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Rise Of The Phoenix: Dylan’s Rebirth 92
92Dylan exhaled slowly, his breath steady as he neared the parking lot. The boutique’s exterior lights cast a dim glow across the pavement, stretching long shadows that flickered as cars passed on the nearby street. His car was just a few steps away. A quiet escape.But of course, things were never that easy.A low, familiar chuckle cut through the air. Dylan’s shoulders stiffened before he even turned his head. He already knew who it was.Gregory.The man lounged near the entrance of the boutique, flanked by three of his usual lackeys. Dressed in expensive but gaudy suits, they looked out of place standing on the pavement like a pack of hyenas waiting to pounce.Dylan had hoped to avoid them, to slip into his car unnoticed, but that hope was dashed the moment Gregory’s sharp voice rang out.“Well, well, well,” Gregory drawled, his smirk practically audible. “Look who’s here. The charlatan himself.”Dylan clenched his jaw but didn’t stop walking. He had no interest in engaging with G
Rise Of The Phoenix: Dylan’s Rebirth 93
93 Dylan sighed again, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “You do realize how pathetic this is, right?” Gregory’s smile twitched. “Pathetic? You still don’t get it, do you?” The shorter lackey snorted. “You must’ve really thought you could hide from us forever.” Dylan’s eyes flicked from one man to the other, his jaw tightening. “Ganging up on someone in a parking lot? Hoping for a reaction? What’s next, shoving me into a locker?” One of the lackeys scoffed. “You think this is funny?” Dylan shrugged. “A little.” Gregory’s expression soured, his patience finally running out. “You really don’t know when to shut up, do you?” The wiry lackey stepped up even closer, fingers twitching as if itching for a fight. “I think it’s time we show you how little you matter to us.” Dylan’s gaze flickered with cold amusement, waiting to see who would make the first move.Dylan rubbed his temples, trying to stave off the headache that was creeping up. Gregory’s voice grated on his nerves, a const
Rise Of The Phoenix: Dylan’s Rebirth 94
94Gregory blinked, a few more times than necessary, as if his brain was failing to catch up. “Wait… wait, wait. This is a joke. It has to be.” He scoffed, trying to muster his usual bravado. “No way that’s yours. That car’s gotta be rented or stolen. You’re still the same loser. You’re still broke as hell.”“Broke, huh?” Dylan’s voice had a dangerous edge, his lips curling into something far darker than the amused smirk he had worn earlier. “Do I look like someone who’s broke to you?”Gregory’s jaw tightened. “You’re playing games, Dylan. There’s no way you’re rolling in money. This is all some kind of con, right?”Dylan chuckled low in his throat. “If you don’t want to believe it, that’s fine. I’m not here to convince you.”One of the lackeys, the wiry guy with the crooked grin, stepped forward. His eyes narrowed as he crossed his arms, studying Dylan closely. “I don’t buy it,” he said, voice hard and accusing. “You’re full of shit. You think you can just roll up here in some fancy
Rise Of The Phoenix: Dylan’s Rebirth 95
95 Gregory’s brain clicked back into place as he watched Dylan sit behind the wheel of the Ferrari, the engine purring to life as though it had always belonged to him. His mind raced, but his mouth was quicker to catch up.“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Gregory sneered, his voice dripping with disbelief as he took a step forward, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. “This is all a setup, isn’t it? There’s no way you’re actually driving this car. You must have stolen the keys from someone or some—”“Stolen?” Dylan interrupted, his voice biting through Gregory’s words like a razor-sharp edge. “You really think I’d steal a car like this just to mess with you? I don’t need to steal anything, Gregory. I’m doing just fine without having to sink that low.”Gregory scowled, his fists clenching at his sides. His lackeys, who had been standing frozen in stunned silence only moments ago, now began to murmur among themselves, their disbelief transforming into something more dangerous—skepticism.“Yea
Rise Of The Phoenix: Dylan’s Rebirth 96
96“Maybe you should get a hobby, Gregory. Or a life,” Dylan replied coolly, his words dripping with sarcasm. “Instead of worrying about what I’ve got, why don’t you focus on fixing the mess you’re in? Because trust me, it’s not looking good for you.”Gregory sneered at him, his thin lips pulling back to reveal a row of yellowed teeth. He narrowed his eyes, sizing up Dylan with a look of disdain. “Oh, I’ve got a life, alright. A better one than you. You think you can come in here and throw around your little threats, huh? You think you’ve got the upper hand?”Dylan shrugged, the motion casual, but there was something in his posture that screamed confidence. “What’s the matter, Gregory? Did you forget to pay off your connections? Or is it just that you’ve pissed off everyone who might actually give you a hand?”The wiry lackey, still holding his arms across his chest, glared at Dylan with renewed skepticism. “This whole thing’s ridiculous. You really think you can just roll up here and
Rise Of The Phoenix: Dylan’s Rebirth 97
97 Gregory swallowed, his eyes flicking to the other men, his bravado slipping away inch by inch. He could feel the heat of Dylan’s glare on him like a physical weight, and for the first time, he started to question just how far this confrontation might go. “Don’t move, Greg,” Allen said, his voice betraying his anxiety. “Maybe we should just… call it a day.” Gregory glanced at Allen, then at his other lackey, who seemed just as unsure now. For a moment, he looked back at Dylan, his chest heaving with the tension of the standoff. The grin was gone, replaced by something darker—something more calculating. “You’re not getting off that easy, Dylan. You still owe me an explanation.” Dylan’s eyes didn’t leave Gregory’s, his posture unyielding. “I don’t owe you anything, Gregory. I gave you everything you needed. You just refuse to see it.” The other lackey, who had been quiet up until now, let out a short, nervous laugh. “Maybe we should just… let him go, Greg. It’s not worth the tro
Rise Of The Phoenix: Dylan’s Rebirth 98
98 He leaned in slightly, trying to push the situation further. “That’s it? You’re just going to believe a security guard?” Gregory scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Just because he saw you park it doesn’t mean it’s yours, you know. You could’ve rented it for all we know.”Dylan’s smirk never faltered as he leaned in slightly, his eyes locking onto Gregory’s with cold intensity. “Well, let’s see about that.” Dylan didn’t waste a moment as he punched in a few digits on his phone, opening up the settings of the car’s system. With a swipe of his finger, the car’s personal settings appeared on the screen—details that were only available to the owner.Gregory’s cocky grin faltered for a moment, a flicker of uncertainty crossing his face. “What are you doing?” he demanded, stepping closer. “You think that’s going to prove anything?”Dylan didn’t respond immediately, letting the silence hang in the air for a few seconds, building the tension. He tapped on the screen again, then slid his finger to
Rise Of The Phoenix: Dylan’s Rebirth 99
99The tension between Dylan and Gregory was thick, like a storm that was about to break. Gregory, unwilling to back down, waved his lackeys over with a sharp gesture, barking, “Come on, get over here!”Reluctantly, the others hesitated for a brief moment. They had seen the situation spiral from a playful challenge to something more dangerous, and none of them wanted to be caught in the middle. But they had no choice; Gregory was their leader, and they had to follow his orders. One by one, they moved into position, forming a human barricade between Dylan and his car.Dylan watched them with a cold, unblinking stare, his grip tightening on the steering wheel. His knuckles were white, and the anger simmering beneath the surface was almost palpable. He exhaled sharply, debating whether to stay calm or just push them out of the way. He could easily force his way through. After all, this was his car, his time being wasted. But as his eyes flicked from one man to the next, his temper flared
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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
