2026-07-23 21:27:33The engine’s scream echoed off the warehouse walls as the motorcycle shot forward into the closing gap.
Austin kept his weight low over the tank, his hands firm on the grips. Behind him, Millie’s arms locked around his ribs like a vise, her face buried into his back. To their right, the nose of the first black SUV lunged forward to block the avenue, but the sports bike sliced through the opening with centimeters to spare, its side mirror missing the SUV's bumper by a hair. Austin leaned hard into the first broad curve of the boulevard, bringing them out of 4th Street and back onto the main artery of Harbor Avenue. Towering glass skyscrapers flickered past, catching the early sunlight. Office workers hustled along the crowded sidewalks with coffee cups in hand while taxis squeezed between city buses. To everyone else, Astera City was experiencing just another ordinary morning, but to Austin, the streets had turned into a tactical grid. His eyes flicked rapidly through his mirrors—left, right, blind spot—before snapping back to the road ahead. The first black SUV had cleared the turn behind them and was accelerating to close the gap. Behind him, Millie’s voice came through the helmet communicator, tight and strained. “Austin... you said you were just avoiding traffic!” “Change of plans,” he called back over the wind, keeping his voice strictly level. “Who were those people in that truck?” “The kind of people I hoped would never find us,” he said. A cold silence fell over the line. From the way his posture had gone rigid, Millie knew this wasn't just Austin being jumpy or overcautious. She turned her head slightly, catching sight of the dark windshield trailing two cars back. It held its position with quiet, military discipline. “Austin...” Her voice dropped, the panic threatening to break through. “Should I be scared?” It took a heavy second before he answered. “No. But I need you to trust me.” “I do.” “Then whatever happens next,” he said, easing the motorcycle between two tightly packed sedans without breaking his rhythm, “don’t let go.” Millie’s grip tightened around his waist. Austin scanned the road ahead as traffic thickened near Riverside Junction. A city bus merged into the right lane while construction barriers narrowed the road to two lanes, forcing cars together as crowds packed the pedestrian crossings. His mind calculated every variable: speed, road width, braking distance. Ahead, a second black SUV drifted into the left lane, attempting to cut off his line, while a third SUV, visible in the reflection of a mirrored bank facade, moved up the parallel service road to cut off his side exit. They weren't using brute force yet. They were herding him, trying to force a mistake before closing the trap. “Listen carefully,” Austin said, his tone flat and intensely focused. “If I say hold tighter...” “I will.” “If I say lean...” “I will.” “If I say close your eyes...” She hesitated for a fraction of a second. “...I will.” “Good.” Up ahead, Riverside Junction opened up—a massive, six-way intersection packed with morning traffic. The traffic light was green, but the digital countdown timer above the signal began to flash. *12...* The junction was almost three hundred meters away. *10...* Austin measured the narrow space between a delivery truck and a yellow cab in front of him. It was an incredibly tight squeeze, but it was the only clean line left. He leaned the bike gently, slipping through the gap with barely inches to spare. Behind them, the lead SUV tried to force its way through the same gap, but the delivery truck drifted left, blocking the lane. Metal scraped against metal with a harsh crunch, followed by a blaring horn as the SUV was forced to hit its brakes. Austin had created a few yards of breathing room, but it wouldn't last. In his mirror, the other two SUVs adjusted instantly, swerving around the stalled truck to resume the chase. *7...* The light was turning yellow. The SUVs behind accelerated together, their heavy V8 engines roaring as they prepared to ram or box him in before he could clear the intersection. Millie looked up at the flashing countdown timer, then felt the bike drop down a gear. “Austin, you’re not going to—” “Hold on!” Austin twisted the throttle to its absolute limit. The rear tire bit into the asphalt, and the motorcycle launched forward into the crowded junction just as the light flipped to red.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 36: Open Your Eyes
The room is quiet.Austin lies beneath the white sheets. His eyes stay closed. His breathing is slow. Somewhere beyond the dark, sound moves like it is underwater—low, distant, and stretched. A voice reaches him through it. He cannot place the voice. He only feels the pull of it.His fingers twitch against the sheet.Thomas stands beside the bed. He has been there a long time. He does not speak. He watches the slow rise of his son’s chest, one hand resting near Austin’s. When the fingers move, Thomas’s breath catches. He leans closer.Austin pushes against the weight holding him. His fingers curl.Thomas turns toward the monitors. “Dr. Mark.”The doctor is already moving. “Mr. Miller. Can you hear me?”No answer comes.“Don’t force it. If you can hear my voice, try to respond.”Austin’s finger moves once.Dr. Mark watches the monitor. “Again.”The finger moves a second time.The doctor exhales. “Good.”Thomas looks at him. “What does that mean?”“He’s following stimulation.”“Is he wa
