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Chapter 122. Ultimate Comeback
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2025-03-29 08:08:21
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Tangled Truthsย ย ย Chapter 123. Damien's Defiance
Lucas' POVThe tension in the room is suffocating as we search every inch of Damien's office, determined to find the escape route he must have used. My eyes dart from the large wooden desk to the bookshelves lining the walls, scanning for any sign of a hidden passage. Drawers are flung open, chairs overturned, papers scattered across the floor as everyone works in frantic synchronization.Then, one of the officers calls out, his voice sharp and urgent."Over here!"We immediately scramble toward him, our boots thudding against the floor in unison. He stands beside the elevator, his hand pressed against the panel. His face is grim, his expression tight with focus."What is it?" I demand, my pulse hammering in anticipation.Instead of answering, he presses a seemingly insignificant button on the control panel. A faint click echoes in the silence, followed by a mechanical whirring sound. Slowly, a hidden access point reveals itselfโan opening at the top of the elevator, leading upward."
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2025-03-29Tangled Truthsย ย ย Chapter 124. Ally Or Foe
Lucas' POVThis ends today.I am not letting Damian escape again.I push myself to the absolute limit, my muscles burning as I chase after him with everything I have. But goddamn, he's fastโfaster than I ever expected. His movements are fluid, almost unnatural, like he's spent his entire life training for a moment like this. He weaves through the crowded space with ease, slipping through obstacles like a shadow bending and twisting with the light.For years, I thought I knew who Damian was. A criminal, a manipulator, a strategist. But thisโthis sheer physicality, this level of agilityโI never knew he had it in him.An officer to my right takes off after him, trying to cut off his path. Another, standing a few feet away, sees the chase and tosses a weapon toward me. Instinct takes over. I catch it in midair, adjusting my grip without breaking stride. The cool weight of the gun in my hand grounds me, sharpens my focus.I push harder.The moment I burst out of the building, my feet skid
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2025-03-29Tangled Truthsย ย ย Chapter 125: Victoria's Evil Scheme
LUCAS' POVI try to keep my focus on the plan we're putting together, but my attention keeps drifting toward Richard. I still don't trust him, no matter how convincingly he claims to be on our side. His words are sharp and precise, his demeanor calculated. He says he wants Damien to pay, that he wants justice, but something about him seems off. His presence feels too convenient, his willingness too eager. I can't shake the feeling that there's more to him than he's letting on.Across the table, Serena and Flora stand by, closely observing everything as we strategize. I catch the exhausted look on Serena's faceโshe's tired of all of this. The weight of everything we've been through is pressing down on her. She just wants it to be over. I meet her gaze with a reassuring look, silently promising that we're close to the end. That this nightmare is almost over."We've tracked his last known location to the marina district," one officer says, sliding a map across the table. "But he's been c
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2025-04-02Tangled Truthsย ย ย Chapter 126: The Disconnection
FLORA'S POVThis news is a nightmare. It's going to make everything worse for me, and I absolutely despise it. The rage boiling within me is almost unbearable. If I could get my hands on Victoria right now, I swear I would tear her apart piece by piece. How could she? How could she stoop this low just to sabotage us?The weight of the scandal presses down on my chest, suffocating me. I know this will be impossible to ignore. It has derailed our plan and diverted our focus from what truly mattersโbringing down Damien. Instead of staying on track, we are now forced to fight off this web of lies, and I hate it with every fiber of my being.I glance at Lucas. He looks composed, but I know better. I see the tension in his shoulders, the slight twitch in his jaw, the flicker of unease in his usually confident eyes. He's nervous, though he's trying to mask it. I can tell his mind is racing, strategizing, scrambling to find a way out of this mess. He's always been the one to take charge, to f
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2025-04-02Tangled Truthsย ย ย Chapter 127: The Mask Slips
FLORAโS POVThe building is abandonedโits once grand structure now a crumbling skeleton cloaked in decay. Peeling brick clings desperately to the frame, windows shattered like jagged glass eyes, and ivy coils around the rusted metal like itโs trying to pull the entire place underground. It looks like the kind of setting that belongs in a horror movieโa place where nightmares nestle in the walls.Fitting, really.Considering the monster waiting inside.Damienโs message had been brief. No sentiment. No warmth. No explanation. Just a location and a time, written with clinical detachment. And stillโI came.Not because I trusted him. Far from it. But because some truths are worth walking into darkness for. Because the pain he left behind carved questions I canโt let go of. Because he owes me something heโs never had the courage to give.The truth.The air inside is thick with mildew and heavy silence. Each breath feels like swallowing rot. I step through the side entrance, careful, alert.
