2025-11-10 16:07:36In the office, within the spacious executive suite, his boss, Mr. Cartwright, didn’t lift his eyes. He was reviewing a document with practised indifference.
“You sent for me, sir?” Nathan said softly.
Cartwright finally looked up. “Nathan. Sit.”
He obeyed.
“Right now, we’ve had to make some painful decisions,” Cartwright said coldly.
“You know the company’s restructuring, so we'll have to relieve you. It's nothing personal, though.”
Nathan blinked. “Sir, I’ve given everything to this job…”
“Exactly why I didn’t fire you months ago,” Cartwright interrupted. “But we can’t carry dead weight, Nathan.”
Nathan felt the ground shift.
“It is also difficult for us here, but emotions don't run a company.” Cartwright finalised, sinking back into his chair. “Your ID has been deactivated. Security will escort you out.”
And they really did escort him out, for he now stood in the rain outside the building, holding a cardboard box.
His phone pinged, and he checked:
Balance: £0.00
Account frozen. Please contact your branch.
His breath caught. He laughed bitterly. “Of course…”
He began walking home in the grey drizzle, box in hand, mind blank.
Home wasn’t far; it was just a rundown apartment block he’d barely been holding onto. But when he arrived, the rain trailing him like a curse, Jessica was waiting in the doorway. She wore a dark coat and had a small folder.
Nathan blinked at her. “Jess?”
She looked stunning. Too stunning. Her makeup was flawless, and her posture cold.
“I’ve had enough, Nathan,” she said, handing him the divorce folder. “I want a divorce.”
“What?” he whispered, opening the folder. Legal documents stared back at him. “You can’t be serious…”
“You have nothing to offer. No good job, no money, no future, no asset,” she said. “I wasted enough years believing you'd change.”
He looked up, pain clouding his eyes. “Jessica, I lost everything. I needed you to stay with me—”
“I’m tired of this struggle called waiting for better days.” She finalised. “I hope you find someone who'll be understanding enough.”
Behind her, a black limousine pulled up. One of its doors opened, and he stepped out, the dim-witted baboon of a man, Silas.
“Ready, love?” Silas asked, glancing briefly at Nathan with smug indifference.
Jessica flashed him a smile and pecked him on the lips. They both entered the Limousin and pulled away.
From a black sedan, bank officials emerged with umbrellas and briefcases.
“Mr. Nathan,” said one of them. “This property has been repossessed. You’ve been served notice, and today we’re taking full possession.”
Nathan stood in disbelief. “Please. Just give me till next week.”
“No negotiations,” the man said curtly. “Pack what you can. The rest becomes property of the bank.”
Within thirty minutes, Nathan stood outside in the pouring rain with just a duffel bag. He didn’t even own an umbrella.
He lost everything. Home, wife, job and dignity.
As he stood under the rain, he had no plan. Nowhere to go. But one name echoed in his mind: Albert.
Albert was a former college roommate. Years ago, they’d lived off instant noodles and shared dreams of becoming successful men. Nathan hadn’t spoken to him in weeks, not since things began spiralling, but desperation leaves no room for pride.
He reached Albert’s flat in Peckham just past 3 PM. The lights were on inside. Warm, inviting.
Nathan raised a shaky hand and knocked.
There were footsteps, then the door opened partially, revealing Albert’s face.
“Nathan?”
“Hey, man…” Nathan tried a smile, though he knew he looked pitiful. “Can we talk? I— I need a place to crash. Just for the night. Things are… bad.”
Albert glanced behind him, then stepped halfway outside, keeping the door mostly shut.
“Mate, it’s not a good time.”
Nathan buried his shame. “I just lost my job. Jessica’s left, and the bank took the house. Can I crash with you tonight?”
Albert winced. “Truly, I'm touched, but my wife’s not comfortable with guests. Especially at the last minute.”
“I’m not a stranger, Albert.”
“I know, man,” Albert said, avoiding his eyes. “But it’s complicated. Look, maybe try one of those shelters in the city.”
