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Rise Of The Phoenix: Dylan’s Rebirth 62
62 Dylan exhaled sharply, his eyes never leaving Bernard’s. He could feel the weight of the silence pressing down on him, but his voice cut through it like a blade. “What’s her blood pressure?” he asked, his tone cold and deliberate.Bernard faltered for a moment, his eyes darting to Olivia, to the syringe in his hand, and then back to Dylan. “It’s… it’s—”Dylan didn’t wait for him to finish. “Wrong. You didn’t even check.” He took a step forward, his presence closing in like a storm. “Tell me, doctor. How do you treat poisoning?”Bernard’s face twisted with frustration, but he didn’t answer. Instead, he clenched his jaw, gripping the syringe tighter as if it would somehow anchor him in this increasingly tense situation.Olivia’s breath caught in her throat, her eyes wide as she turned to Dylan, her voice trembling. “Wait… poisoning? Dylan, you said—”Dylan didn’t look at her. His eyes were locked on Bernard, and his voice was unwavering. “Yes. Poisoning. And you don’t even know how
Rise Of The Phoenix: Dylan’s Rebirth 63
63 The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife. Dylan’s accusations lingered in the air like a storm cloud, casting an oppressive gloom over the gathering. He stood, unwavering, his posture rigid, and his gaze sharp as a knife. On the other side of the room, Lucas stood with his arms crossed, a smirk playing on his lips. His expression was a mix of disbelief and scorn, as though Dylan’s words were beneath him. “Oh, come on,” Lucas drawled, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “You really expect us to believe this ridiculous story about poisoning? Dr. Caldwell is a respected physician. Who do you think you are to barge in here and question his expertise?” Dylan’s gaze didn’t waver, his voice calm but tinged with an unsettling certainty. “I’m not questioning his expertise, Lucas. I’m questioning his honesty.” His words were deliberate, each one carrying the weight of conviction. He turned his sharp gaze to Zara and Lewis. “You’ve entrusted your daughter’s life to someone
Rise Of The Phoenix: Dylan’s Rebirth 64
64 The doors to the room flung open, and two burly security guards stormed in, their expressions cold and unreadable. They moved toward Dylan without hesitation, their large frames filling the doorway like walls. Dylan, however, remained unmoved. His expression still carried that maddening calm, as though the chaos surrounding him didn’t faze him in the slightest. He raised an eyebrow as he looked at the guards, his voice smooth and deliberate. “You can throw me out, but it won’t change the truth. And when Odile dies because of this fraud, you’ll have no one to blame but yourselves.” Zara’s face twisted in a mixture of rage and disgust. “GET HIM OUT!” she screeched, her voice cracking with fury. One of the guards took a step forward, his large hand reaching out to grab Dylan’s arm. “Move it, now,” he growled, his voice low and threatening. Dylan didn’t flinch. “You think you can intimidate me? You think I’ll be scared of you? No, my friend, it’s not you I fear.” He turned to Zara,
Rise Of The Phoenix: Dylan’s Rebirth 65
65 The guards hesitated for a moment, their eyes meeting each other in uncertainty, before they grudgingly loosened their grip on Dylan’s arms. Zara shot a look at Dylan, her lips curling into a tight sneer. “You’re lucky Dr. Everett’s here. But don’t think this is over. You’ll pay for causing this chaos and spreading lies.” Dylan, his expression still unnervingly calm, simply shook his head. “You people… truly ignorant.” His words were delivered with such cold disdain that it seemed to stop everyone in their tracks for a moment, but no one said anything as Zara and Lewis ushered everyone out of the room, leaving Dylan alone with Dr. Caldwell. Once the door slammed shut behind them, Dr. Caldwell exhaled sharply, turning to face Dylan with a smirk. “Well, now that they’re gone, I guess we can have a little chat, hmm?” Dylan didn’t say a word, his eyes narrowing as he studied Dr. Caldwell. The air between them was thick with anticipation. Dr. Caldwell’s voice dropped to a whisper, a
