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Chapter 11: A game of blood
Last Updated:
2025-02-26 04:21:34
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Shattered chain Chapter 12: Walking on the Razor’s edge
The walls of Eden felt tighter that night, suffocating, like they were closing in on me. I had lied to Damien and gotten away with it—for now. But I knew that didn’t mean I was safe. It only meant I was walking on a razor’s edge, and one wrong move would send me tumbling into the abyss. Michael was still out cold. If anything went wrong before he woke up, everything we had worked for would fall apart. I needed to keep Damien convinced. I needed to keep my head above water. And I needed to do it alone. Damien called for me again the next night. I walked into his office, my pulse pounding in my ears. He was behind his desk as usual, swirling a fresh glass of whiskey, his expression unreadable. “You surprised me, Winnie,” he said. I kept my face blank. “How?” He leaned back in his chair, watching me with those cold, calculating eyes. “I thought you would hesitate. I thought you’d try to find a way out of it.” I shrugged. “You gave me an order. I followed it.” Damien
Last Updated : 2025-02-26Shattered chain Chapter 13: A dangerous truth
Michael’s words hit me like a punch to the gut. I stared at the folded piece of paper in his hands, my mind racing. "The only person who can help us bring Damien down." My mission had just changed. I wasn’t just being tested anymore—I was standing at a crossroads, and whichever path I chose would determine if I lived or died. Michael slowly pushed himself up, groaning as he shook off the lingering effects of the compound. His face was still pale, and I could see the exhaustion dragging at his features. But his eyes were sharp. Focused. Determined. I swallowed hard. “Who is he?” Michael hesitated. Then he said, “His name is Daniel Carter. He used to work for Damien.” That made my stomach drop. “Used to?” I repeated. Michael nodded. “He was Damien’s accountant—handled all the money, all the offshore accounts, all the dirty transactions. But then something changed.” I frowned. “What?” Michael leaned back against the bar, his fingers running through his hai
Last Updated : 2025-02-26Shattered chain Chapter 14: A Game of shadow
Carter and I didn’t have much time. Damien was expecting proof of his death, and if I didn’t deliver it soon, he’d start asking questions. Questions I couldn’t afford to answer. We needed a body. Or at least something convincing enough to make Damien believe Carter was dead. We worked quickly. The warehouse was filled with abandoned crates, broken equipment, and discarded tarps. Michael had taught me a few things about deception, and I was about to put them to the test. Carter found an old mannequin in the storage room—dusty, missing an arm, but still usable. “We need blood,” I muttered, pulling out my knife. Carter frowned. “What are you—” Before he could stop me, I sliced a shallow cut across my arm, just enough to make it bleed. “Jesus,” Carter swore. I ignored him, letting the blood drip onto the mannequin’s chest. It wasn’t perfect, but under the right lighting, it would look real enough. Next, we set up the scene. We dragged the mannequin to a dark corn
Last Updated : 2025-02-26Shattered chain Chapter 15: Cracks in the facades
The moment I stepped out of Damien’s office, the weight of my deception settled over me like a second skin. I had fooled him—for now. But I knew Damien well enough to understand that trust in his world was fleeting. If he even suspected I had lied, I was dead. I had to be careful. The club was suffocating tonight—too many people, too much noise. I made my way to the bar, trying to calm my racing thoughts. Michael was there, wiping down a glass, his usual mask of indifference in place. But when his eyes met mine, I saw the question he wasn’t asking. Did it work? I gave him a small nod. He exhaled, his grip on the glass tightening for just a second before he set it down. “Good.” I sat on the stool beside him, keeping my voice low. “Carter’s safe. But I don’t know for how long.” Michael nodded, but his jaw was tight. “Damien won’t let this go. He doesn’t leave loose ends.” I knew that. And that was what terrified me. “Did he say anything else?” Michael asked. I
Last Updated : 2025-02-26Shattered chain Chapter 16: The hunt begins