Then SLAM. The door banged shut.
Nathan stood there, drenched and frustrated. He dragged himself back into the street, numb.
Just then, a shrill scream rang out from the dockyard.
Not far off, down a narrow loading pier, three shadows moved.
One was kneeling on the ground with a sincere plea, blood seeping into his white shirt. Two masked men hovered around him.
One of them kicked the man hard, very hard that he let out a deep roar of pain.
The second masked man raised a gun.
“No!” the man on the ground wheezed. “Spare me, please!!”
BLAM.
The gun went off as blood spurted from the man's heart.
Nathan flinched.
Nathan waited for the assailants to take to their heels before he rushed to the dying man.
He dropped to his knees and took the man's head in his hands.
The man’s eyes fluttered. He gripped Nathan’s wrist with surprising strength.
“You… you’re not one of them?”
“No. No! I just saw,”
“Good…” The man coughed up blood. “Listen carefully…”
Nathan leaned in.
“My name is Logan Pierce. Everything I own, including accounts, businesses, and offshore records… It’s all in this chip.” He pressed a small object into Nathan’s palm. “It is of no use to me now.”
“What? No, wait, don’t die on me!”
And with his final breath, Logan Pierce slumped into death.
Nathan dragged the body behind a crate, pocketed the flash and headed for the nearest cyber cafe.
Logan Pierce. He typed the name into G****e’s search bar, and the results which stared back at him gave him goosebumps.
CEO. Real estate tycoon. Tech magnate. Billionaire. The individual vanished two nights ago under mysterious circumstances.
There were headlines from major outlets:
Where Is Logan Pierce?
Disappearance of Billionaire Sparks Rumours of Political Scandal.
Police Offer Reward for Leads.
Nathan sat back, stunned.
The man he had found bleeding on the dock was Logan Pierce?
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 10
He blinked twice; he was alive for now.Staring into his face was Sarah, and a smile of relief escaped her lips. It was apparent she had sat there for ages awaiting his resurrection.Nathan took a rough glance at his room, which looked like a tornado had passed through, from shattered glasses to tumbled cupboards to torn cushion fabric.“Sarah... What happened here?” His voice was surprisingly calm.“She was here… Clara, and she was furious.” Sarah calmly explained. “She broke most of your things, burned some, and threw some away.”Clara’s temper was like a time bomb, but this destruction was something else entirely. “She’s mad at you, about everything. Said things I won’t repeat.” Sarah said.Nathan swallowed hard, then a cold realisation struck him. “The cupboard... the flash drive.” He reached for the overturned cupboard and was shocked when, in place of the flash drive, there was nothing.Gone. The flash drive was gone.That flash drive was more than just data; it was the key to
Chapter 9
Nathan awoke with a gasp in a strange, fog-drenched afterlife cityscape that was neither ancient nor modern.The sky was a dull grey with no visible sun, and the place had a ghostly urban pulse.Nathan stood dazed in the middle of the street, instinctively checking his chest. No heartbeat. No breath. Yet he was standing, thinking, moving. Alive… in some other way.“New arrival?”That was the voice of a man cleaning his booth, a faded hat sat crookedly on his brown hair.Nathan nodded slowly. “I think so…”The man approached and extended a hand. “Name’s Donald Shaw. You’re in May cross, afterlife. Not heaven, not hell. Just… between.”Nathan shook his hand, trying to ground himself. “This is real?... I mean, am I dead?”“As real as anything else. Everyone here is dead…was dead.” Donald said, glancing at the leather pouch swinging gently from Nathan’s side. “You’ll want to check that.”Nathan looked down, and for the first time, he saw the pouch and reached for it.Inside, dozens of si
Chapter 8
