2025-06-05 06:21:47Vivian’s eyes narrowed. “Maybe she’s not just a Carter.”
Jake looked up.
Vivian continued. “If she’s sniffing around, then she’s either working with Holt… or she’s getting too close to finding you.”
Jake’s voice dropped. “You think she suspects?”
“No. But Holt might.”
Jake paced. “The Carters think I’m just Amanda’s embarrassment. I’ll stay that way. Go back to the mansion. Be the broke son-in-law, quiet and harmless.
While Diane’s unconscious, I'll keep an eye on her phone, and wait for any call, if Holt was at the bar, he would call and lead me straight to him, he's been wanting to see me, so have i”.
“And if she’s loyal to Holt?” Vivian asked.
“I’ll find out. Either she’s playing both sides… or she just made herself a target.” Jake said and left in his Honda to the Carter mansion.
“What was so important, that you had to leave the hospital?” Amanda asked as Jake tried to enter his room which was just opposite hers.
“Wel… well I had a quick delivery to make,” Jake said avoiding eye contact, “when are we going to see my mother in law?”.
“I would pretend like I didn't hear what you called her, you would go and check on her tomorrow morning we would join you later on”
Jake gave a slight nod and entered his room.
The next morning Jake arrived at the ICU, Diane laid unconscious, her face pale against the hospital sheets.
Jake stepped in quietly, carrying a paper cup of hospital coffee he hadn’t touched.
No nurses in sight. Just the monitor beeping beside her.
Her phone was on the tray table. Locked, but not guarded.
Jake glanced at the hallway, then moved closer back in. He picked it up like he’d done it a hundred times before. Just a concerned son-in-law, with no bad intentions.
The screen lit up with one missed notification. Not a message. A call from a private ID, no name, no number. Just the time: 14 minutes ago.
Jake’s eyes narrowed.
He tapped around, looking for more—no saved contact, no message history. Clean. Too clean.
But then he found it: a hidden app, disguised as a calculator. He pressed the right passcode, a trick he’d learned watching Diane type before. The app opened.
GhostLine.
Jake scrolled. Recent activity. No names, just ID strings but one stood out:
X742-A, Connected 0:46 seconds Location ping: South Side, near the docks.
Jake pulled his phone from his coat and tapped open a small tool, a ghost-sync app Vivian had once slipped onto his burner and had access to.
Clone Active Session Logs?
Confirm.
He hit yes. A bar loaded. Within seconds, the encrypted logs transferred to his phone. Not messages, just call times, ID tags, location bounce data.
Enough.
Jake set Diane’s phone back exactly where it was.
He stepped back, with his eyes on Diane's face. “I hope you’re not working with him,” he muttered.
In the hallway, his phone beeped, a reply from Vivian already.
X742-A is Holt’s old comms ID. You found him.
Jake stared at the message.
He slipped out of the ICU and walked toward the elevator, and took the elevator down. No one noticed him leave. He didn’t look back, and didn't think about the CCTV.
Jake arrived at Vivian’s House, 30 Minutes Later
Rain softly hit the windows, Vivian was in her kitchen, standing by the island. On the counter were two phones: hers and a cloned one tied to Diane’s phone, linked to Diane’s information.
Jake walked in, soaked from the shoulders down, still gripping the wheel of his thoughts.
Vivian glanced at him. “You got the message?”
Jake nodded. “X742-A. That’s him?”
“Yes.” She slid the phone toward him. “When your father was still alive, Holt ran all encrypted calls through that tag. We used to intercept them for surveillance. But after Michael died, he vanished. Now, he just pinged back.”
“He’s been watching Diane. Maybe all of us.” Jake replied
“Then we give him something to see,” Vivian said, already typing.
Jake leaned in. “What are you doing?”
“Luring him out.”
She composed a message from Diane’s cloned signal. Simple. Controlled.
I'm fine. We need to talk. Same place you mentioned in case of emergency. Tonight. It's urgent.
Jake raised an eyebrow. “What place?”
Vivian looked at him. “There was a field they used to meet when Holt was a co-worker, it's an open land, private enough for covert exchanges. I still have the coordinates.”
She hit send.
Few seconds later, her screen lit up.
Got it. I'm on my way. Come alone.
Jake exhaled. “He’s paranoid.”
“He’s Holt. Of course he is,” Vivian replied. “We move now. He won’t wait.”
Vivian drove and Jake sat beside her, he hadn't thought being the heir to the Kane syndicate would come with a lot of danger.
“You sure he won’t recognize me?” Jake asked.
Vivian kept her eyes forward. “Holt’s never seen your face. Just your father’s bloodline. So You’re a ghost to him.”
Jake gave a faint nod. “Let’s keep it that way. Until I’m standing in front of him.”
Vivian’s hands tightened on the wheel. “He’s expecting Diane. He’ll come expecting a conversation.”
Jake looked at her. “Then let’s give him one.”
They drove the next few minutes in silence, the field was just miles ahead, hidden at the back of a few trees.
Vivian slowed the car and parked behind an old rusted fence, and they stepped out.
Jake looked around the area. “You sure he’ll come alone?”
Vivian nodded. “He’s arrogant. Always thought he was untouchable.”
A black SUV rolled up from the other side of the field, the lights went off, and engine went off.
Jake and Vivian moved to stand in the center of the clearing.
The SUV door opened.
Holt stepped out, putting on a black coat and no smile
He stopped when he saw Vivian.
He became confused. Then suspicios, then angry.