Rise Of The Phoenix: Dylan’s Rebirth 66
66 Dr. Caldwell’s grin widened as he looked at Dylan, the satisfaction clear in his eyes. “See?” he sneered, his voice dripping with malice. “I warned you, didn’t I? Now, you’ll pay the consequences.” Dylan’s lips twitched into an almost imperceptible smile, unfazed by the threats. He stood tall, arms crossed, his gaze never leaving Dr. Caldwell. The tension in the room grew heavier, thick with unspoken challenges and veiled anger. Dr. Caldwell couldn’t hide the gleam of satisfaction in his eyes. His finger remained pointed at Dylan as he took a step forward. “You think you can insult me, undermine my work, and face no repercussions? You’ll regret it.” But before he could continue, a voice erupted with fury. Dr. Everett, now clearly incensed, spun around, his eyes locking onto Dylan. “How dare you—” His words were sharp, full of righteous anger. But as his gaze fell on Dylan, something shifted. The fire in his eyes dimmed, and his entire demeanor changed. He froze, his lips pres
Rise Of The Phoenix: Dylan’s Rebirth 67
67 Dylan, still unbothered by the chaos he’d just caused, simply sighed. “Dr. Caldwell,” he said, his voice cutting through the room like a blade. “It seems you still don’t understand the situation here.” He took a slow step forward, towering over Caldwell as if to remind him of the power he once wielded, the weight of his name now clear to everyone. “You can insult me all you want. Call me a pauper, a nobody—anything you like. But it won’t change the fact that I’m not someone you can afford to antagonize.” Caldwell scoffed, but there was less confidence in the sound this time. “You’re bluffing,” he said, but the words lacked conviction. Dr. Everett’s eyes stayed on Dylan, his gaze still wide with shock. He shook his head as if to clear away the disbelief, his voice cracking again. “You don’t understand, Dylan—no, Lord Grenville. I—” He stopped, the words caught in his throat. His hands were trembling now, the professional composure he had so carefully crafted slipping away. “I di
Rise Of The Phoenix: Dylan’s Rebirth 68
68 Zara watched as Dr. Caldwell’s words hung in the air, but neither man moved. Dr. Everett remained on his knees, his face pale, tears still staining his cheeks, while Dylan stood tall, unmoved by Caldwell’s outburst.Dr. Caldwell’s frustration boiled over, his lips curling into a sneer as he pointed an accusatory finger at Dylan. “This is absurd,” he spat, his voice thick with disdain. “You’re all being played! Don’t you see it?” His eyes flicked to Dr. Everett, who remained on his knees. “Especially you, Dr. Everett. You of all people should know better. You’re the person with the big mind I know.”Dr. Everett exhaled sharply, his hands clenching at his sides. “You don’t understand,” he murmured, shaking his head.“No, you don’t understand,” Caldwell shot back, his voice rising. “This man is a fraud! An imposter! He’s spinning some elaborate tale, and you’re swallowing every word like a fool.” His gaze swept across the room, his expression a mixture of incredulity and disgust. “A
Rise Of The Phoenix: Dylan’s Rebirth 69
69 “You have no idea what you’re talking about, Caldwell,” he seethed. “You have no idea what this man has done. What he’s endured. What we have endured.” His fingers twitched at his sides, as though resisting the urge to strike Caldwell a third time. “And you dare to mock him? To question his name?” Caldwell swallowed, hard. The sheer intensity in Everett’s eyes was unnerving. “You—” He shook his head, as if trying to shake off his own confusion. “You’re actually serious. You actually believe all this.” He scoffed, but there was no real strength behind it.The room fell silent.Dr. Everett’s voice shattered the silence with a question that was both cutting and resolute. “Do you have any idea who he is?” His eyes drilled into Dr. Caldwell, his tone laden with a weight that seemed to carry years of unspoken words. The room, already thick with tension, seemed to tighten further with the intensity of his question.Caldwell blinked, momentarily taken aback. “What are you talking about?”
