All Chapters of Chasing The billionaire's Shadow: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

--- Chapter Eleven: The tunnel was darker than I’d expected—narrow, musty, the walls damp with years of neglect. My bare feet echoed against the stone as I followed Liam deeper into the unknown. My heart thundered in my chest, every breath short and ragged. “Keep moving,” he muttered, his voice a low growl in the near silence. “Where are we going?” I asked, struggling to keep up with his long strides. “And why do you even have a tunnel under my house?” “It’s not your house anymore,” he replied without turning. “And this tunnel connects to the Sinclair estate. Old escape route. My father had it built decades ago.” Of course he did. Nothing about Liam Sinclair was ever straightforward. Every corner of his life seemed to have a secret passageway. “Why now, Liam? Why show me this now?” He stopped so abruptly I nearly ran into him. “Because they know where you live, Isla. They’ve been watching you. This was never about if they’d strike—it was about when.” I swallowed the knot of

--- 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

--- 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

--- 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

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.