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2025-04-27Tangled Truthsย ย ย Chapter 128: The Puppet Master Revealed
FLORAโS POVThe silence in the car is thicker than the fog Damien left behind. I sit beside Richard, my hands clutched tightly in my lap, eyes glued to the blur of passing streetlights, but my mind is still trapped in that smoky corridor. My thoughts spiral back to the way Damien looked at Richardโto that half-second flicker between them that said everything and nothing all at once. A silent exchange. A coded understanding.I havenโt said a word since we left. Neither has Richard.Not until now.โHe was going to throw Victoria to the wolves,โ Richard says quietly, voice steady, eyes fixed on the road as if speaking the words out loud might shatter the fragile atmosphere between us.I blink, startled. โWhat?โโDamien,โ he continues, his tone even, almost detachedโlike he's reporting a crime scene, not a betrayal. โHe never intended for Victoria to stay by his side. She was a pawn. Always has been. Just like he tried to make you one.โI stare at him, my breath catching. โYouโre saying h
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2025-04-27Tangled Truthsย ย ย Chapter 129: The Offer
The night wind bites at Floraโs cheeks as she strides across the cracked pavement, the folder still clutched tightly under her arm like a ticking time bomb she can't defuse. Her heels strike the ground with sharp precision, each click echoing into the cold, hollow stretch of the empty parking lot. She doesnโt look back, doesnโt slow down.Not until she hears his footsteps behind her."Flora, wait," Richard calls, his voice low but urgent.She spins around, eyes lit with fury, her breath curling in the air. "What now?"He stops a few feet away, arms raised slightly, as if she might strike. "I didnโt come to fight."โThen donโt follow me,โ she snaps, her tone cutting. โYou already did enough damage.โ"Iโm here to offer you a way out."Those words freeze her in place.Richard steps closer, slower this time, like heโs approaching a wounded animal whose bite heโs starting to understand. "You want to be free of Damien? Of all of this? I can make that happen."Flora narrows her eyes, her voi
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2025-04-27Tangled Truthsย ย ย Chapter 130: Shadows and Schemes
Flora disappearsโnot from the world, but from the people who know her best.The woman who once stood in front of flashing cameras with a polished, confident smile now moves like a whisper through dim corridors and encrypted networks. Her presence has become smoke, her name a rumor. She no longer answers Lucasโs texts, and when she does callโrare as it isโher voice is clipped, her words measured, her tone devoid of warmth.Each silence is a carefully constructed shield.She tells herself itโs for his protection. That if Lucas stays emotionally detached, the vultures wonโt circle him too. That if she looks alone, Damien wonโt sense the storm building in the shadows, just beneath his nose.But deep down, she knows the truth.The silence is easier than pretending she still knows who to trust.Now, she sits in isolation, in a sterile, windowless room lit by the dim glow of monitors. Flickering screens display real-time movement of Damienโs associates, each face tagged and logged. The hum o
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2025-04-27
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Tangled Truthsย ย ย A Brief Note From the Author
Authorโs NoteAnd that brings us to the end of Part 1 of Tangled Truths: The Billionaireโs Secret Betrayal.But donโt relax just yetโthe story isnโt over.The tension is only getting thicker, and the real game is about to begin.Part 2: Tangled Truths: The Billionaireโs Revenge is coming soon!Get ready for more twists, deeper betrayals, and emotions that will cut even sharper. Flora and Lucasโs journey is far from finished, and the battles ahead will test everything they thought they knewโabout each other, and about themselves.If youโve enjoyed the story so far, please take a moment to leave a quick review or comment.It truly helps support my writing and allows me to continue creating more intense, emotional journeys for you to enjoy.Also, if you can, I would love for you to leave a short comment letting me know what you think about my writingโor even about me as an author! Your feedback means more than you know and inspires me to keep going.Thank you from the bottom of my heart
