, colder than he remembered, but her eyes—calculating, focused—hadn’t changed. As she stepped outside, Adrian rose and followed. Outside in the alley behind the bar, Tasha turned when she heard footsteps. Adrian stood there, hands in his coat, watching her. “You’re late,” she said, not surprised. “I didn’t know we were meeting.” Tasha’s mouth twitched. “Then why are you here?” “I’m starting something,” Adrian replied. “And you’re going to help me.” She raised a brow. “Why would I?” Adrian smiled. “I know what my mother left behind. And I know you were part of it.” Tasha’s expression shifted. She didn’t deny it.
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Chapter 99: Holding Life
The world had gone still.For the first time in months, there was no noise, no reporters, no system pings, no storm hammering against glass. Just the faint hum of hospital lights and the soft, steady breathing of two people who had almost lost each other forever.Adrian sat at the edge of the hospital bed, drenched clothes replaced with plain scrubs the nurse had given him. His sleeves were rolled up, forearms still faintly marked by rain. But he didn’t care.All his focus was on the small weight resting against his chest… warm, fragile, alive.His daughter.Her fingers twitched every now and then, clutching faintly at his shirt like she already knew what she wanted to hold on to. Her breathing came in short, soft hitches, the faintest sound he’d ever heard and the most grounding.Adrian swallowed hard, tracing a thumb across the infant’s tiny wrist.“Hey, little one,” he whispered, voice unsteady. “You came into the world kicking, huh?”The baby made a quiet noise, almost like a s
Chapter 98: When The Water Broke
The rain started soft—like a warning the world whispered before it broke. Jessica put her hand on her lower belly. Her breathing wasn’t steady, her phone screen lit up soft against the dark tinted window of the car.“David?” she called out to the driver. No answer.The car was parked somewhere in between the apartment building and the hospital. Her contractions hit her quicker than she figured they would, they came sharp. “David!” she tried again, panic rising as she shifted forward. The front seat was empty. The keys dangled, engine off. The rain thudded against the roof like a thousand tiny drums.He was gone.For a heartbeat, she didn’t believe it. She leaned forward, blinking hard, gripping her belly as another wave of pain tore through her.Her driver—gone?Jessica fumbled for her phone, tapping the emergency contact. The screen flickered. No signal. The storm had swallowed everything.“Come on,” she whispered, her voice breaking.She tried to steady her breathing the way the
Chapter 97: Protecting Her
The city had barely woken when Jessica’s phone started vibrating on the nightstand.She reached for it, half-asleep, the screen glaring against the dim morning light. Her assistant’s name flashed repeatedly.Mia: You need to come in now.Jessica: What happened?Mia: It’s bad. Someone broke into the warehouse.Jessica sat up so fast the sheet slipped to her lap. Her heartbeat thundered in her chest. “No… no, please not today,” she whispered, dragging herself out of bed.The brand’s first big shipment…. newborn blankets embroidered with Hope—was supposed to go out tomorrow. The warehouse was everything she’d built with borrowed faith.She didn’t even change out of her sweater. And she was gone.The streets were still wet from dawn rain when she pulled up outside the small industrial building. Police tape fluttered across the front gate. Her stomach dropped.Crates were overturned. Fabric soaked in muddy water. Broken glass glittered in the puddles.Mia ran up, face pale. “They smashed
Chapter 96: Baby Shower
The hall glowed like a dream.Soft music floated through the air, warm laughter filled the space, and white balloons drifted under a ceiling of hanging lights. Cameras clicked. The smell of vanilla cake and roses hung in the air.Jessica stood in the middle of it all, a soft blue dress hugging her figure, her hands resting gently on her round belly. Her cheeks glowed, not from makeup but from the strange calm she’d learned to live with.“Jess, you look amazing!” one of her friends squealed, snapping another picture.“Your baby’s going to be so spoiled,” another teased.Jessica smiled, polite and practiced. She’d learned to smile even when her heart tugged in two directions…. forward, toward her child’s future… and backward, toward the man who taught her how to stand alone.But today wasn’t about heartbreak.Today was about hope.At the doors, murmurs rose suddenly. Cameras shifted.The atmosphere thickened, curious whispers breaking through the chatter.“He’s here.”“Wait— that’s him
Chapter 95: System Final Mission Begins
Night fell quiet over the city.The kind of quiet that wasn’t peaceful but expectant.Adrian stood alone in his penthouse, the skyline stretching endlessly before him. Below, the world buzzed with noise and light, but up here, it was just him, the hum of machines, and the faint reflection of his own tired eyes.The system had been silent for days.Too silent.He’d gotten used to its presence over time, the mechanical voice that once barked commands now something he almost trusted. It had pushed him through rebuilding his empire, through his pain, through every wall he put between himself and Jessica.But lately, even the system seemed to hesitate around him.He poured himself a glass of water and turned toward the desk.The screen blinked to life, blue light spilling across his face.[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: FINAL MISSION AVAILABLE]Adrian’s pulse slowed. He set the glass down carefully, almost reverently. “Final… mission?”“Yes.”The voice was softer now. Almost… human.“Final Emotional
Chapter 94: The Silent Support
The storm finally passed.But silence carried its own kind of noise.For three days straight, Jessica’s name had been everywhere—linked, twisted, reshaped by headlines that didn’t care about truth. When it finally died down, all she felt was… exhaustion.Not victory. Not relief. Just the quiet ache of surviving another public trial she never asked for.Now, her focus had to shift.She was eight months pregnant and running on caffeine, stubbornness, and soft music that barely covered the hum of her sewing machine. Her apartment had transformed into something between a nursery and a startup. Fabric samples covered the couch, notes littered the coffee table, and mood boards leaned against the wall.Her new dream—her baby brand, Hope & Haven—was finally ready to launch.Or so she thought.Her phone rang.“Jessica, I’m sorry, but after recent media noise, our investors decided to pull out,” her project manager said over the call, his voice brittle with corporate apology.Jessica held the p
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