Semua Bab THE HEIRESS: Bab 71 - Bab 80

Hartman Tower - Level 29 Service WingThe red lockdown lights bled across the corridor like a pulse.Metal groaned overhead as Charlotte forced the tower into her control.We ran.Luca took point…silent, ruthlessly focused.Adrian stayed close, his steps measured, eyes sharp.Elias and Damian followed behind with the tablet pressed between them.The maintenance corridor was narrow, cold, lined with insulated pipes.Every few seconds the speakers crackled, Charlotte’s coded signals bleeding through the interference.Damian glanced at the tablet. “Charlotte’s routing security drones toward this floor. She wants to trap us.”Adrian muttered, “She wants Evelyn.”Luca shot him a cold look. “Over my dead body.”Adrian’s jaw flexed. “That’s exactly the problem.”A spark jumped between them…anger, fear, something territorial neither of them wanted to acknowledge.I pushed forward. “Both of you…enough. Focus.”The moment hung sharp.Then…The lights flickered.A door slammed shut behind us.El

Hartman Tower - Margaret’s Hidden ShaftThe floor jerked beneath us the second I pulled the lever.A metal plate split open.Air rushed up in a violent current, pulling at hair, clothes, breath.Luca grabbed my waist.Adrian seized my arm.But the old emergency platform beneath our feet gave way with a grinding snap.“Hold her…!” Grant shouted…But gravity tore us down.The shaft swallowed us in a roar of wind and darkness.Luca’s arm locked around me as we fell, his body twisting to shield mine. Adrian reached for both of us, fingers brushing Luca’s sleeve—missing by inches.A flash of red lights strobed past.Damian’s voice echoed above, faint:“Use the emergency latch…!”Too late.The backup platform slid from the side rails and slammed upward to meet us.Impact.A jolt of pain.The platform stopped our fall with a brutal shudder, but it held.Luca exhaled hard, muscles still coiled around me.“You okay?”I nodded. “Yeah. Yeah.”He loosened his grip, but only barely.Adrian landed

White-out.Silence.Ringing.The flashbang swallowed sound, light, thought.Shapes blurred. Shadows moved like ghosts.I couldn’t tell who was standing, who had fallen, who was firing.A hand grabbed my arm…strong, steady, pulling me back from the blinding fog.Luca.His voice came through as a muffled growl:“Stay with me…eyes on me, Evelyn…don’t look at the light!”He pulled me behind a steel console, covering me with his body as another burst of gunfire ricocheted through the vault.A second figure slid into position beside us…Adrian.Face tight.Eyes furious.Weapon already raised.He didn’t look at me, but the controlled rage in him was unmistakable.“Grant?” he barked hoarsely.A cough from somewhere in the haze. “Still breathing!”“Elias?” Luca shouted.A strained reply: “Plate hit my vest! I’m fine!”Damian’s panicked voice cut through next:“I’ve got the case! I’ve got it…don’t shoot—don’t shoot…”The fog began to clear.Charlotte’s operatives emerged first.Dark armour.Prec

The London rain pelted against the windows of the Shard as Elena closed another monumental deal. Across from her, Sir Richard Blackstone, Britain's leading tech magnate, extended his hand."Welcome to the European Security Alliance, Ms. Cross. Your quantum encryption protocols will revolutionize our continental infrastructure."Elena shook his hand firmly, noting how he no longer tried to crush her fingers as he had during their first meeting six months ago. Respect, she'd learned, came in many forms."NovaTech is honoured to partner with established leaders like Blackstone Industries. Together, we'll create an impenetrable digital fortress for European data."As their legal teams finalized paperwork, Sir Richard studied her with calculating eyes. "You know, Cross, when you first approached us, I thought you were too young, too... American. But you've proven me wrong at every turn.""I find that underestimating opponents based on superficial qualities often leads to strategic failures

Hartman Tower - Executive Floor, West WingThe emergency corridor doors blew inward.White smoke rushed in as alarms wailed overhead.Grant grabbed my arm, pulling me behind a marble pillar while Elias blocked the breach with a security override.Luca positioned himself in front of me immediately, shielding me with his body.Adrian moved the opposite way…straight toward the danger.“Adrian!” I hissed.He ignored me. “Grant, with me. We flank left.”Grant nodded, following.Luca glared after him. “He’s going to get himself killed.”Elias tapped furiously on a keypad. “We’ve got ninety seconds before Charlotte reroutes the entire floor.”Damien, pale and barely keeping upright, thrust the damaged drive into my hand.“Open Margaret’s second log. Now. Before she reaches it.”My heart hammered.The notebook, the one addressed to Rose…felt heavy, like it recognized this moment.Luca stood over me as I knelt against the wall, flipping to the marked tab.Margaret’s handwriting filled the page