Tangled Truthsย ย ย Chapter 138: The Final Twist
The package arrives on a rainy Tuesday.No return address. No note. Just a small, meticulously wrapped box resting quietly on the mahogany desk inside Lucas Ardenโs corner officeโa sanctuary of power that overlooks the city he painstakingly rebuilt from the ruins of scandal and deception.Rain slides down the glass in thin, silver streaks. Thunder hums in the background. He stares at the package for a long moment, his expression unreadable, before reaching for the silver letter opener he hasnโt touched in weeks. He slices through the paper with slow precision, a subtle tightness in his jaw.Inside, nestled like a secret in a bed of crisp black tissue, is a book.A hardcover. Matte black jacket. White serif font.The Tangled TruthA NovelHe freezes.The title registers like a whisper in his bones. Familiar. Haunting.His gaze falls to the authorโs name printed below the title in small, elegant script: F. H.His heartbeat falters.He sits down slowly, almost mechanically, and opens the
Tangled Truthsย ย ย Chapter 137: A Billionaireโs Legacy in Ashes
The fall is always louder than the rise.Damien Vanceโs empireโonce a towering monolith of luxury, influence, and powerโcrumbles in a blaze of disgrace. Headlines scream betrayal. His private jets are impounded. Offshore accounts frozen. International warrants flood in. The once-revered tycoon who dined with diplomats and kings now finds himself dragged through a gauntlet of indictments. The media flocks like vultures, circling his legacy as it burns."The Billionaire Who Built His Castle on Lies" blares across global news networks, each word another nail in the coffin of a reputation meticulously manufactured.Victoria Hale sits at the eye of the storm.No longer wrapped in designer gowns or commanding red carpets, she appears in court cuffed and sallow-faced. The courtroom buzzes like a hive, a theater of judgment packed with cameras and whispers. At the prosecutionโs table, Serena sits tall in her tailored navy suit, eyes sharp and voice colder than the marble walls around her.She
Tangled Truthsย ย ย Chapter 136: The Goodbye
The hospital room is quiet nowโeerily so.Gone are the rhythmic beeps of machines warning of danger. Gone is the sterile rush of nurses and the chaotic hum of life and death decisions. What remains is a stillness that feels like itโs holding its breath. A moment stretched thin by memory.Lucas sits upright in the hospital bed, a bandage wrapping his ribs, the white cotton stark against his bruised, olive-toned skin. His breath catches every time he shifts, a sharp pull in his side reminding him that pain means survival. That heโs alive.Alive because she saved him.Yet sheโs not here.Itโs been three days since Damien was dragged into federal custody, cuffed and broken beneath the weight of his own lies. Three days since Richard was paraded before a sea of flashing cameras and stunned reporters. The truth spilled out like bloodโraw, unstoppable. Floraโs plan had worked. Her chessboard cleared. But Lucas?He still listens for her voice in every quiet moment.There are no calls. No mess
Tangled Truthsย ย ย Chapter 135: Her Final Move
The sound of sirens fades into the distance, no longer urgent, but lingering like the echo of a dying heartbeat. Red and blue lights strobe across the cracked marble floor of the Ashton estate, casting eerie shadows through broken windows. Officers drag Richard through the front entryway, his designer shirt torn, face bloodied, and wrists bound in steel.His eyes burn with betrayal. Hatred. But Flora stands firm.โMark my words!โ he shouts, twisting against his restraints. โYouโve made enemies you donโt even know exist!โHer expression doesnโt change. โLet them come,โ she murmurs, her voice quiet but lethal. Her eyes follow him as he vanishes down the steps, swallowed by the flashing lights.As soon as the door swings shut behind him, she drops to her knees beside Lucas.His blood is all over her now, soaking her hands, smearing across her black pants. His shirt clings to his skin, dyed dark with crimson. His chest rises, shallow but steady. Barely.โLucas, hey, stay with me,โ she whi
