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Baptism by Fire
Huling Na-update:
2025-05-02 20:23:15
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Chasing The billionaire's Shadow Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Eighteen The sand slammed against the cracked windshield as the helicopter listed violently, spinning toward the desert below like a dying bird. I clung to the seatbelt, fingers white-knuckled, the chip still clenched in my palm. “Brace!” Liam shouted over the shrieking alarms. The ground rushed toward us—then everything went black. When I came to, there was heat. Blistering, smothering heat. And silence, the eerie kind that buzzed under your skin. I pried my eyes open. The world was sideways. Flames licked the fractured edge of the cockpit, casting wild shadows over Liam’s unconscious form slumped beside me. “Liam!” I croaked, reaching across the debris. My shoulder screamed in protest, but I shook him until he groaned. His eyes fluttered open. “Isla?” “We need to move.” He nodded weakly, and together we kicked open the emergency hatch. Smoke poured out behind us as we stumbled into the burning wreckage of the desert floor. The chopper was a smoldering carcass now.
Huling Na-update : 2025-05-02Chasing The billionaire's Shadow Chapter Nineteen
--- Chapter Nineteen We moved under cover of darkness. The desert turned colder, shadows stretching long across the sands as we pushed forward, guided only by the stars and Liam’s gut instinct. “We’ll rest at dawn,” he said, his voice rough but steady. “One hour max. Then we head north.” “North to what?” I asked, shivering despite the heat trapped in my clothes. “More enemies? Another dead end?” He looked at me, eyes unreadable in the moonlight. “To someone I trust.” That was saying something. Liam didn’t trust easily. We passed through the jagged ridges until we reached a dry riverbed, and he finally signaled for a stop. I dropped to the ground, muscles aching, lungs burning. Liam knelt beside me, pulling a small foil packet from his vest and tossing it over. “Here. Energy gel. Tastes like death, but it’ll keep you standing.” “Can’t wait,” I muttered, peeling it open. “Dinner of champions.” He chuckled quietly, then went still, head cocked. “What is it?” I whispered, sca
Huling Na-update : 2025-05-05Chasing The billionaire's Shadow Chapter Twenty
--- Chapter Twenty The desert wind howled around us, a gritty whisper of everything we’d left burning behind. Liam didn’t slow until the smoke faded into the horizon. We crouched behind a ridge, hearts racing, the bunker’s distant ruin still flickering against the sky. I exhaled shakily. “She’ll come after us harder now.” “She always does,” Liam replied. “But this time, we hit back.” Freya wiped sweat from her brow, her braid loose and streaked with ash. “The upload reached the Ark, but it’s only a matter of time before Scarlett tries to intercept or spin it.” “She won’t get the chance,” Liam said. “Not if we move first.” I turned to him. “To where? Another bunker? Another trap?” He shook his head. “No. To the capital.” I stared. “What?” “We need to expose her publicly. Face to face. In her own stronghold.” Freya crossed her arms. “That’s suicide.” Liam’s eyes locked with mine. “Not if Isla leads the reveal.” My throat tightened. “Me?” “She’s the only one who can trigg
Huling Na-update : 2025-05-05Chasing The billionaire's Shadow His Name Was Liam Sinclair
Chapter One I still remember the first time I heard his name. “Liam Sinclair?” I echoed, leaning against the kitchen counter as my father spoke over the phone. “Who’s that?” My dad raised an eyebrow at me and turned away, speaking into his phone. “Yeah, Liam, I’ll be there in twenty. Don’t sign anything until I arrive.” I narrowed my eyes. The name sounded powerful. Dangerous, even. And it rolled off my tongue like forbidden candy. “Is he your friend?” I asked the moment he hung up. He paused mid-step, clearly in a rush. “He’s not just my friend, Isla. He’s family—closer than blood.” That was the beginning. The spark. The ignition of an obsession I never saw coming. “Is he hot?” I teased, trying to play it off as a joke, but my pulse betrayed me. I was seventeen, and anything that carried danger had me hooked. Dad shot me a look. “He’s thirty-eight, Isla.” “That didn’t answer the question,” I muttered under my breath, turning toward the sink to hide my smile. He
Huling Na-update : 2025-04-13Chasing The billionaire's Shadow Eyes That Undress
