Shelved Novels & Stories

"MegaNoel doesn't delete high-value assets; they just 'Version-Control' them. They keep them here in case they want to 'Remake' the series in ten years." I ran down the central aisle, my eyes scanning the labels on the pods. * **[ASSET: VAMPIRE_COUNCIL_04] - STATUS: ARCHIVED** * **[ASSET: ZOMBIE_OUTBREAK_BETA] - STATUS: DEPRECATED** * **[ASSET: SILVER_MOON_PACK_FINAL] - STATUS: LIQUIDATION_PENDING** "There!" I screamed, slamming my palms against the glass of the Silver Moon pod.

It caught the dim light of the evening, looking less like tech and more like a fragment of a fallen star. "This is the seed, Julian. The 'Obsidian' kernel. I want you to hide it deep within the primary architecture of the 'Certified Fresh' logistics chain. Don't tell Marcus Vanderwall. He’s a good man, but he’s a creature of the spreadsheet. And especially don't tell Elena. She’s too brilliant; she’ll see the terrifying logic in it and try to 'perfect' it. Perfection is the enemy of the 'Ghost.' I need this to be a wild variable."

“In the secondary secure vault in your corporate office, as you instructed. Level three clearance.” “Move them.” I took another sip of whiskey. “Now. Take them to the old archival storage in the basement of the north annex. The one with the broken climate control. Log them in under a dummy project code. ‘Heron.’ Make sure it’s in the system.” A pause. “The annex? Sir, that’s… it’s not secure. It’s scheduled for demolition.”

The corners remained sharp. Importantly a thin layer of dust covered every folder around it—but not that one. Someone had removed it recently. Someone had put it back. Deliberately. Carefully. I reached toward it. Selena’s breathing caught imperceptible beside me. "What is it?" she whispered. I carefully slid the folder from the shelf. It had been tucked behind three family ledgers. Hidden enough that no casual search would ever notice it.

I push the books on either side apart. There, set into the dark wood of the shelving unit, is a small, grey panel. A safe. It’s old. Electronic, but an older model. A keypad with faded numbers. My heart starts to race. Thump. Thump. Thump. I shouldn't touch it. If Ciro walks in, he’ll break my fingers. If Aureliano walks in, he’ll do worse. But I can't look away. This shelf is tucked in the corner. Hidden. Forgotten.

“Nigel, stop being a little bitch. I thought alphas never give up.” “Miranda, don’t listen to him. He’s just PMSing,” Valko provoked Nigel. However, Shelly was in a corner sitting down, almost falling asleep. Duran and her had been going at it every day for the last week, so the poor little thing was tired. Her head leaned up against the bookshelf when it accidentally pressed on a button. The old library shook, startling the group of friends, then a hidden compartment shoved out of the wall. It contained a single book.

Pathetic. My penthouse is just like a tomb. Of course, expensive, the best of its kind, but cold. Too cold for my liking. Everything exactly the way I left it this morning, which is how I left it yesterday, and the day before. No life, none of importance. I hate it. But I'll prefer this to surrounding myself with fools. My briefcase slips from my hand, hits the marble island with a crack that echoes through the goddamn floor. I loosen my tie. Still uncomfortable, I rip the fucker off completely and throw it on the couch.

Chapter 7: The King’s Gambit The shell was a secret. Leigh kept it tucked in a small velvet pouch, hidden beneath the false bottom of her jewelry case—a case that held no jewels, only lockpicks, a garrote wire, and a vial of distilled nightshade. The irony was not lost on her. The shell, a fragile, beautiful thing, was the most dangerous item in there.

"Son, is there something I should know about? You seem nervous and the panic room indicator went off not too long ago for this room." How? How could I forget that I upgraded the system so that every panic room had a trigger on it? If opened, the room would send a silent notification to Papa and me. "Oh yeah, I was just showing her where to hide in case anything happens and her and baby have to hunker down." Dietrich Shields wasn't anybody's fool and he damn sure wasn't going to made one. "Did you fix your problems like I told you to?" "Yeah, we're working on it. Still a little turbulence but she'll come around. Told her about the maze...."

" She counted in her mind. Yoori closed her eyes, listening to the thumping of her own heart. She smiled, wondering what kind of trick Jas would come up with because he was fond of introducing new tricks every time they got intimate. With her mind busy counting, she walked to the small library adjacent to her office and grabbed the golden box hidden in between the books. With trembling hands, breaking breaths, and eyes full of desire, she unlocked, letting the keys drop on the floor with a clang. She carried it towards the glassy table beside her book shelves, which she used as a dining table whenever she had lunch or dinner in the office, and placed it carefully. "Come one, Jas, why are you