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221: The Future in Flame “I wouldn’t have told you if I wasn’t.” Dylan nodded. “Then let’s burn the world down.” He typed the command. A loading bar began to climb. Lilith stepped up beside him and pulled a drive from her coat—sleek, unlabeled, humming softly. “My code’s on here,” she said. “It’ll mimic the framework of Ignis Core perfectly. I’ve even embedded some of your old code from before you joined Ash. They’ll think it’s legit. Familiar. But once it activates… recursive detonation.” She handed it to him. He plugged it in. The system blinked. Code spilled across the screen—lines upon lines of luminous, perfect deception. Lilith crossed her arms as she watched. “We’ve got one shot at this.” Dylan didn’t look away from the screen. “Then we make it count.” The lights dimmed for a moment as the system initiated a shadow crawl—spreading the false Ignis Core like a virus in slow motion. Unseen. Waiting. When it was done, Dylan stood back, eyes cold. “Now we wait for them
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220 Another pause. Then the faint sound of typing. “You want a paper trail?” “I want everything. Timeline?” “Standard turnaround is three days—” “Yesterday,” she cut in coldly. “I want to know everything.” The line stayed quiet for another beat, then the voice softened just a little. “Got it. I’ll be in touch.” Jane hung up before he could say anything else. She stood still for a moment, the city buzzing around her, oblivious. The ache in her cheek was fading now. But something else was forming beneath it. A plan. This wasn’t over. Not by a long shot. She might not have been the mother Molly needed—but she was still the sharpest weapon in the room. And it was time to cut through the lies. **** “God, that hurt,” Jane muttered under her breath, wincing as she touched her cheek again. Jane exhaled slowly, tucking the phone into her coat. Her fingers were trembling slightly, but not from fear. Anticipation. She turned to herself, muttering quietly, “Let them play the her
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219 Jane was a good actress.Always had been.The tears never came when they were supposed to, and yet she could conjure them on command. A trembling voice, a haunted look, a furious, grieving mother storming into the middle of someone else’s crisis like she owned it—she wore the mask well. She always had.She could remember the first time she learned how useful a lie could be. She was ten, maybe eleven. Her father had forgotten to pick her up from piano class. Again. When she walked home alone, cold and soaked from the rain, her mother demanded to know why she hadn’t called.“I dropped the phone,” Jane had said. “It broke.”Not true. Not even close.But her mother had sighed, pulled her into a towel, and mumbled something about how her father never remembered the important things. That day, Jane realized that people didn’t want the truth. They wanted a version of it they could live with.Molly’s disappearance? Tragic, yes. Maddening, of course. But gut-wrenching?Not exactly.She fe
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218Her cheek was on fire.The skin throbbed beneath her fingertips, every heartbeat pumping more heat into the wound Lilith had left. Jane could feel the swelling already—tight and raw, as if a thousand needles were pricking her at once. Her ears rang from the sound of the slap, but louder still was the pounding of her own pride, screaming at her that she couldn’t—wouldn’t—let this end with her standing there, humiliated.No.Not like this.Not with Dylan between them, not with Lilith standing there looking like some righteous, self-important goddess. Not when her cheek was burning like it was trying to peel off her damn face.Jane’s eyes locked on Lilith—and without a second thought, without hesitation or grace, she struck.Her hand shot out fast and furious, an explosion of motion that cracked across Lilith’s face with a sickening sound. Her palm connected hard, and the impact shuddered down her arm like a jolt.Lilith’s head snapped to the side. Her hair, half-loose from the earli
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217Jane’s chest heaved, her breath coming fast and shallow. Her eyes burned—wild, furious, and unrelenting. She pointed a shaking finger at Dylan, voice trembling but loud enough to draw the attention of a passing couple across the street.“I left you, Dylan. You. Not Molly.”Her voice dropped, turning venomous and precise, like she was lashing each syllable across his face. “Both of you were the chains wrapped around my neck. You—some pathetic, broke, useless excuse of a man. A man with no future, no plan, no spine. Every day I spent in that house was like dying slowly. I did the right thing leaving. And guess what? I’m better for it. Stronger. Smarter. And soon, I’ll be a very rich woman. Not just locally. Not just nationally. Internationally. Bobby’s making it happen.”Dylan blinked, once, then twice. For a second he said nothing, just looked at her—really looked at her. At the expensive earrings, the glossy lipstick, the clothes tailored to perfection. All the glitter piled on to