Chapter Two: “You’re staring again,” Harper said, slurping her iced coffee. “I’m not.” I pulled my hoodie lower, but my eyes betrayed me, locked onto the screen of my phone where Liam’s photo was frozen mid-smirk. “You’ve been replaying that five-second video of him handing you a glass of water for an hour. You sure you’re not already pregnant by imagination?” “Shut up,” I muttered, but a stupid grin played on my lips. Harper leaned in. “So, what was he like in real life? Tall, dark, deadly?” I nodded slowly. “He looked through me like I was glass—and I still felt stripped bare.” “Gross and hot. But also gross.” “Exactly,” I sighed, my heart still pounding like he was in the room. She shook her head. “Careful. You’re one missed period away from becoming a scandal.” “I’m not doing anything.” Harper arched a brow. “But you want to.” I didn’t respond. I didn’t have to. Two weeks passed. I couldn’t stop thinking about him. And then… he showed up at our house. I was barefoo
Huling Na-update : 2025-04-13Chasing The billionaire's Shadow The Art of Wanting You
Chapter Three: I lied again. “I’m studying,” I told Dad, holding a textbook I hadn’t opened in days. He smiled at me, proud. “That’s my girl. Keep your head down and avoid distractions.” “Of course,” I said. But Liam Sinclair was the only distraction I couldn’t avoid. The art gallery was quiet and classy. It was hidden between an old bookstore and a fancy wine shop downtown. Harper had gotten us in through her cousin who worked with the gallery team. > Sinclair is hosting a private art show tonight. Want to crash it with me? > You already know the answer. When we got there, everything felt expensive. The walls were dark blue and green, and the lights above glowed gold like soft stars. People in long dresses and suits sipped drinks and whispered to each other. Harper looked excited. “This place is so chic. Maybe I’ll marry rich too.” I laughed but barely heard her. My eyes were scanning the room. And then I saw him. Liam stood near a large painting, dressed in
Huling Na-update : 2025-04-13Chasing The billionaire's Shadow The Man Behind the Curtain
Chapter four: I stood in the quiet studio, staring at the painting of myself. Liam had painted it in secret. He had watched me without saying a word. And now I was in his home, standing in a room no one else probably ever entered. My heart raced. Then I heard it—his voice. Not in the hallway. Not near. I followed the sound, tiptoeing down the corridor, past elegant doors and thick rugs, until I reached one door that was slightly open. He was inside. Talking to someone. “No, you listen to me,” Liam said, voice low and sharp. “I told you I don’t want her involved.” Pause. “She’s not like the others. I don’t care what it looks like. I’m handling it.” Another pause. “If this gets out, we both lose everything.” I froze. She’s not like the others? Who were the others? And what exactly was he trying to hide? I stepped back quietly, heart pounding harder now. I knew I shouldn’t be snooping, but the way he spoke… it wasn’t just business. It was personal. He came out a minut
Huling Na-update : 2025-04-13Chasing The billionaire's Shadow Hidden Ties
Chapter five: The message on my phone still haunted me. Don’t mention her again. Watch your back. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Scarlett Vale was a name my father claimed not to know, but something in his eyes that morning had given him away. He knew her. Or at least, he knew something about her. And I was going to find out. After Dad left for work, I walked quietly up the stairs, past the familiar pictures on the wall—family vacations, birthdays, even one with me and Liam when I was younger. My heart pounded as I pushed open the attic door. Dust flew everywhere. Old boxes, forgotten furniture, and timeworn memories waited in the shadows. I had never gone through Dad’s stuff before. But now, every closed box looked like a secret. I pulled one down marked "Private – 1995". Inside were photos, letters, and a few old notebooks. I flipped through one of the books. Most of it looked like boring notes from his old job—he used to work for a tech company before he
Huling Na-update : 2025-04-13
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Chasing The billionaire's Shadow Chapter Twenty
