The Hidden Dragon Son-in-Law

Vault Of Shadow

Chapter 7: “Vault of Shadows”

Location: The Vault of Origins – Abandoned Underground Facility, Jincheng Province

The air was thick with dust, damp stone, and the weight of memory.

Jaxon stood before a rusted door half-swallowed by roots and earth. Ivy stood beside him, tense and confused.

“This is where it began,” Jaxon murmured. “Before the Lin family. Before the ‘Ghost Monarch.’ This is where I died… and was reborn.”

The steel door creaked open.

Inside, the corridor was lined with cracked monitors and shattered glass. This wasn’t just a bunker — it was a research lab. A prison.

Jaxon led Ivy through it slowly.

“This place was a military black site, known only to a handful. I was sixteen when I was brought here… after my parents were murdered.”

Ivy’s eyes widened. “Your parents?”

Jaxon nodded. “They were government agents. Killed by traitors inside their own agency. This facility was their graveyard — and my forge.”

He gestured to a metal chamber down the hall.

“I spent two years locked inside that room. They trained me, tortured me, broke me. Then they built me into something else. They erased Jaxon Lin and replaced him with… him.”

“The Ghost Monarch,” Ivy whispered.

He turned toward her. “I don’t show you this to scare you. I show you so you understand — the man you married isn’t just a hidden heir. He’s a weapon they never finished.”

Suddenly, a blast echoed from outside the bunker.

A voice came through Jaxon’s comms.

“Sir! Emergency! Xu Group infiltrated Pavilion 3 in the capital. They’ve stolen two encryption keys and released the drone targeting software!”

Jaxon froze. “Who was stationed there?”

“Your brother. Gideon.”

Jaxon’s breath caught. “Is he—?”

“Alive, barely. Ethan planted a mole inside the Pavilion.”

Ivy stepped back. “He’s inside your network?”

Jaxon’s jaw tightened. “Worse. He’s trying to turn it against me.”

—

Location: Pavilion 3, Capital District – Moments Earlier

Flames consumed the main terminal as guards scrambled for control. Gideon Lin lay bleeding under shattered glass, holding his side.

A hooded figure in a lab coat was typing rapidly on a touchscreen.

One of the guards yelled, “Stop him! He’s redirecting the fleet drones!”

But it was too late.

On the screen, dozens of automated attack drones re-routed mid-flight. Their new target: Ninth Pavilion Headquarters.

The hooded mole smiled as he pressed send. “Your ghost king dies tonight.”

—

Location: Jincheng Province – Inside the Vault

Jaxon’s pupils dilated as the information streamed into his earpiece.

“Drone swarm inbound. 90 seconds from impact.”

He turned to Ivy. “We have to get out. Now.”

She hesitated. “But this place—your past—”

“Let it burn,” Jaxon snapped. “I’m not hiding from it anymore.”

They sprinted down the corridor.

Outside, Zhao’s evac unit had already landed. Gunfire erupted from the trees — Xu mercenaries trying to block the escape.

Zhao yelled, “We’ll cover you!”

Jaxon tossed Ivy into the helicopter, turned, and lobbed a thermal grenade behind him.

Boom.

The Vault of Origins collapsed in on itself — fire, steel, and memories buried again.

—

Inside Ethan’s penthouse, the mole returned—handing over a final flash drive.

Ethan plugged it in, smiling through bruised lips.

“Upload this to the Crimson League’s blackline servers. Let’s see what happens when the entire underworld thinks Jaxon Lin is the one who betrayed them ten years ago.”

He leaned forward.

“Let’s see if the Ghost Monarch can fight when the world turns against him.”