Chapter 35: Fragments
Darkness.Austin does not know how long he has been inside it. There is no beginning. No ending. No sense of time. Only darkness.Sometimes something else reaches him. A sound. A distant voice. A feeling that disappears before he can understand it. Then the darkness returns.He tries to move. Nothing happens. He tries again. Still nothing. He does not know where he is. He does not know who he is. He only knows that something is wrong. Very wrong.A sound reaches him.Beep.A pause.Beep.Another pause.The rhythm repeats somewhere far away. He tries to follow it. His mind reaches toward the sound, but the darkness seems to stretch between them.Then a voice appears.“Come on, man.”Austin does not recognize it. The voice sounds familiar. Almost painfully familiar. He tries to remember. Nothing. The voice disappears. Darkness.Then another voice. Soft. Gentle.“Good morning.”A woman’s voice. Austin reaches toward it. Something flickers. Light. A room. A face. Gone. His mind jerks back
Chapter 34: Blood Money
Sofia cannot sleep.She lies on her narrow bed in the dark, staring at the ceiling while the city moves beyond the window. Cars pass occasionally on the street below. A horn sounds somewhere in the distance. In the neighboring building a television plays behind a closed door.Ordinary sounds. They should make the night feel normal. They don’t.Her eyes move to the envelope sitting on the small table beside the bed. She has counted the money three times. She knows exactly how much is inside. Enough to clear the most urgent debt. Enough to stop the calls. Enough to breathe for a little while.That should make her feel relieved. Instead, she feels sick.Sofia turns onto her side and pulls the blanket higher. She closes her eyes. Austin’s face appears immediately—pale beneath the hospital lights, motionless, vulnerable. She sees him exactly as he looked earlier that evening. She remembers checking his pulse, adjusting his blanket, and watching the machines keep track of every fragile sign
Chapter 33: The Spy In White
Gabriel López sat behind his desk with the latest report open in front of him.Austin’s condition remained stable. No significant change. No signs of consciousness. No guarantee he would wake today, tomorrow, or even weeks from now.Gabriel closed the file.Waiting was not his strength. Neither was trusting people.He needed someone inside. Someone who could see Austin every day. Someone who could report every change before the doctors made any announcement. Someone who would not attract attention.His eyes moved to the man standing across from him.“I need a nurse.”The man looked surprised. “A nurse?”“Someone who works in Austin Miller’s ward.”“We already have men watching the hospital.”“Outside,” Gabriel said. His voice stayed calm. “I need someone inside.”The man understood. “What exactly do you want her to do?”Gabriel leaned back. “Nothing dramatic. I don’t want Austin harmed. Not yet.” His fingers tapped once against the desk. “I want information. Changes in his condition.
Chapter 32: The Wrong Kind Of Friend
Gabriel López sat alone in the back room of Big Daddy Club. A glass of whiskey sat untouched beside his hand. Music pulsed faintly through the walls, distant and irrelevant.His attention stayed on the report open across the desk.Jake Smith.The name had appeared too many times lately. Gabriel had never trusted coincidences. They were usually patterns people simply failed to notice.He turned another page. Address. Workplace. Daily routine. The people Jake spoke to. The places he visited. And, most frequently, the hospital.Gabriel’s eyes narrowed.“Still nothing new about the patient?”“Nothing beyond what we already know. Jake goes almost every day. Sometimes he stays for hours.”“Alone?”“Usually.”Gabriel leaned back. “And the patient remains Austin Miller.”It was not a question. The name already carried its full weight between them.Gabriel’s fingers tightened slightly on the edge of the report.“Find out everything about Jake Smith.”“We already have.”“No.” Gabriel’s voice co
Chapter 31: Kill The Hacker
The city was already asleep when Gabriel López made his decision.His office sat in near darkness, broken only by the faint glow of the windows overlooking Astera City. He stood with one hand resting against the glass. Below him, headlights drifted along the streets in thin, unbroken lines. Gabriel was not looking at the city.His mind was fixed on a single name.Austin Miller.The hacker he had spent weeks trying to find. The man who had broken into his network and taken information capable of destroying everything he had built. The man Gabriel had believed was dead.And yet he was alive—lying unconscious in a hospital bed less than an hour away.Gabriel turned slowly from the window. His lieutenant stood several feet behind him, waiting in silence.“You’re certain?” Gabriel asked.“Yes.”“The hospital records match.”Gabriel’s expression remained cold. “And the man in that room?”“He’s Austin Miller.”For several seconds Gabriel said nothing. Then he walked to his desk. A photograph
You may also like
The Midnight Heir
South Ashan101.5K viewsRevenge Of The Rejected Son-in-law
Teddy157.0K viewsDrakon of the Seven Armies
Maddy Taurus561.2K viewsHand of God
Anakin Detour112.8K viewsThe Unrivalled Return Of Lord Valerian
Sacréd Pen268 viewsThe Lived in son-in-law Wants Divorce
Daylight surprising 88 viewsSpun Out of Control
steven97 viewsThe Husband's Revenge
Estherace127 views