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216 “I left Molly,” she whispered. “I left her behind. I thought she’d be better off without the mess I was making. I thought Dylan—God—he was supposed to protect her.” “I think he’s been trying,” Lisa said softly. “But he’s hiding something. Maybe a lot of things.” “And he brought Lilith into this,” Jane muttered. “Of course he did. Of course.” There was venom in her voice when she said Lilith’s name. Jane had met the woman twice—both times by accident, and both times left her with the distinct impression that Lilith was a wolf smiling in a fur coat. Jane’s breathing became shallow. She looked around her kitchen like she was searching for something to punch. The cabinets were too sturdy. The walls were too silent. “She’s just a little girl,” Jane said, her voice cracking. “She still calls bees ‘buzzies’ and thinks thunder means God’s bowling. How the hell could he keep this from me?” Lisa didn’t speak. “I’m going to find him,” Jane said suddenly, moving. Her voice was low and
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215Her hand slowly dropped from her cheek. “You’re talking about her like she’s a monster.”“She’s not,” Dylan said. “She’s human. But that doesn’t make her a mother.”A long silence stretched between them.Lilith said nothing, letting the space breathe, letting the weight of truth settle.Lisa looked at her, and for once, there was no bite in her voice. Just a raw kind of confusion. “Why didn’t you tell me?”Lilith looked back evenly. “Because you were too busy setting the stage.”Lisa’s lip trembled. “I didn’t know…”“No,” Dylan said, softer now. “You didn’t want to know.”He stepped past her then, toward the street, toward whatever came next. He was done with the confrontation. Done with the theater. There were more important things to do.Molly needed him.Lilith followed without a word, falling into step beside him.Lisa stood in the middle of the sidewalk, surrounded by the remnants of her own performance—watchers gone, the spotlight faded.She was alone now.And the weight of
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214 Infact it was her shady car buyers and Dylan mistook them as people there to try to kill him. “Who are they?” Lilith asked. Lisa didn’t answer. She turned back to Dylan instead. “Don’t play dumb. Don’t pretend you’re in danger. You’re not the victim here. You never have been.” “Then what’s the show for?” Lilith asked. “I told you,” Lisa snapped. “People deserve to know what kind of man he is.” “People already think they know,” Lilith said. “You’re just hammering it in. Why now? Why here? What’s happening that you don’t want anyone to see?” Lisa’s jaw clenched. She took another step back. But Dylan had already started mentally mapping the exit points. The alley to their right. The cafe entrance. The fire escape four buildings down. He wasn’t just seeing Lisa anymore—he was reading the whole board. This wasn’t random. And the moment he’d seen her, standing there with her coat too perfect, voice too loud, eyes too bright, he’d known. It was all wrong. It wasn’t grief or
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213“She finally divorced you,” Lisa said, the words slicing the air like glass. Her voice was calmer now, but only because she knew she’d drawn blood. “Finally. And thank God she did. Jane is building a life now—a future. Something you would have ruined if she’d stayed. You dragged her down long enough.”The words settled over the sidewalk like ash. A few onlookers had stopped, heads turning, phones subtly raised. The city had its own rhythm—cars hissing by on wet asphalt, neon lights flickering in windows—but all of it dimmed under Lisa’s voice.Dylan stood frozen for a beat too long. His hands curled into fists, not out of anger, but restraint. His heart pounded like a war drum behind his ribs. He wanted to yell, to peel back her lies in front of everyone, to lay out the complexities of what had really happened—what Jane had chosen to ignore, what she had run from long before any betrayal.But he knew how this would look.Lisa always knew how to hold a stage. How to paint herself i