Tangled Truthsย ย ย Chapter 134: The Deadly Choice
The sirens scream louder now, flashing lights slicing through the gloom, painting the crumbling estate in hues of red and blue. It should feel like rescue. Like justice. But to Flora, it feels like a final warning.Because the true danger isnโt outside. Itโs here, inside these decaying walls. Inside the men she once trusted. The danger pulses through the air like a second heartbeat.Damien moves first. A blur of fury and precision, he launches at Richard without hesitation. His fist connects with Richardโs jaw in a brutal crack, sending the man stumbling into an old sideboard. Wood splinters and glass explodes, littering the floor with jagged debris. Flora screams as the violence erupts inches from her, the sound swallowed by the crashing chaos.Richard recovers with frightening speed. From beneath his coat, he draws a knifeโnot sleek or tactical, but ugly and vicious, made for tearing flesh, not ending fights cleanly.โYou shouldโve stayed out of this!โ he snarls.Damienโs laugh is a
Tangled Truthsย ย ย Chapter 133: Endgame
The estate is old and forgottenโa crumbling remnant of wealth swallowed by creeping vines and heavy silence. Once opulent, it now stands like a ghost of itself, hollowed out by time and secrets. The kind of place where legacies go to die. The kind of place perfect for a reckoning.Flora stands in the grand, dusty main hall, dressed in black from head to toe. Her figure is still, almost statuesque, beneath the cracked chandelier that sways gently with the wind slipping through fractured windows. The air is cold, but her heartbeat is calm. Deliberate. Her eyes scan the space, sharp and unwavering.This place, she chose with care. Far from the noise of the city. Removed from surveillance. Forgotten by maps. It has blind spots, hidden corners, and dead zonesโjust like Damien prefers. But this time, itโs not his game. This time, sheโs the one holding the pieces.Outside, gravel crunches beneath the weight of expensive tires.Heโs here.Damien enters as if he owns the world. As if no ghost,
Tangled Truthsย ย ย Chapter 132: The Fall of Victoria
The news breaks like a thunderclap across the media landscape, exploding across every major outlet and social feed with merciless precision. Headlines blare from every screen, screaming in bold fonts and sensational tones: โVictoria Hale: Mistress of Money Laundering?โ and โDamien Vanceโs Queenpin Exposed.โCafes, offices, lobbies, airportsโevery screen plays the same loops. Glitchy video clips, forensic screenshots, redacted emails bearing her unmistakable signature in looping, elegant scrawl. Secret wire transfers, altered invoices, encrypted files cracked wide open. Each detail surgically exposed. Each thread meticulously traced. The media feasts on it. The public, ravenous, consumes every scandalous bite.In the heart of the city, high above the noise, Victoria Hale watches it all unfold.She stands frozen in her penthouse suite, a glass of champagne trembling in her perfectly manicured hand. The television throws harsh light against her face, and for once, she doesn't glow in it.
Tangled Truthsย ย ย Chapter 131: Dangerous Liaisons
The knock comes lateโsoft, hesitant, but deliberate. It cuts through the silence like a thread pulled tight, taut with tension.Flora freezes at the terminal, her fingers suspended just above the keyboard. Code flickers across the screen, each blinking character casting fragments of light across her face. Her heart jumps, not from surprise, but from recognition. She knows who it is before the door even creaks open.Lucas steps inside.His presence fills the room like the return of a forgotten melodyโfamiliar, haunting, comforting, and utterly misplaced in this sterile war zone of a tech suite. The air shifts with him, bringing something warmer, something dangerous.Flora rises slowly, spine straightening, jaw clenched tight. โYou shouldnโt be here.โHis gaze roams the roomโbare walls, humming machines, a paper cup with long-cold coffeeโbut it always circles back to her. โI had to see you.โHe closes the door behind him with a gentle click, but the intensity in his expression is anythi
