2025-08-08 19:50:22The leather seat felt too soft for someone who still had rainwater in his shoes.
Across from him sat the silver haired man who’d delivered the letter. His posture was perfect, his expression unreadable like someone who’d spent years being paid not to feel.
"My name is Grayson Hale," the man said. "I am the legal executor of the late Chairman Orion Cole’s estate. Your grandfather."
Adrian let out a short, bitter laugh. "I don’t have a grandfather. At least, not one who gives a damn." Grayson didn’t blink. "You do now. He passed away three days ago. And as per his will, everything he owned, every company, every property, every account is now yours."
Adrian leaned back, his chest tight. The words sounded like they belonged in a movie, not his life.
Grayson’s eyes flicked to him for the first time. "Because you are the last living heir. And because… he believed you would understand what it means to have nothing."
The car slowed. They pulled up before a building so tall it seemed to touch the clouds glass and steel, lit from within like a lantern in the night. Guards in black stood at the entrance. Inside, the world changed.
Grayson guided him to an elevator. "We’ll start with the orientation. Then, the asset review. You’ll also need security detail immediately. Word of your inheritance will spread fast."
"Security?" Adrian frowned. "Why would I need"
The elevator doors slid open. Waiting inside was a woman in a red dress, her beauty sharp enough to cut. She smiled at Grayson, then turned her gaze to Adrian.
"So," she said, her voice smooth as silk. "You’re the new king." Adrian hesitated. "And you are…?"
She stepped closer, her perfume a whisper of danger. "Someone who’s been waiting for you." Grayson’s jaw tightened. "Miss Voss, this is not your floor."
The woman’s smile widened. "Oh, I know." She reached out, brushed her fingers across Adrian’s arm and slipped something into his jacket pocket without looking away. Before he could react, she stepped out, the elevator doors closing behind her.
Adrian reached into his pocket. A single playing card. The Ace of Spades. On the back, in handwritten ink: Welcome to the game. Survive, and you win everything. Lose… and you’ll wish you were still poor.
The elevator ride seemed endless. Adrian stared at the numbers blinking overhead, each one a step further away from the life he’d known, the rain soaked streets, the coins in his hand, Bella’s laughter echoing in his ears.
Grayson stood beside him, silent as stone, until the doors opened onto a floor that looked like something out of a magazine.
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Chapter 15 – Blood on the Table
The spotlight burned white against the polished boardroom table, casting stark shadows across the faces frozen in shock. The chairman’s body sagged forward, his forehead resting against the mahogany surface, a crimson pool spreading beneath him.For a moment, no one moved. The world outside the glass wall seemed distant, the city lights cold and indifferent. Inside, the air was heavy with the metallic scent of blood and the faint tang of gunpowder.Adrian’s pulse was a war drum in his ears. His gaze flicked over the room, mapping movement, searching for the attacker. The assassin who had gone for him was gone vanished into the shadows.Then chaos erupted. “What the hell just happened?!” a board member shouted, his voice high with panic.“Security! Someone call security!” another yelled, fumbling with her phone. The woman with razor sharp cheekbones was already backing toward the exit. “This is a coup,” she hissed, eyes darting toward Adrian. Coup? The word struck like a blade.Adrian’
Chapter 14 – Shadows in the Boardroom
The city glimmered in the distance like a million fireflies trapped in glass. From the backseat of his new Maybach, Adrian watched the skyline blur past, but his mind was far from calm. The hum of the engine was steady, the leather seats soft, yet his chest felt as if a cold fist was tightening around it.An “emergency meeting,” the message had said. No context. No explanation. Just an urgent summons from the consortium’s board, accompanied by the consortium’s crest in gold and black. The tone had been clipped, almost hostile.Adrian knew this world well enough to understand one thing: in circles of immense power, “emergency” rarely meant good news.He drummed his fingers lightly on his knee, his reflection staring back at him from the tinted window. It was strange, this reflection wore a tailored suit worth more than he’d once earned in a year, a watch that could buy a small apartment, and yet his eyes were the same. Sharp. Searching. Suspicious.As the car pulled into the private un