Carter was gone. I couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe. Someone had him. And I had no idea if he was still alive. Michael paced the small storage room, running a hand through his hair. “We have to be smart about this.” “Smart?” I snapped. “We don’t have time for smart. We don’t even know if he’s still breathing!” Michael’s jaw tightened. “And charging in blind will only get us both killed.” I hated that he was right. I clenched my fists, trying to steady my breathing. “Okay. Where do we start?” Michael grabbed his laptop from the shelf, typing furiously. “The number that texted you—it was encrypted, but I might be able to trace its origin.” I watched the screen anxiously as lines of code flashed across it. Minutes passed, each one heavier than the last. Then Michael froze. “Got something.” I stepped closer. “Where?” “Not a full address, but a location pinged near the docks.” He turned to me. “It’s an abandoned shipping yard.” A cold dread settled in my chest
Last Updated : 2025-02-26Shattered chain Chapter 17: The final betrayal
Carter was barely conscious, his breathing shallow as he lay on the couch. His face was bruised, his wrists raw from the ropes that had bound him. But he was alive. That was all that mattered. Michael finished stitching up the wound in my shoulder, his jaw tight. “You could’ve died.” I exhaled sharply. “So could Carter.” Michael shook his head. “Damien’s going to know something’s up. We just declared war.” I already knew that. And I didn’t care. Carter groaned, his eyes fluttering open. “Did we win?” Michael snorted. “Barely.” Carter tried to sit up, wincing. “We need to finish this.” I met his gaze. “Do you still have the files?” Carter nodded weakly. “Hidden. If we can get them to the right people…” He trailed off, exhausted. Michael folded his arms. “And how do we do that before Damien finds us?” Silence. I clenched my fists. We had one last chance to bring Damien down. And it had to be now. The plan was simple. Carter had proof—documents, recordin
Last Updated : 2025-02-26Shattered chain Chapter 18: conquering
The city was quiet. Too quiet. I stood in the dimly lit motel room, gripping the black case in my hands. Inside, the proof that could destroy Damien lay untouched. It felt heavier than it should have—like it carried the weight of every scar, every wound, every life he had shattered. Michael sat on the edge of the bed, checking his gun. Carter leaned against the wall, still weak but determined. We had made it this far. We couldn’t stop now. “This is it,” Michael said, sliding in the last bullet. “We expose him tonight, or we die trying.” I swallowed hard. “We’re not dying.” Michael smirked. “That’s the spirit.” Carter exhaled. “Are you sure this will work?” I looked at the flash drive in my palm—the key to ending Damien once and for all. “It has to.” --- We had a plan. The evidence was going to be leaked. Not just to the police. Not just to the press. To *everyone.* Live. Public. Unstoppable. We hacked into a news station’s broadcast. It wasn’t
Last Updated : 2025-02-26Shattered chain Chapter 19: Ashes and Aftermath
The world didn’t change overnight. The sun still rose. The traffic still honked its daily symphony through congested streets. People still went to work, grumbling about bosses and bills. They still laughed. Still cried. Still lived. But for us, everything had changed. The headlines screamed Damien’s name for days—then weeks. “Underworld Kingpin Exposed in Explosive Leak.” “Corruption Scandal Shakes City to Its Core.” “Justice Served—But At What Cost?” His face was everywhere, though none of the photos captured the monster he truly was. Just a well-dressed man in expensive suits, half-smiles that now made my skin crawl. They turned him into a symbol—of fear, of failure, of everything wrong with the system. Carter was still recovering. Three surgeries. Dozens of stitches. Metal in his bones and a lifetime’s worth of pain etched into the lines of his face. He didn’t complain. Not once. But I saw it—in the tightness of his jaw, in the way his hand trembled when he thought I wasn’t lo
Last Updated : 2025-04-24
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Shattered chain Chapter 26: Under the Surface
