The Stealer の小説・ストーリー

"Tell me we don't sacrifice our own to those—those monsters." I couldn't lie to her. Not about this. "It's complicated," I'd said instead, which was perhaps worse than a lie. "Complicated?" She'd nearly spat the word. "There's nothing complicated about stealing newborns from their mothers! About telling families their cubs died in birth when you're really feeding them to slavers!" "It's to protect the pack," I'd argued, the justification sounding hollow even to my own ears. "The arrangement has kept us safe for generations. One cub to save hundreds."

Then he looked at the case. A cruel smile spread across the mercenary’s face. "Two billion," Steiner said. "That is a lot of money." "It’s yours," Jack said. "For the case." "But here is the problem," Steiner leaned forward. "You are weak, Jack. I can smell the rot on you. You have one good arm. You have a nervous accountant and a pretty wife." He gestured to his men. The mercenaries stood up, blocking the exit. "Why should I trade?" Steiner asked softly. "I can take the money. I can keep the case and sell it to Valerius anyway. And I can take... other things." He looked at Catherine with a leering grin. "And you can do nothing."

"That would be nice if you would help me on that one." "Helping you by stealing Theodore?" Jessica digested the request carefully. "Yes, if you could do that I will help solve your problem properly. I will immediately send the replacement funds to your account." Jessica could count on how many times Alica made such a request. Alicia became very clear with her request. “... I'm sorry but tell the truth, Alicia. Are you the one who set me up?" Seeing what benefits that Alicia might get by trapping her, Jessica could only be sure that the scheme was one thing that Alicia had planned. She had been trapped by Alicia.

She moved like a shadow, her silver eyes scanning the darkness. She wasn't alone. From the shadows of a collapsed overhead railway, a figure emerged. It didn't walk; it glided on magnetic-levitation joints. It was a Sentinel Stalker, a specialized model designed for urban pacification. Its head was a smooth, faceless dome of polished chrome, and in place of arms, it had four multi-jointed surgical manipulators. "The Sovereign fragment is property of the Neo-Dividend," the Stalker’s voice synthesizers chirped, a sound like a bird caught in a meat grinder.

“Am I clear, Mr. Stevens?" "Mr. Stevens? Isn't he the Accounts Manager?" I whispered to Tina, who stood looking at the scene with an emotionless expression. "Yes. And apparently, he thought using his position to steal from the company's profit fund was no big deal at all. He started off small, but then he got greedy. He got caught by Mr. Synclair when he tried to transfer 3M to an offshore account in his wife's name." Tina replied just as quietly. Any sympathy I had for the pathetic whimpering man at Nate's feet disappeared immediately.

He paused, then looked at me. "If you want, I can alter its structure. Break the connection. I can even make it backfire on the person who cast it." So that was how it was… No wonder she became some so-called 'lucky streamer.' She was not lucky. She was burning through my luck, stealing my life. "How much?" I asked without hesitation. "I don't charge," he replied, calm and firm. "Stopping things like this is a good enough reason." I froze for a second, then immediately handed him the paper.

"I'll help." She paused for a bit and nodded. "Thanks, Gram." Graham carried the box into the movers' truck, going back and forth a total of three times. On the last trip, he stood at Gwyneth's bedroom door and saw how empty the room had become. The curtains were drawn back, and sunlight was streaming into the room, making it look even emptier. On the dressing table sat a single, solitary jewelry box.

* * * * * * * * * * Just like any other day, I get up from my bed. My name is Alex Stones, a billionaire. I own several businesses around the country and even outside the country, so money is not a problem for me. All I want right now, that one thing I want so badly right now, is only Seline. If I manage to get her, my life will be perfect. I will be the happiest and the luckiest man on this planet.

"I could not bear to lose everything to her." "To Rhea," he says, not a question but a statement. I nod, swallowing hard. "She stole everything from me, Miles. Everything that was rightfully mine. She always had Father's love when I did not. She had the attention, the pity, the admiration. And then she had you." My voice breaks. "You were supposed to be mine. It hurt so much. Watching her become Luna, taking the place that should have been mine. The place I earned when I saved you that night, when I pulled you from that river. She took it all, and I could not stand it anymore. I just wanted you back."

Brenda commands one of the servants, who looks sympathetically at me and rushes off. Stealing has prescribed punishments. As the Beta, Brenda does not need any formal hearing to implement those. Just two other council members who agree with her, then I’m doomed. “Not only a whore but a thief as well. You know the punishment for that, don’t you?” Her menacing voice tells me that my fate is hanging by the thread, but I refuse to believe it. Even when she opens the door and the nauseating smell of the dried blood of the fellow servants who were unfortunate to end up here hits me, I just can’t accept it. I frantically shake my head. This can’t be happening, I can’t lose my arm.