--- Chapter Twenty The desert wind howled around us, a gritty whisper of everything we’d left burning behind. Liam didn’t slow until the smoke faded into the horizon. We crouched behind a ridge, hearts racing, the bunker’s distant ruin still flickering against the sky. I exhaled shakily. “She’ll come after us harder now.” “She always does,” Liam replied. “But this time, we hit back.” Freya wiped sweat from her brow, her braid loose and streaked with ash. “The upload reached the Ark, but it’s only a matter of time before Scarlett tries to intercept or spin it.” “She won’t get the chance,” Liam said. “Not if we move first.” I turned to him. “To where? Another bunker? Another trap?” He shook his head. “No. To the capital.” I stared. “What?” “We need to expose her publicly. Face to face. In her own stronghold.” Freya crossed her arms. “That’s suicide.” Liam’s eyes locked with mine. “Not if Isla leads the reveal.” My throat tightened. “Me?” “She’s the only one who can trigg
Chasing The billionaire's Shadow Chapter Nineteen
--- Chapter Nineteen We moved under cover of darkness. The desert turned colder, shadows stretching long across the sands as we pushed forward, guided only by the stars and Liam’s gut instinct. “We’ll rest at dawn,” he said, his voice rough but steady. “One hour max. Then we head north.” “North to what?” I asked, shivering despite the heat trapped in my clothes. “More enemies? Another dead end?” He looked at me, eyes unreadable in the moonlight. “To someone I trust.” That was saying something. Liam didn’t trust easily. We passed through the jagged ridges until we reached a dry riverbed, and he finally signaled for a stop. I dropped to the ground, muscles aching, lungs burning. Liam knelt beside me, pulling a small foil packet from his vest and tossing it over. “Here. Energy gel. Tastes like death, but it’ll keep you standing.” “Can’t wait,” I muttered, peeling it open. “Dinner of champions.” He chuckled quietly, then went still, head cocked. “What is it?” I whispered, sca
Chasing The billionaire's Shadow Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Eighteen The sand slammed against the cracked windshield as the helicopter listed violently, spinning toward the desert below like a dying bird. I clung to the seatbelt, fingers white-knuckled, the chip still clenched in my palm. “Brace!” Liam shouted over the shrieking alarms. The ground rushed toward us—then everything went black. When I came to, there was heat. Blistering, smothering heat. And silence, the eerie kind that buzzed under your skin. I pried my eyes open. The world was sideways. Flames licked the fractured edge of the cockpit, casting wild shadows over Liam’s unconscious form slumped beside me. “Liam!” I croaked, reaching across the debris. My shoulder screamed in protest, but I shook him until he groaned. His eyes fluttered open. “Isla?” “We need to move.” He nodded weakly, and together we kicked open the emergency hatch. Smoke poured out behind us as we stumbled into the burning wreckage of the desert floor. The chopper was a smoldering carcass now.
Chasing The billionaire's Shadow Baptism by Fire
Chapter Seventeen – Baptism by Fire The helicopter spun in a sickening spiral, blades screaming against the wind as smoke poured from the ruptured engine. Alarms shrieked in a discordant symphony, and my body flung sideways, weightless one second, slammed down the next. "BRACE!" Liam shouted, his voice nearly drowned out by the chaos. We plummeted, the desert rushing up with terrifying speed. I clenched the chip in my fist and shut my eyes, every nerve ending igniting with raw terror. Then— Impact. The chopper struck the sand with a bone-rattling crash. Metal groaned and twisted, glass shattered, and fire licked at the edges of my vision. We skidded across the dunes like a wounded beast, finally grinding to a halt with a guttural roar. For a moment, there was only the sound of flames crackling and the hiss of ruptured hydraulics. Then, pain. White-hot, slicing through my ribs, my shoulder, my side. I gasped, coughing on smoke, trying to move—trying to understand if I was stil
Chasing The billionaire's Shadow The Key
--- Chapter Sixteen. My pulse thundered in my ears. I stared at my father, the weight of his words pressing on my chest like a boulder. I’m the key? They’re after me? "What do you mean?" I rasped. "What am I the key to?" He glanced toward the door, his body taut like he expected it to burst open any second. "Not what. Who." Before I could speak, he leaned closer, voice barely above a whisper. "You were never just Isla Camden. You were built for this. Engineered." My stomach turned violently. "What the hell are you talking about?" "There was a project," he said, hurried, urgent. "Before Scarlett turned on the Alliance. Genetic enhancements, neuro-mapping. You were part of it without knowing. They embedded codes, sequences inside you. Hidden. Waiting." I staggered back, my knees slamming against the metal chair behind me. "No," I croaked. "That's impossible. I’m just— I’m just a person." He shook his head, regret bleeding through every line of his face. "You’re more. And
