All Chapters of HIS STOLEN PRIDE: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

45 Chapters

WHAT REMAINS OF FIRE

The fire had burned for hours. By dawn, nothing remained of the Romano estate but smoke and ash, drifting softly in the morning wind like gray snow. The earth still glowed faintly in places, warm beneath their boots.Elena stood at the edge of what had once been the grand courtyard, arms wrapped around herself. Her coat was torn, her hair tangled, but her gaze was steady — hollow with exhaustion, bright with something like peace.Lucia crouched nearby, turning over a piece of charred stone. “He knew what he was doing,” she said quietly. “Matteo didn’t plan to survive that blast.”Elena’s voice was barely a whisper. “He always knew where the story would end.”Behind them, Alessandro sifted through the rubble, silent. Every movement was careful, deliberate, as if he was afraid to disturb the ghosts still lingering here.Elena watched him for a moment before speaking. “Do you think he knew what it would cost?”Alessandro paused. “He always did. But he also believed some things are worth

Last Updated : 2025-10-21

THE WHISPERS IN THE ASHES

It had been three months since the fire.Spring had returned to Tuscany, soft and golden, painting the hills in color again. The world had moved on — at least on the surface. Newspapers ran stories about corruption and reform, about the fall of the council and the mysterious whistleblower who had changed everything. They didn’t know names. They didn’t need to.In a small town near Siena, Elena lived quietly in a stone cottage tucked between vineyards and olive trees. The air smelled of jasmine and rain. The walls were warm with sunlight, the days unhurried. She spent mornings tending the small garden, afternoons writing in her old leather journal, and evenings watching the sunset with Alessandro.Peace was strange — fragile, almost suspicious. Sometimes she caught herself waiting for it to vanish, for the world to crash in again. But it didn’t. Not yet.On this morning, she stood barefoot on the porch, a cup of coffee in her hand. The valley below shimmered, dotted with silver-green o

Last Updated : 2025-10-21

THE LION'S WAKE

Rome was louder than memory.The streets pulsed with life — horns blaring, vendors calling, scooters weaving through narrow lanes like restless fish. But beneath the noise, the city carried something older, deeper: a hum of memory, of centuries that refused to die.Elena stared out the car window as they drove through the heart of it, her fingers absently touching the lion pendant at her throat. Every corner of this place had a ghost attached to it. The smell of roasted chestnuts, the echo of bells, the curve of a worn marble step — everything whispered of what used to be.Lucia broke the silence from the driver’s seat. “Where exactly are we meeting him?”Elena unfolded the creased paper she’d written the coordinates on. “Palatine Hill. Near the ruins of the old chapel. That’s where Matteo used to bring us as kids — he called it the lion’s first den.”Alessandro sat beside her, quiet, his jaw tense. “If it’s really him, he’ll know that’s the only place you’d trust.”“And if it’s not?”

Last Updated : 2025-10-21

THE BLUEPRINT OF SHADOWS

The ruins still smoked hours after the blast. The once-sacred chapel was now a scar — stone cracked, air thick with the bitter tang of ash and metal.Elena crouched among the rubble, her hands trembling as she lifted Matteo’s gun from the dirt. The steel was scorched, heavy, warm against her palm — like it had held a heartbeat only moments ago.Alessandro stood nearby, his face streaked with soot, eyes scanning the shattered roofline. “They took him,” he said quietly, his voice stripped of all emotion. “Right under us.”Lucia coughed, wiping blood from her lip. “Drones don’t move like that without ground support. Someone fed them our coordinates.”Elena looked up sharply. “You think we were followed?”Lucia met her gaze. “Or betrayed.”The words hit harder than the blast.Alessandro turned away, running a hand through his hair. “We need to move. If they found us here, they can find us anywhere.”Elena nodded, gripping the gun tighter. “Then we disappear.”They didn’t go back to the ho

Last Updated : 2025-10-21

THE GHOSTS OF INSTABUL

The plane touched down just before dawn.The city outside the window was a sea of light — domes gleaming, minarets piercing the pale blue sky, the Bosphorus glinting like a ribbon of glass.Elena pressed her forehead against the window for a moment, watching the sunrise spill over the ancient skyline. It was beautiful, but it didn’t feel like peace. Nothing did anymore.Lucia stretched in her seat. “Remind me again why we couldn’t have just taken a vacation here under fake names and cocktails?”Alessandro gave a small, humorless smile. “Because we don’t get vacations.”Lucia snorted. “Right. Forgot that part.”They left the airport quietly, avoiding cameras and crowds. Enzo’s forged passports got them through customs without a blink. Within an hour, they were driving through narrow streets lined with old stone houses and cafés just beginning to open.Istanbul was alive in a way no other city was — old and new layered together, chaos and beauty in constant conversation. But beneath it

