LOGINShare
Chapter 111: The Last Second
Last Updated:
2026-02-15 20:46:40"Deck 3!"
Jackson sprinted down the corridor, kicking open doors. He was drenched in sweat and seawater.
He reached the heavy steel door of the Server Room. It was locked from the inside.
"Alex! Mia! Open up!"
"Dad!" A scream came from inside.
The lock beeped green. Alex had overridden it.
Jackson threw the door open. Two small bodies launched themselves at him.
He caught them both, dropping to his knees. He checked their faces, their arms. Mia was crying, clutching her wrench. Alex was pale, holding his laptop like a shield.
"Are you hurt?" Jackson demanded, his hands shaking as he touched their faces.
"We are okay," Alex said, his voice high with panic. "But Dad... the timer."
He pointed to the screen on the wall.
[ SELF-DESTRUCT: 00:01:45 ]
"We have to go!" Mia pulled Jackson’s hand. "Upstairs!"
"We won't make it," Jackson stood up, lifting Mia onto his hip. "The blast doors to the upper deck are sealed. We are trapped on this level."
"So we die?" Mia started to sob.
"No," Alex scanned the room frantically. His eyes landed on a yellow hatch in the floor marked EMERGENCY CARGO EJECT.
"Dad! The Garbage Chute!" Alex shouted. "It jettisons waste containers directly into the ocean from the side of the hull!"
Jackson looked at the chute. It was small, designed for trash bags, not people. But it was their only way out.
"Get in," Jackson opened the hatch. It was a dark, slippery metal tube.
"It smells!" Mia wrinkled her nose.
"It smells better than death," Jackson shoved Alex in first. "Slide! Go!"
Alex slid down into the dark. Mia followed, screaming.
Jackson looked at the timer. 00:00:15.
He jumped in, pulling the hatch shut above him.
They slid down the slick metal tube for what felt like miles. They landed with a thud inside a small, enclosed metal waste container waiting in the launch bay.
"Hold on to something!" Jackson grabbed both kids, wedging himself against the walls of the container. He smashed the EJECT button with his foot.
HISSSS-CLANK!
Explosive bolts fired.
The container was shot out of the side of the ship like a cannonball.
[ SELF-DESTRUCT: 00:00:00 ]
As they flew through the air, the world turned white.
BOOM!
The cargo ship didn't just explode; it vaporized. A massive fireball consumed the sky, sending shockwaves across the water.
Their container hit the water hard.
SPLASH.
They plunged deep underwater, spinning violently. Jackson held the kids so tight his arms cramped, shielding their heads from the metal walls.
Then, they bobbed up. The container was airtight. It floated like a cork.
Jackson kicked the release lever. The top of the container popped open.
Fresh air. Smoke. Rain.
They climbed out onto the top of the floating dumpster. They were covered in soot, wet, and shivering.
Behind them, the burning wreckage of The Intrepid was sinking into the Atlantic.
"Whoa," Alex wiped his glasses, staring at the fire. "That was... cinematic."
"I never want to go on a field trip again," Mia buried her face in Jackson's chest.
"Deal," Jackson hugged them both, kissing the tops of their messy heads. "No more field trips."
The sound of rotors cut through the air.
Jackson looked up. The Sterling helicopter hovered above them. A winch was already lowering.
Serenity was hanging out of the door, despite the safety warnings. Her face was soaked with tears.
"Jackson! Kids!"
Within minutes, they were hauled up into the chopper.
It was a tangle of limbs, hugs, and tears. Margaret and Liam were there, holding a sleeping Aurora wrapped in blankets.
The family was reunited. All seven of them (counting the old guard Sebastian).
Serenity grabbed Jackson's face, checking him for wounds. "You crazy fool. You jumped out of a helicopter!"
"I learned from the best," Jackson looked at his father, Liam.
Liam smiled—a real, human smile. "Not bad for a CEO."
As the helicopter turned towards home, leaving the burning ocean behind, Jackson looked at his watch.
School pickup time was officially over.
"Let's go home," Jackson whispered, pulling his entire world into his arms. "And Alex... you are grounded for hacking the NSA satellite to find us."
"Worth it," Alex mumbled, falling asleep on his father's shoulder.