The next few days blurred into a haze of strategizing and sleepless nights. Michael’s leads on Vasquez had hit dead ends more often than not, but we couldn’t afford to sit still. Elena Varas wasn’t just a ghost in the system anymore. She was a force, moving through the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike. And we had to be ready. Carter had been quieter lately. Not in the way he used to be—shutting down or holding back—but in the way someone does when they’ve accepted that the storm is coming, and there’s nothing left to do but face it head-on. We spent hours going over every possible scenario—how we’d take down Vasquez, how we’d neutralize Elena. But it always came back to the same thing: we needed leverage. And we didn’t have it yet. It was late afternoon when Michael called with an update. He’d found something—a name, a location, a possible way into Vasquez’s network. “I’ve been digging through some older files,” Michael said, his voice low. “Vasquez has a private c
Shattered chain Chapter 25: Beneath the Surface
The sun hadn’t fully risen when we left Michael’s safehouse, the streets still ghostly quiet. The city felt smaller, quieter, like the looming threat had pressed down on everything—making the familiar seem distant, and the dangerous, close. Carter drove, his hands tight on the wheel, his jaw set in that way that told me he was thinking—thinking too much. His focus was all sharp lines, all shadows. I could see it in the way his eyes darted to every mirror, every car that passed. “You’re not sleeping again,” I said softly, my hand resting on his thigh. His fingers twitched. But he didn’t pull away. “I’m fine.” “You’re not,” I said, squeezing his leg. “You’re carrying too much. Let me help you.” He glanced at me briefly, his lips curling into that small smile I loved. “You already do.” I turned away, watching the city blur past, the cold breeze from the cracked window ruffling my hair. “Michael’s right,” I said. “This Elena—she’s not just some freelancer. She’s someone’s eyes. Some
Shattered chain Chapter 24: Closer Than We Think
The next morning, the apartment was quiet—but neither of us really slept. Carter paced, barefoot, tension crackling off him like static. I watched from the kitchen counter, nursing a lukewarm cup of tea I didn’t remember making. “She didn’t follow us,” I said softly. “At least, not that we saw.” “That’s the problem.” He rubbed a hand down his face. “She didn’t have to.” There was a new kind of fear in his voice—one I hadn’t heard before. Not the panicked kind that came from bullets or being hunted. This one was colder. Smarter. Because it meant someone was playing a longer game. “She smiled at me,” I murmured. “Like she knew something.” “She probably did.” I stood and crossed to him, pressing my hands to his chest. “Then we figure it out. Together. Okay?” His hands came up, holding my waist. “Together,” he echoed. I leaned into him. “We don’t run anymore.” He kissed me—slow and deep. “No. We fight.” Michael called an hour later. “I know who she is,” he said without preambl
Shattered chain Chapter 23: A Taste of Normal
The coffee shop was small—barely more than a few tables and a bar near the window. But it smelled like heaven. Roasted beans, cinnamon, vanilla… like safety wrapped in warmth. Carter held the door open for me, the little brass bell jingling above us as we stepped inside. It was the first time we’d been out—really out—since everything fell apart. No back alleys, no stolen cars, no motel rooms with peeling paint and bloodstained towels. Just… a café. A quiet street. A moment of peace. I breathed it in, every second of it. “I feel like we’re playing dress-up,” I said, glancing down at my oversized sweater and jeans. Carter smirked. “You look like yourself.” That shouldn’t have made my heart flutter the way it did. But it did. He looked like himself too—his hoodie clean, his boots not scuffed from running or fighting. No bruises. No bandages. Just him. Alive. Here. With me. We ordered two coffees and sat by the window. Outside, the sky was soft gray, the kind that held off rain but
Shattered chain Chapter 22: Pieces of Quiet
Morning came slow. Golden light filtered through the curtains, soft and warm, the kind of light that made you forget—if only for a moment—that the world could be cruel. I stirred beneath the covers, my body tangled with Carter’s. He was still asleep, one arm draped over my waist, his breath steady against the back of my neck. Safe. For the first time in what felt like forever, I felt safe. I didn’t move for a while. Just listened to the rain taper off outside, the gentle rhythm of the city waking up around us. In another world, this could have been normal. Coffee. Breakfast. Kisses goodbye before work. But our normal was never soft like this. It had edges. Scars. Blood beneath the surface. Still… for now, this was enough. Eventually, Carter stirred, his voice raspy with sleep. “Are you watching me sleep again?” I smiled. “Maybe.” He shifted onto his back, stretching. The blanket slid down his chest, revealing the faint, silvered scar near his shoulder. The one he got saving me