gently.He came out to welcome her. She looked different from the day of the fire incident: calmer, brighter and super adorable. Her cotton dress hung on her body like a leech, and her beauty was goddess-like. Zeus must be eyeing her from Mount Olympus.“Nathan Woods?” she asked gently when she saw him. Her ivory white dentition was everything.“Sarah Wilkins!” He returned the smile with fascination in his eyes.“I wasn’t sure I’d come,” she said. “But I owed you a thank you. And… well, my sister insisted. She said anyone who’d risk their life for her son deserved more than just a handshake on the sidewalk.”Nathan gave a rare smile. “How is the young man doing?”“Better,” she said. “He won’t stop talking about his ‘fireman.’ Even though you’re not a fireman.”“I’ll take the compliment.”She laughed hard and long. Nathan joined her, and hand in hand, he took her to the estate garden where they sat for a while. Their conversation revolved from London, to her nephew, to nightlife, to di
Chapter 7
That afternoon, a different plan occupied Nathan's mind after agreeingto meet Jessica as Jacob Dome.But he couldn’t risk exposing himself directly. He needed a stand-in, someone who could convincingly play Jacob’s part without raising suspicion or doubts.So he got to work. He quickly posted a job ad under one of his corporate aliases:Well-paid one-time role. Must dress, speak, and carry yourself like a shy, wealthy investor by the name of Jacob Dome. Confidence in silence is preferred. Location: London Square. High discretion required. Appearance: Polished. Communication: Minimal but elegant. Applicants must send a voice note. Payment in two parts.Within minutes, responses poured in like streams of joy.Nathan sat at his desk, listening to voice notes. Some were ridiculous, arrogant, overly slick and cocky, while others lacked presence and capacity.But then, one of the voice notes caught his attention: His voice was enigmatic and smooth like a business con-man; he sounded u
Chapter 6
like the tongue of Hades.Inside, visibility was almost zero. He crouched low, crawling along the floor, listening, straining. Then he heard it: soft sobs, followed by a weak cough.A faint whimper guided him to a room where the boy was huddled in the corner of the smoke-filled room, tears streaming down his soot-covered face.He was maybe six or seven. His tiny body trembled. Nathan scooped him up and wrapped his jacket around the child’s head. “Hold on to me.”But turning back was another challenge; the flames had blocked the door.He raced towards the window, the boy's hand in his, and with a determined grunt, he lifted the boy through, then jumped after him, just in time to escape the roof crashing down on them.Outside, he laid the boy on a nearby patch of grass. The child had a little bruise on the knee and was coughing violently.“Clear!” a paramedic shouted, moving in with oxygen.Nathan stood up, heart thumping hard against his chest. His hands were blistered, and his shirt w
Chapter 5
from desperate rivals, but this one was different. It was personal and precise. At the lounge, Nathan overheard Maurice dishing orders to their Lt. Bruce Owen, their Chief head of security.“Double the security. Every gate, every entrance, every window, and every walkway.” Graymon ordered, his voice cold and unyielding. “I want security surveillance cameras at every blind spot in the estate. You should be armed, alert, and ready, and no one gets in without my say.”Bruce Owen gave a curt nod. “Understood.”“Make sure the staff know their roles. Anyone acting suspiciously gets dealt with immediately. And Nathan?” Maurice lowered his voice. “I don't completely trust him. But he'll stay close; every meal that comes in must be tasted by him alone.”From where he pretended to be arranging a flower vase, Nathan smiled. They were using him as a tool to test for poison.Lt. Bruce Owen, who had already calculated the logistics in his head, began immediately with his team, adding additional ca
You may also like
The Gilded Man With A Thousand Lives
Kaiser Ken90.6K viewsThe Rise of the Son-in-law After Divorce
Enigma Stone192.2K viewsThe Secretly Rich Man
Two Ears is Bodhi7.4M viewsThe Hidden Successor In Disguise
SHIROE76.8K viewsTHE SUBSTITUTE HUSBAND BECAME HIS WIFE'S BOSS
Al-Razzaq716 viewsThe Charismatic God of War
Kezia R.G168 viewsLAPDOG HUSBAND IS A TRILLIONAIRE HEIR
Yaseen works 20.9K viewsRETURN OF THE GOD OF WAR
EL JHAY304 views