Latest chapter
Pregnant With The Ex-Husband's Twins Chapter 120: The Last Straw
The Architect's Temporary Base. Unknown Location."Denied?" Zero stared at the screen. "What do you mean 'Access Denied'?""The bank accounts are frozen, Sir," his subordinate stammered. "Sterling bought the banks. He bought the holding companies. He even bought the electric grid supplying this building."PZZZT.The lights in Zero's office flickered and died. The emergency red lights turned on."He cut our power," Zero whispered, trembling with rage.In one hour, Jackson Sterling had dismantled an empire that took fifty years to build. No supply chain. No weapons. No money to pay the mercenaries."He thinks he can starve us out?" Zero smashed his desk lamp. "He thinks we are businessmen? We are gods!"He turned to his lieutenant."Assemble the Legion. Every remaining soldier. Every working Drone.""Sir? What is the target?""His heart," Zero pointed to a map of Long Island, New York. "The Sterling Manor. We go there tonight. We burn it to the ground. If we can't rule the world, we wil
Pregnant With The Ex-Husband's Twins Chapter 120: The Last Straw
The Architect's Temporary Base. Unknown Location."Denied?" Zero stared at the screen. "What do you mean 'Access Denied'?""The bank accounts are frozen, Sir," his subordinate stammered. "Sterling bought the banks. He bought the holding companies. He even bought the electric grid supplying this building."PZZZT.The lights in Zero's office flickered and died. The emergency red lights turned on."He cut our power," Zero whispered, trembling with rage.In one hour, Jackson Sterling had dismantled an empire that took fifty years to build. No supply chain. No weapons. No money to pay the mercenaries."He thinks he can starve us out?" Zero smashed his desk lamp. "He thinks we are businessmen? We are gods!"He turned to his lieutenant."Assemble the Legion. Every remaining soldier. Every working Drone.""Sir? What is the target?""His heart," Zero pointed to a map of Long Island, New York. "The Sterling Manor. We go there tonight. We burn it to the ground. If we can't rule the world, we wil
Pregnant With The Ex-Husband's Twins Chapter 118: Off the Rails
Sparks showered from the ceiling. The sound of tearing metal was deafening.The dining car groaned and tilted violently to the right. Tables, chairs, and expensive wine bottles slid down the slope, crashing into the wall.Jackson slammed one hand into a window frame, his other arm locked around Serenity’s waist. He stopped them from sliding into the pile of broken glass below."Don't let go!" Jackson shouted over the noise.Serenity looked down. Through the shattered window beneath them, she saw nothing but swirling snow and darkness. They were dangling over a canyon."The coupling is breaking!" Serenity yelled, pointing to the metal hook connecting their car to the rest of the train. It was stretching, groaning under the weight.CLANG.The door at the top of the tilted car (the one Zero left through) was kicked open.Two figures rappelled down into the car on zip lines.They wore sleek, matte-black armor. No faces. Just glowing red visors. They moved with robotic precision, magnetize
Pregnant With The Ex-Husband's Twins Chapter 117: Dinner with the Devil
The Midnight Express tore through the darkness of the Swiss Alps at 300 kilometers per hour.In the exclusive private dining car, crystal glasses jingled softly with the vibration of the tracks. Outside the window, nothing existed but snow and night.Jackson adjusted his cufflinks. Under his tuxedo, he was wearing a ceramic knife taped to his ribs—the only weapon the metal detectors didn't pick up.Serenity sat opposite him, looking breathtaking in a black velvet gown. She held a clutch that contained a small vial of Margaret’s anti-serum."Nervous?" Jackson asked, pouring her water."I’m having dinner with the man who tried to kidnap our children," Serenity’s eyes were cold. "I’m not nervous. I’m restraining myself from stabbing him with a fork.""Patience," Jackson whispered.The door at the end of the car slid open.A man walked in.He looked nothing like a villain. He was handsome, in his forties, wearing a grey suit that cost more than the train itself. He had silver hair and a s
Pregnant With The Ex-Husband's Twins Chapter 116: Dream Architects
"Close your eyes," Liam commanded softly.The nursery was dimly lit. Aurora and Alex lay on the large rug, pillows under their heads. Liam sat between them in a lotus position. Jackson and Serenity watched from the couch, feeling useless but alert."Grandpa, this is unscientific," Alex muttered, keeping one eye open. "Telepathy isn't real.""Quantum entanglement is," Liam placed a finger on Alex's forehead and another on Aurora's. "Connect."A pulse of violet light rippled through the room.The Dreamscape.Alex gasped. He wasn't on the rug anymore.He was standing on an endless plane of pure white water. The sky was white. The horizon was white. It was a blank canvas."Whoa," Alex looked at his hands. They were glowing. "High definition rendering. Zero latency.""Where are the toys?" Aurora appeared next to him. In the dream, she wasn't wearing pajamas. She was wearing a sparkling fairy queen dress.Liam appeared in front of them. He looked younger here, powerful and majestic."This i
Pregnant With The Ex-Husband's Twins Chapter 115: The Dreamwalker
That night, the Palace was quiet. But the air was heavy.In the royal nursery, five-year-old Aurora was tossing and turning in her bed. She was sweating.“No… go away…” she whimpered in her sleep.Around her room, objects began to react to her distress. Her teddy bears floated into the air. The heavy curtains rustled as if caught in a storm, though the windows were closed. The water in her glass began to boil.In the Dream:Aurora was standing in a field of grey ash. The sky was purple.In the distance, a massive Black Tower stretched up into the clouds. It looked like a needle piercing the sky.Standing at the top of the tower was a man. He didn't have a face. Just a smooth, white mask with a single vertical line drawn on it."Come here, little star," the man’s voice echoed inside her head. "Your light belongs to me."Shadowy hands reached out from the ground, grabbing Aurora’s ankles."Daddy!" she screamed in the dream.In the Real World:CRACK!The mirror on Aurora's wall shattered
You may also like
Billionaire's Ex-wife is Mommy of Twins
Lami274663.5K viewsOops! I Married A CEO By Mistake
Lisa Salman1.7M viewsMy Dad's Bestfriend
Liz Barnet767.8K viewsCan't Win Me Back
Ginger Sue2.9M viewsThe Inheritance Clause
Liora Ravensong300 viewsMY CRUEL PROTECTOR
G.V.STELLARIS564 viewsTHE EX-WIFE HE COULDN'T RESIST
Nate Niel733 viewsChained To The Billionaire’s Bed
Lilith Rain81 views