“Where’s Diane?” he asked firmly.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter Two Hundred and Ninety-One
Jake had barely caught his breath before the floor beneath him shifted, a deep, grinding tremor vibrating through the entire chamber.The remains of the shattered core pulsed once — a dying heartbeat — then dissolved into a mist of luminous particles that spiraled upward. Lyra raised her visor instinctively, scanning the air.“Jake… the energy’s not dispersing,” she said, voice tight. “It’s transferring.”Kael swore, eyes darting around. “To where?”Before Jake could respond, the particles gathered above them, swirling into a massive column of light that tore open a circular pattern in the ceiling. The chamber reconfigured itself like a living organism — walls folding inward, platforms rearranging, conduits realigning. The glyphs that had once glowed faintly now blazed in patterns of gold and crimson, forming a lattice that led upward.Lyra whispered, “It’s opening a path.”Jake gripped his blade tighter. “No. It’s inviting us.”Kael let out a low growl. “And you want to walk right in
Chapter Two Hundred and Ninety
The corridor beyond the glowing door stretched into a seeming infinity, a tunnel lined with a smooth, obsidian-like material that absorbed light rather than reflected it. The faint hum from the previous chamber had vanished, leaving a hollow silence that pressed against their ears. Every step Jake took echoed unnaturally, as if the facility itself were amplifying their presence.Jake led the way, blade still active, its kinetic edge slicing through the dimness like a beacon. Lyra followed close behind, scanning for traps and anomalies with her visor, while Kael moved a few steps behind her, weapon at the ready.“This place… it’s different,” Lyra whispered, almost to herself. “No energy pulses, no guardians, no obvious traps. But I don’t trust it. Not for a second.”Jake nodded, keeping his senses sharp. “Silence doesn’t mean safety. It’s just waiting for us to lower our guard.”As they advanced, the corridor’s walls began to shift imperceptibly. Patterns of light emerged, flickering l
Chapter Two Hundred and Eighty-Nine
The white light enveloping the chamber was almost blinding at first, but as Jake’s eyes adjusted, the team began to take in the details of their new surroundings. The walls were smooth, almost organic in appearance, yet interwoven with a lattice of metallic filaments that pulsed faintly, like veins carrying some unknown energy. The air hummed with a low-frequency resonance, a vibration that seemed to synchronize with their own heartbeats.Jake’s instincts screamed that this was no ordinary room. Whatever awaited them here wasn’t just another guardian—it was something that existed on a higher plane, a force that could manipulate perception, energy, and perhaps even matter itself.Lyra’s visor scanned the area, struggling to produce coherent readings. “This isn’t a containment zone or a lab. It’s… some kind of neural interface. Whatever’s in here… it’s alive in a way that defies conventional biology and technology.”Kael frowned, gripping his rifle tighter. “Alive? Or just smart enough
Chapter Two Hundred and Eighty-Eight
The violet glow of the chamber cast long, shifting shadows across the metallic floor, making the entire room feel alive. Jake’s instincts screamed that this was no ordinary opponent. The figure standing at the center wasn’t built like the hybrids they had fought; it moved fluidly, almost as if it were part of the energy itself, a living embodiment of the facility’s will.Kael adjusted his grip on his rifle, eyes narrowing. “Whatever that is… it’s not going down like the others.”Lyra’s visor flickered with readings that made her skin crawl. “Its energy signature isn’t just advanced—it’s adaptive. Every movement, every subtle shift in its glow corresponds with changes in the chamber’s energy. It’s… anticipating us already.”Jake studied the figure carefully. Every step he took was deliberate, calculated, as though testing the boundaries of its awareness. “It’s more than intelligence. It’s the core of this place, manifesting as a guardian. But if it’s manifesting, it has a pattern. It c
Chapter Two Hundred and Eighty-Seven
The corridor ahead seemed almost normal at first glance—sterile metallic walls, low hums from ventilation, a few scattered panels flickering. But Jake felt the subtle shift immediately, a dissonance that pricked at his instincts. It wasn’t just a corridor; it was a gauntlet. Every surface, every shadow, every faint vibration was an opportunity for the facility to test them in ways beyond brute force.Lyra stayed close, scanning as she moved. Her visor flickered with indicators of weak energy flows, small anomalies in the structure, subtle points of instability. “I’m picking up localized distortions—these walls aren’t just walls. They’re semi-reactive, like the chamber we left behind.”Jake’s jaw tightened. “It’s learning from the last encounter. The sentinel, the energy spikes… they were training exercises. This is the real test.”Kael followed, rifle ready, eyes scanning every angle. He frowned. “A test? Feels more like a death trap to me. If the last one almost tore us apart, I don’
Chapter Two Hundred and Eighty-Six
The corridor stretched endlessly before them, slick with condensation that gleamed under the faint ambient light. Jake led the way, his boots splashing softly in shallow pools, the echoes of their movement bouncing back in irregular patterns. The facility’s pulse had shifted again; the hum that had once been rhythmic now seemed to beat erratically, as if testing their reactions. Every step was a reminder that this place was no longer simply a structure—they were walking through a living, calculating organism.Lyra moved beside him, her scanner pulsing with faint signals. “The energy signatures are fluctuating faster now. It’s like the facility is… breathing, adapting to our presence even before we act.”Jake didn’t answer immediately. He could feel it too—the subtle change in the atmosphere, the way the walls seemed to tilt slightly in their peripheral vision, as if nudging them toward some unseen threshold. He knew better than to ignore it. “Stay sharp,” he said finally. “Every anoma
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