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Chapter 59: The Cellar Trap

2025-08-02 07:03:01

Then a week later they moved in into her father's villa and changed the locks, and it seemed asleep beneath the moonlight. Warm terracotta walls, shuttered windows, and a breeze whispering through lemon trees in the courtyard. But inside, beneath the kitchen’s tiled floor and the wine racks of old prestige, a deeper chamber stirred.

Damon crouched beside the antique lever and whispered into his earpiece, “Motion detected. West corridor. She’s here.”

Verity stood beside him, one hand on her belly, the other clenching the necklace her father had left her. Her pulse raced not just from fear, but from the certainty that this was the moment everything changed. Isabel Alden had returned to Venice and she just parked in her father's driveway, her and Damon they were looking at her outside the window and she wasn’t alone.

Three mercenaries, dressed in black with visors and silenced weapons, swept through the villa like shadows. They moved in formation, professional, methodical. Isabel trai

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Chapter 75: The Departure Code
A storm erupted followed by drops of rain tapping lightly against the windowpanes of Kael’s dorm as he moved out of his house he only visited occasionally. That night, a soft, rhythmic sound that did little to calm the storm inside his head. He sat hunched over his desk, eyes fixed on the glowing projection flickering from his phone. Lines of Rootstream code pulsed faintly in the air, circling a map of Europe. The trace path ended at one word which was Rome. Beneath the map, two simple words blinked in quiet urgency: "Active Node". Kael clenched his jaw because that attack earlier it hadn’t just been a random infection. It had been a test a fragment and it had failed. But the main node still pulsed like a heartbeat from the heart of Italy, sending signals, searching for hosts. This wasn’t over not yet he turned off the projection and leaned back, exhaling slowly. He should have told Sarah a part of him wanted to. But the deeper part the part shaped by years of secrets, surveillance,
Chapter 74: Glitch in the Veil
It began subtly the lights in the east wing of St. Aldric’s flickered once, twice then cut out completely, plunging the hallway into darkness. Students murmured in confusion, some pulling out phones for light. But Kael knew immediately this wasn’t a power outage this was targeted. He felt it before he saw it a faint vibration deep in his skull, like invisible threads humming through the air, a familiar static buzz. That whispered of something crawling through the digital seams of the school it was Rootstream. He bolted from his seat in the library and sprinted down the corridor. Sarah, who had been nearby startled as he brushed past her. “Kael? Where are you going?” “Get to the front lawn,” he said without stopping. “Stay out of the east wing!” But Sarah didn’t listen not entirely she hesitated, then followed, heart hammering in her chest. Kael skidded to a stop near the old tech room the same place the original school servers had once been wired in. It was a forgotten hallway now
Chapter 73: Shadows and Questions
The late afternoon sun painted long amber streaks across the school courtyard, casting everything in a warm, golden haze. Students milled about, laughing, talking, some heading off to clubs or just escaping the classroom grind. But Kael moved through it all like a shadow present, yet distant. He kept his gaze low, avoiding the eyes that sometimes lingered on him with unspoken questions or idle fascination. The captain of the football team, the quiet boy from a wealthy family who didn’t quite fit in anywhere. It was a role he wasn’t sure he wanted, but it was the closest thing to normal he had. Yet the pull of his other life the secret digital war waging inside him never let him rest for long. His phone vibrated quietly in his pocket as he made his way toward the old gym building, a place where fewer people went. He stopped by the side door and glanced around before pulling it open, slipping inside. The hallway was dim, shadows pooling in the corners. Kael’s fingers worked quickly,
Chapter 72: The Rival's Challenge
The St. Aldric’s locker room was alive with the pre match chaos the slap of cleats against tile, the sharp scent of sweat and liniment, and the low murmur of nervous energy. Kael Alden Bell stood off to the side, methodically tightening the laces on his boots, his mind focusing on the game ahead. The pressure wasn’t just about the score this time. It was something more personal. Across the room, Jared leaned casually against a row of lockers, watching Kael with a look that was equal parts skepticism and something deeper it was resentment. Jared had been the team’s heart for years, a fiery striker whose raw talent and grit made him a natural leader. But ever since Kael’s arrival, things had shifted. The quiet boy with a famous name and enough resources to buy private training was now the captain. Jared’s eyes flicked to Kael again, a storm brewing behind his gaze. As Kael rose, pulling on his jersey, Jared stepped forward, breaking the room’s buzz like a crack of thunder. “So, Alden
Chapter 71: The Thread in the Noise
Kael didn’t speak much at school he didn’t need to. Not when most of his thoughts could shape systems, slip through firewalls, or bend weak minds like reeds in water. He wore his black hoodie like armor with low eyes, headphones always in even when they weren’t playing anything it kept people at bay. Except her he noticed Sarah Vale well it wasn't because that everyone knew her. She was head of the cheerleader squad with merits of being a debate finalist and she was top of her class in her academics. Bright eyes with blonde hair and she skinny with an athlete body. Sarah had that sharp kind of intelligence that made teachers nervous she definitely had her own gravity. And Kael had managed to orbit far enough to avoid it until now. It happened on a rainy Thursday, between classes, just outside the robotics lab. He’d ducked in early to patch a neural sequence into the school’s admin servers just a small pulse to override the surveillance timestamps so he could vanish again without a
Chapter 70: The Memory Engine
The Neural Veil shimmered like a mirage threads of light woven through the dark, pulsing like veins. Verity stood on the threshold, breath shallow. Her skin buzzed from the interface this wasn’t just code it was history. It was memory that came with the echoes of Damon Bell’s fractured consciousness. And Kael was somewhere inside it. She stepped forward and the world bent with reality folded inward and rebuilt itself. Stone towers grew out of the air, twisted spires arching over her like cathedral bones. She stood on a balcony overlooking a dead city. A red sky burned above, and far below, lightless windows blinked like eyes. “Where are you…” she whispered. A hum answered her it was not a voice it was more like a presence that is curious and watching. Verity moved down a staircase that didn’t exist a moment ago. Each step echoed with half formed memories. Damon’s voice, Kael’s laughter, Mindfire’s final scream as he detonated the fracture mey. They weren’t sound, not really they we

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Latest Chapter

Chapter 75: The Departure Code

Chapter 74: Glitch in the Veil

Chapter 73: Shadows and Questions

Chapter 72: The Rival's Challenge

Chapter 71: The Thread in the Noise

Chapter 70: The Memory Engine