Last Updated : 2025-10-21

IN TO THE LION'S DEN

The sea was black at night.Waves slapped quietly against the pier as the city slept behind them, its lights shimmering over the Bosphorus like ghosts. A cold wind carried the smell of salt, diesel, and rain.Elena crouched behind a rusted container, her eyes locked on the old naval warehouse ahead — the one Lucia had traced Matteo’s signal to.The building was massive, dark, but alive with hidden movement. Men in tactical gear patrolled the perimeter, their flashlights cutting through the mist.Lucia’s voice murmured through the earpiece, calm but sharp. “Two guards by the north entrance, another circling back every forty seconds. Cameras on the upper corners — older models, infrared, probably motion-triggered. Easy enough to loop.”Elena exhaled slowly. “You sound too calm.”Lucia smirked through the line. “I panic on the inside, trust me.”Beside Elena, Alessandro adjusted the strap on his holster. The faint glow from his wrist device reflected in his eyes. “We don’t shoot unless w

Last Updated : 2025-10-21

THE BLOODLINE CODE

Rain fell in sheets across the Bosphorus, drumming against the safehouse windows like restless fingers. The night outside was drowned in silver — water, fog, and neon reflections bleeding together over the city.Elena stood at the window, her reflection a ghost in the glass. The drive Matteo had given her lay on the table behind her — a small black object, unremarkable, but heavy with everything they didn’t know.Lucia sat cross-legged on the couch, laptop balanced on her knees, eyes narrowed at the code flickering across her screen. “This isn’t standard encryption,” she muttered. “It’s layered. Multiple locks. Some of this looks like DNA mapping protocols.”Alessandro poured three cups of coffee, set one beside her. “Can you break it?”Lucia took a sip, grimaced. “Eventually. But if this thing’s booby-trapped — and I’m betting Matteo knew it would be — one wrong move could fry the whole thing.”Elena turned from the window. “Then we don’t guess. We follow his trail.”Alessandro studi

Last Updated : 2025-10-21

THE VATICAN HEIST

The night over Rome was cold, moonless, and whispering secrets.A light drizzle misted the cobblestones as the cargo plane descended into a private airstrip on the outskirts of the city. The lights from St. Peter’s Basilica glowed faintly in the distance — ancient, eternal, and watching.Elena stepped off first, the air heavy with memory. “Feels like we’re walking into judgment,” she murmured.Lucia zipped her jacket, glancing up at the looming skyline. “That’s the thing about holy places — they look peaceful until you notice the guards.”Alessandro finished checking their equipment — silenced pistols, EMP grenades, encrypted comms. “We move fast, no noise. Once we breach the Archives, Lucia handles the network. Elena and I cover.”Lucia smirked. “And if a few cardinals show up mid-raid?”Alessandro replied without missing a beat. “We ask for forgiveness.”Elena looked between them, managing a faint smile. “Let’s make sure there’s still something left to forgive.”The plan was madness

Last Updated : 2025-10-21

ASHES OF PRIDE

The world was nothing but light and sound — an eruption of fire, data, and silence.Then darkness.Elena came to with the taste of smoke in her mouth. Her body ached, lungs burning with every breath. The stone ceiling above her was cracked, the room flickering with dying lights.Somewhere close, alarms still wailed — distant, muffled, like ghosts crying in a cathedral.“Elena!”She turned her head slowly. Alessandro was dragging debris away from her, his face streaked with soot and blood.“You’re alive,” he breathed, relief breaking through exhaustion.She coughed, struggling to sit up. “Matteo—where—”Alessandro shook his head. “I don’t know. The explosion came from the core. Everything went white.”Lucia’s voice crackled through the damaged comms. “I’m—alive. Barely. System’s down. The Lion’s core— it’s fried. Matteo must’ve—”She stopped, the silence that followed too heavy.Elena’s heart sank. “No…”She pushed herself to her feet, ignoring the pain shooting through her ribs. The c

Last Updated : 2025-10-21

THE LION'S MEMORY

The plane cut through the dawn like a blade of silver, the sky ahead painted in soft hues of rose and amber.Elena sat by the window, staring out at the clouds as the hum of the engines filled the silence. Every mile they crossed felt like another heartbeat closer to the impossible — Matteo.Lucia glanced up from her tablet, yawning. “Signal’s holding steady. If this is a trap, it’s a patient one.”Alessandro, strapped across from them, studied a map projected on his wrist console. “Coordinates trace to the edge of the Black Sea. Old Soviet territory. Looks abandoned — perfect place to hide a ghost.”Elena’s eyes flicked toward him. “He’s alive. I can feel it.”Lucia gave a small sigh. “You want to feel it.”Elena turned sharply. “You think I don’t know the difference?”Lucia’s voice softened. “I think grief makes us see ghosts in the smoke.”Alessandro cut in gently. “Then we go find out which one this is.”They landed hours later in a place that looked forgotten by time. The coastli

Last Updated : 2025-10-21

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