Chasing The billionaire's Shadow Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Fifteen For a moment, all I could do was stare at the wrist comm, as if sheer will could make the voice vanish—or explain itself. But it didn’t vanish. It stayed there, embedded in the static, the way a scar stays in the skin. “Isla,” the voice repeated, cracked but undeniably real. “I’m here.” My throat tightened so violently it hurt to breathe. My father—the man I had mourned, buried in an empty coffin, grieved for in every aching moment of lost years—was alive? Beside me, Liam stiffened. “This has to be a trick,” he muttered. “Scarlett’s people could’ve faked a voiceprint. They could’ve—” “No.” I shook my head. “That was him.” I knew it the way you know when the sun is rising even with your eyes closed. Another crackle through the comm. “Isla,” my father said again, stronger this time. “I know you have questions. I can’t answer them here. Meet me. Blacksite Seven. Trust Liam. He’ll get you there.” The transmission cut off, a final pulse of static. The silence af
Chasing The billionaire's Shadow Chapter Fourteen:
--- Chapter Fourteen: The crash wasn’t silent. It was thunderous, bone-rattling. Metal screamed as it twisted. Branches cracked. The world flipped—once, twice—before everything slammed to a halt with a jarring thud that knocked the breath out of me. Silence. Then pain. Sharp and blooming, in my ribs, my arm, my head. My eyes fluttered open to smoke, splinters, and the distant sound of shouting. “Liam?” I rasped, barely hearing myself over the ringing in my ears. He was slumped beside me, blood trailing from his temple, but his chest rose and fell—shallow but steady. Relief flooded me just before reality hit: we were sitting ducks. I forced myself out of the wreckage, dragging my legs until I could stand on shaky feet. My fingers found Liam’s collar, and I tugged. “Come on. Get up.” He stirred, groaning. “Still in one piece?” “Barely.” I glanced around. Flames were closing in from the trees behind us. The rest of Scarlett’s team couldn’t be far. “We need to move.” He coughed
Chasing The billionaire's Shadow The Truth Bleed
Chapter Thirteen: The moment the door shut behind us, an eerie silence filled the cottage—too heavy, too expectant. The woman who opened the door—Liam’s mother, apparently—had vanished deeper into the house, leaving behind the scent of cedar and something darker. Secrets, maybe. Liam led me into a stone-walled living room where the fireplace glowed faintly. His mother stood by it, pouring a deep amber liquid into two glasses. She didn’t offer me one. “She thinks I’m the enemy,” I muttered. “She doesn’t trust anyone,” Liam replied, voice low. “She has her reasons.” “Speak up, boy,” his mother snapped without turning around. “If she’s going to inherit the fire, she should hear the sparks.” I narrowed my eyes. “The fire?” She finally turned, drink in hand. “Your father’s legacy. The reason you’re being hunted. The truth Liam’s been trying to hide.” Liam tensed beside me. “Not hide. Delay. There’s a difference.” She arched a silver brow. “Delay long enough and you’re no better
Chasing The billionaire's Shadow Beneath the Ashesl
--- Chapter Twelve: Beneath the Ashes The emergency chamber felt like a womb carved out of steel—safe, yes, but suffocating too. The cold air inside tasted of recycled oxygen and secrets. I pressed my palms against the metallic wall, trying to still the tremor in my hands. The tunnel escape had left my lungs burning and my thoughts racing. I wasn’t sure which would collapse first—my body or my trust in Liam Sinclair. He moved with precision, fingers dancing over the touchscreen like a code was buried in his bones. The light from the panel cast shadows across his jaw, making him look older. Sharper. More dangerous. “How long can we stay in here?” I asked, my voice barely audible over the low hum. “Until nightfall, at best,” he replied without looking up. “They’ve already compromised three of our decoys. Scarlett’s moving faster than we anticipated.” My heart dropped at the sound of her name. Scarlett. It was more than a name now—it was a specter that haunted every corner of my m