Shattered chain Chapter 21: Closer Than Before
Carter’s knuckles were white as he gripped the edge of the table, eyes locked on the photographs. He’d gone through them three times already, as if each pass would reveal some secret he’d missed. “It’s not over.” The words burned in the space between us like a fuse waiting to ignite. “This handwriting,” he muttered. “It’s too clean. Someone wanted you to read it clearly. No smudges, no rush. This was intentional.” I sat across from him on the couch, arms wrapped around my knees. “You think it’s a message?” He looked up at me, his gaze softening. “It’s a statement. A warning, maybe. Or bait.” “For what?” He didn’t answer. Just leaned back in the chair, running a hand through his dark curls. The bruises and scars along his arms had faded, but the shadows in his eyes hadn’t. “Do you think it’s someone from Damien’s network?” I asked quietly. “Could be.” He glanced at the last photo again. “But this doesn’t feel like them. Damien’s people weren’t subtle. They didn’t need to be.”
Shattered chain Chapter 20: The Quiet Before
It was raining again. Not the kind of storm that howled or cracked the sky open—just a steady drizzle, soft and constant. The kind that made the air smell like wet earth and whispered to the world to slow down, just for a while. I stood at the edge of the open field behind my new apartment, the wild grass tickling my legs, a worn sweater wrapped around my shoulders. For the first time in years, I wasn’t running. I wasn’t hiding. I was just… breathing. Life after Damien was strange in a way I hadn’t expected. I thought freedom would be loud—celebratory, victorious. But instead, it was quiet. It crept in softly, like sunlight through closed blinds. I didn’t realize I was free until I woke up one morning and didn’t feel fear curled in my stomach like a fist. Carter was healing. Slowly. He’d just started walking again—short distances, with a cane—but every step felt like a triumph. I’d been by his side through most of it, watching him fight his way back from the edge of death. And s
Shattered chain Chapter 19: Ashes and Aftermath
The world didn’t change overnight. The sun still rose. The traffic still honked its daily symphony through congested streets. People still went to work, grumbling about bosses and bills. They still laughed. Still cried. Still lived. But for us, everything had changed. The headlines screamed Damien’s name for days—then weeks. “Underworld Kingpin Exposed in Explosive Leak.” “Corruption Scandal Shakes City to Its Core.” “Justice Served—But At What Cost?” His face was everywhere, though none of the photos captured the monster he truly was. Just a well-dressed man in expensive suits, half-smiles that now made my skin crawl. They turned him into a symbol—of fear, of failure, of everything wrong with the system. Carter was still recovering. Three surgeries. Dozens of stitches. Metal in his bones and a lifetime’s worth of pain etched into the lines of his face. He didn’t complain. Not once. But I saw it—in the tightness of his jaw, in the way his hand trembled when he thought I wasn’t lo
Shattered chain Chapter 18: conquering
The city was quiet. Too quiet. I stood in the dimly lit motel room, gripping the black case in my hands. Inside, the proof that could destroy Damien lay untouched. It felt heavier than it should have—like it carried the weight of every scar, every wound, every life he had shattered. Michael sat on the edge of the bed, checking his gun. Carter leaned against the wall, still weak but determined. We had made it this far. We couldn’t stop now. “This is it,” Michael said, sliding in the last bullet. “We expose him tonight, or we die trying.” I swallowed hard. “We’re not dying.” Michael smirked. “That’s the spirit.” Carter exhaled. “Are you sure this will work?” I looked at the flash drive in my palm—the key to ending Damien once and for all. “It has to.” --- We had a plan. The evidence was going to be leaked. Not just to the police. Not just to the press. To *everyone.* Live. Public. Unstoppable. We hacked into a news station’s broadcast. It wasn’t
