LOGINShare
101: The Calculated Game
Last Updated:
2025-05-13 07:00:59The day had been going well.
At least, Maria Avancii had thought so. She ruled her world with a perfect blend of precision, power, and control. Every room she entered, every decision she made, echoed the authority she’d earned, the empire she’d built. At A√ancii, she moved through the design floor like a storm in heels. The sharp flick of her eyes over fabric swatches, mood boards, and finished pieces left no room for imperfection. Each time her manicured fingers pointed at a sample, it was either approved or discarded without hesitation. She demanded excellence from everyone—and she got it. Then there was SpitFire Technologies. Maria strode through the sleek glass halls, cutting through inefficiency with a razor-sharp edge. A disrespectful employee? Fired on the spot. An inefficient meeting? Ended in minutes. Everywhere she went, people scrambled to keep up, trying to meet her expectations before she shatter
Latest chapter
THE PRICE FOR HIS NAME 174: The Thornecrest Trials II
Monday arrived like a curse.No one was ready.The weekend had moved too fast, dissolving into tense whispers, failed study sessions, and broken sleep. Thornecrest Academy—glorious and gleaming under the midday sun buzzed like a hive ready to swarm.Banners rippled overhead, colored in house crests. The fields were packed, the air humming with chants, drums, laughter, and the low thrum of tension between allies-turned-rivals. Students crowded the stands in house-colored scarves, faces painted, throats raw from yelling. The leaderboard towered over the stadium like a guillotine, each new update drawing screams or groans.The second half of the Trials had begun.And no one was playing nice.Rivalries that had simmered during the first week were now frothing. Valiant had accused Dominion of sabotaging their climbing gear. Titan had gotten into a brawl with Prestige. Royal was in shambles—half their team hadn’t shown up to practice, and their leader was supposedly crying in the cons
THE PRICE FOR HIS NAME 173 - 5A.M Crimes
Fiero woke up to the sound of something thudding against his door. A dull, rhythmic thud that didn’t stop after the first one. Or the second. Thud. Thud. He cracked an eye open, one hand blindly reaching for his phone like he could slap the world into snooze mode. 4:58 A.M. He blinked. Then groaned. Another hit. Then— “Fiero, open this damn door!” Joy. Of course it was Joy. He sighed through his nose and dropped his phone onto his chest with a muted thunk. Yeah. He knew exactly what this was about. She was coming for him. Because of last night. The moment replayed like a cursed VHS: Moses, half-naked, Mika, even worse, together, and the kind of eye contact that made you want to bleach your soul. He had closed the door so slowly, like if he moved gently enough, time would reverse and give him a do-over. Joy hadn't come last night. He’d expected her to. Joy didn’t sit on things, she detonated. Which meant… He rolled onto his side with a groan and stared at the door. Mi
THE PRICE FOR HIS NAME 172 - The Trade
Midterms were finally over. The Academy felt like a corpse in the snow—drained, hollow, barely twitching. Students staggered across the frost-glazed lawns with caffeine in their veins and bloodshot eyes. Printers were still jamming out paper like distress calls. Someone had curled up and cried beside the vending machine. Someone else had definitely screamed into a stack of history books. Everyone looked like they’d either punched a wall, kissed a rival, or trauma-bonded with their TA. House Six? Too chaotic to break. Too feral to fold. But the air around them was volatile. Joy had nearly punched Hannah in the throat. Nearly. If Miriam hadn’t snatched her wrist and dragged her out of the West Wing Library with the reflexes of a track star, there would’ve been blood on the marble floor and probably a write-up. “You let her play you once,” Miriam had snapped under her breath, surprisingly strong for someone whose primary weapon was sarcasm and Wi-Fi. “Don’t give her another chan
THE PRICE FOR HIS NAME 171 - Heartbeat & Crown
By the time House Six had explored the last of the fifty underground bunkers, Thornecrest Academy had already started changing.The cold had settled in for real, thickening the air around the buildings like frostbitten silk. Leaves clung to the last branches in bruised reds and rusted golds, and the duck pond by the greenhouse had half-frozen over, still and sharp like a cracked mirror.That was where they found the body.Victor Save. House Valiant. Top of his ethics class, forgettable in a crowd.Officially? Drowned.Unofficially?The Academy bloomed with whispers.Some said he’d fallen. Others, that he’d been held under. The more dramatic voices insisted the pond was cursed, that every few years, it took someone who looked too closely at their own reflection.House Six didn’t entertain rumors. They watched. They listened.And they didn’t buy a word of it.Fiero stood at the common room window, shoulders rigid, one hand pressed flat against the frosted glass. His breath fogged fain
THE PRICE FOR HIS NAME 170 - Nobody Is Innocent
The air in the House Six common room was doing something weird.It wasn’t just tense. It was... off. Like the room had paused to eavesdrop.Xavier still looked comfortable—annoyingly so. He lounged back in the armchair like it was his throne, legs crossed, one hand draped lazily over the armrest. His smirk hadn't moved since Joy had spoken.But his eyes had.Just a flick. A narrowing. The tiniest reaction to a line none of them ever thought they'd hear:“You’re Mikael’s son.”Joy’s words still hung in the air like cigarette smoke.No one moved. Not even Xavier. Not at first.Then he leaned forward slowly, resting his elbows on his knees. “That’s an interesting theory, Joy.”His tone was smooth, voice low, like he was trying not to yawn. That smug little tilt to his head? That was bait.Joy didn’t take it. She squared her shoulders. “It’s not a theory.”That landed. Not because of her voice—it was flat, steady—but because of what it implied. That she’d already made up her mind. That sh
THE PRICE FOR HIS NAME 169 - The Son, the Sword, the Split
The scent of leather, aged wood, and the lingering smoke of Xavier’s cigars thickened the air as Fiero stepped into the House Six common room. Everything about the space—dim lighting, the low hum of conversation, the way shadows pooled at the edges felt more like a private lounge tucked inside a dangerous city than a student dorm.His muscles ached from training. Bruises bloomed along his ribs, dull purples and sharp reds under his black shirt, still damp with sweat from the boxing ring. The pain felt good. It kept him tethered. Focused.The scene before him was exactly what he expected.Moses and Samuel hovered over the pool table, swearing under their breath as chalk dust bloomed into the light. The rhythmic clack of cue balls tapping echoed like a ticking clock, consistent, grounding.At the chess table, Miriam and Mika sat in near-silence, their gazes locked in a silent war. Miriam’s glasses were slightl
You may also like
Married by Mistake: Mr. Whitman's Sinner Wife
Sixteenth Child12.9M viewsI Kissed A CEO And He Liked It!
LiLhyz1.5M viewsPunished by His Love
Suzie4.3M viewsOops! I Married A CEO By Mistake
Lisa Salman1.7M viewsTaming The Charming Director
Rucaramia665 viewsSecret Marriage Among Royals
witheredname151 viewsUndercover Hearts
Quinn Montclair28 viewsEntrapment
Aleatha Romig270 views