Chapter 13 – Red Hands, White Lies
Rain still poured, drumming on the rooftop like a funeral march. Adrian leaned over the ledge, scanning the shadows below where Silas had fallen or vanished. No body. No splash. Nothing. Behind him, Emily stirred, letting out a soft moan.Adrian spun around and knelt by her side. Her face was pale, soaked, lips trembling. “You’re safe,” he whispered. She blinked, dazed. “What... happened?”Grayson holstered his gun, stepping back from the edge. “He’s gone. For now.” Adrian helped Emily sit up. “They said my father was part of this. Was that a lie too?”Grayson didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he reached into his coat and pulled out a small, waterproof dossier. “Your father left more than just a name behind. This... this is your inheritance.” Adrian took the folder. Inside were old photos, blueprints, and a single page titled: ‘The Twelve Trials of the Consortium’.“I thought I was already the heir,” Adrian said, confused. “You are. But not the final one. You’re the successor. Your
Chapter 12 – The Gun, The Girl, and The Game
Adrian didn’t move. The wind howled. The rain poured. Grayson’s gun was steady. So was Silas’s. Two barrels. Two lives. And one clock.Emily trembled under Silas’s grip, her cheek pressed to the muzzle of his pistol. Her eyes locked onto Adrian’s, silently pleading. Grayson stood behind Adrian, his gun aimed at the back of his head like it had been rehearsed."Put the gun down," Adrian said, without turning. "No," Grayson replied, voice firm. "Not until you choose." Adrian clenched his jaw. “You’re part of this?”“You think Silas works alone?” Grayson’s tone was almost apologetic. “This is bigger than you. Than her. Than any of us.” Silas chuckled. "He finally says something useful."The storm blurred everything, but Adrian’s mind was clearer than it had been in years. Silas. Grayson. Emily. The letters. The tests. The Game.He remembered the night in college, the night Silas vanished after a fire that killed two students. Everyone had assumed he died too. But Adrian had seen somethin
Chapter 11 – The Fall
Rain pelted the balcony, stinging Adrian’s face as he vaulted over the railing. The wind roared in his ears, drowning out Emily’s muffled scream.Silas was already halfway down the building, descending like it was second nature, boots finding invisible footholds along the slick glass exterior. Emily struggled in his grip, but every twist she made was countered with a brutal precision that told Adrian this wasn’t the first hostage Silas had taken."Let her go!" Adrian’s voice was lost to the wind.He grabbed the maintenance cable that ran along the balcony’s edge and slid down, gloves burning with friction. The thirty floors below blurred together in flashes of lightning. Silas didn’t look up but Adrian saw his head tilt just slightly, the way a predator notices another predator.Silas swung himself onto a lower balcony, smashing the sliding door with one hard kick. Adrian landed seconds later, splintering glass under his boots.The condo they’d crashed into was dark, lit only by the s
Chapter 10 – Inside the Lion’s Den
The photo on Adrian’s phone burned into his vision. Timestamp: 3 minutes ago. Taken from inside his penthouse. Emily was asleep on the couch in the shot, head resting on the armrest, blanket tucked neatly under her chin. But that wasn’t what made Adrian’s pulse spike.It was the figure standing behind her. A tall, shadowed silhouette, leaning just close enough that if he’d been there in person, Adrian could’ve heard the whisper in Emily’s ear."Grayson!" Adrian barked, voice edged with urgency.The older man moved instantly, crossing the room to stand at his side. His eyes flicked to the phone, then to the couch. Emily was still there. Still asleep. The blanket was exactly as in the picture. Except now there was no one standing over her."Stay here," Grayson said sharply, already moving toward the kitchen with the smooth, silent steps of someone who’d done this a thousand times before.Adrian didn’t wait. He swept the balcony doors first locked. Windows sealed. The entire perimeter wa
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