2025-03-07 21:30:24
Previous Chapter
Related Chapters
SHADOWS OF THE OAT CHAPTER 108
The Cost of BetrayalThe air was thick with the scent of burnt circuits and blood. My breath came in sharp, controlled inhales as Riley and I pressed ourselves against the server room’s exit. The locks had slammed into place, trapping us inside. Maddox’s voice still echoed in my ears, smug, taunting.We had two options. Fight our way out. Or die here.I wasn’t planning on the latter.Riley’s grip on her gun was tight, knuckles white. Despite the blood at her temple and the exhaustion in her stance, she was ready. Always ready.“I count six,” she whispered.I nodded. “Seven. One by the east wall, staying in the shadows.”Her lips quirked. “Damn show-off.”A flicker of warmth cut through the tension, but we didn’t have time for it.We moved in tandem. Riley dropped low, firing first, her shots precise, taking out the closest threat. I went high, launching forward, my elbow slamming into the throat of the nearest operative.Chaos erupted.Gunfire, shouting, bodies hitting the floor.I di
SHADOWS OF THE OAT CHAPTER 109
The Ultimate DecisionThe steel door hissed open, revealing the core chamber.A massive server system hummed at the center, cables snaking across the floor like veins feeding the lifeblood of The Oath. This was it—the failsafe. The heart of their entire operation. Everything we had fought for, bled for, led us here.And then—A shrill beep cut through the air.A screen to my left flickered, flashing in bold red:Failsafe Protocol Engaged5:00A countdown.Julian had set the system to wipe itself if we breached it.Five minutes.That was all I had.My pulse hammered. The room seemed smaller, the walls pressing in.Destroy it. Take control. Two choices. One decision.Riley darted forward, scanning the monitors. “Damn it, Nathan, it’s rigged. If this thing completes its wipe, every bit of intel they’ve ever stored—gone.”I already knew that.I clenched my jaw, forcing my mind to sharpen. The failsafe wasn’t just about information. It was power. If I could override the system, I could con
SHADOWS OF THE OAT CHAPTER 110
A Fatal MistakeMy fingers hovered over the keyboard, sweat pooling at the base of my spine. The countdown bled away on the monitor—seconds slipping through my hands.0:29Riley’s voice cut through the haze. “Nathan—now or never.”I could feel her eyes on me, her breath quick and shallow. Every part of me screamed to destroy the system—wipe it clean and bury The Oath forever.But I couldn’t do it.Not when I was this close.Not when I could win.I typed the final command.Override.A flicker of light pulsed across the console.0:18ACCESS GRANTED.The system opened to me—lines of code pouring down the screen. Bank accounts. Hidden projects. Agent dossiers.Every secret Julian had built his empire on.Mine.I’d outplayed him.I exhaled slowly, a flicker of triumph sparking in my chest.Then—Julian’s voice poured through the speakers, smooth and venomous.“Congratulations, Nathan. You just triggered the real endgame.”My blood went cold.The screens flickered—lines of code breaking apa
SHADOWS OF THE OAT CHAPTER 111
The Race Against TimeThe world was coming apart around us.The walls trembled under the force of distant explosions, and the floor beneath my feet vibrated like the heartbeat of a dying beast. Alarms blared in a chaotic symphony, punctuated by the sharp bursts of gunfire. The air reeked of smoke, metal, and burning circuits.We sprinted through the ruined corridors, our boots pounding against the trembling steel. Riley kept pace beside me, her breaths ragged but steady.“This whole place is going up,” she shouted over the noise. “How much time do we have?”I didn’t answer. I didn’t have to. The countdown on the screens we’d left behind had been clear—three minutes until the facility collapsed in on itself.Three minutes to get the hell out.Julian’s voice crackled through the facility’s speakers, smooth, calculated, and laced with amusement.“You think you won?” His words slithered through the chaos, crawling under my skin. “This was never about control, Nathan. It was about survival
SHADOWS OF THE OAT CHAPTER 112
Julian’s Final PlayThe exit was in sight.Smoke curled around the ruined corridor, thick and suffocating. The building groaned under its own destruction, walls buckling, steel beams twisting like dying limbs. Every step felt like a war against time—one we were barely winning.Forty-five seconds.Riley ran ahead, her silhouette a blur against the flickering firelight. I forced my legs to move faster. My lungs burned, my muscles screamed, but the promise of survival was just within reach.Then—A shadow moved.A flicker of motion at the edge of my vision, too fast to be debris, too precise to be coincidence.And then he was there.Julian.Standing in front of the exit, blocking the only way out.His suit was torn, blood smeared across his temple, but his eyes gleamed with the satisfaction of a man who had been waiting for this moment.“Nathan,” he drawled, tilting his head. “You didn’t really think it would be that easy, did you?”Riley skidded to a stop beside me, her gun already rais
SHADOWS OF THE OAT CHAPTER 113
The Rescue GambleThe explosion ripped through the facility, a wall of fire swallowing the corridor behind us. Heat licked at my back as Riley and I sprinted forward, dodging falling debris. The structure groaned, steel beams twisting like dying limbs.We had seconds.Riley grabbed my arm, pulling me forward. “Move, Nathan!”My ears were still ringing from the blast, but I forced my legs to keep going. The world blurred in smoke and chaos, the only clear thing ahead—the exit.Then—a shadow moved in the flames.I skidded to a stop, yanking Riley back.From the inferno, Julian emerged.Burned, battered, but still standing.A twisted smile curled his lips, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. “You always did have a habit of surviving, Nathan,” he said, voice hoarse but steady. “But you still don’t understand, do you?”I raised my gun. “Try me.”Julian took a step forward, unfazed by the weapon pointed at his chest. Behind him, the walls groaned—seconds from collapse.“You think t
SHADOWS OF THE OAT CHAPTER 114
Aftermath & FalloutThe flames still burned in the distance, flickering against the night sky like the final heartbeat of a dying monster. I stood at the edge of the destruction, watching the ruins of The Oath’s headquarters smolder into nothingness.It should have felt like a victory.But the weight in my chest said otherwise.The scent of burning metal and concrete clung to the air, thick and acrid. Smoke coiled into the sky, choking the stars. My hands were raw, my knuckles split from the fight with Julian, my muscles tight from the relentless sprint for survival. I should have felt relief. Instead, all I felt was the quiet, gnawing certainty that this wasn’t over.Riley stood beside me, arms crossed, scanning the horizon with the same unshakable focus. Her face was smeared with soot, a cut trailing down the side of her temple. She had barely made it out of the blast zone in time."It’s done," she said, but her voice carried hesitation."Is it?" I muttered, my eyes fixed on the wre
SHADOWS OF THE OAT CHAPTER 115
Unraveling the TruthThe safe house was suffocatingly quiet, the only sound coming from Riley’s frantic typing. Each keystroke echoed through the dimly lit room like a ticking clock, measuring the time slipping through our fingers. The adrenaline that had carried us through the last seventy-two hours had long since burned out, leaving behind exhaustion, paranoia, and an undercurrent of something heavier. Something neither of us had spoken aloud yet.We had won. Hadn’t we?I sat on the edge of the worn-out couch, elbows resting on my knees, my gun sitting within reach on the table. I could still feel the heat of the burning headquarters, the scent of smoke and death clinging to my clothes. We had destroyed The Oath’s base of operations, left nothing but rubble and bodies behind.And yet—we both knew it wasn’t over.Not even close.Riley’s shoulders were hunched over her laptop, her fingers moving like a blur over the keyboard as she worked to decrypt the stolen files. The ones we had r
Latest Chapter
CHAPTER 220
The Last ThoughtI stare at my reflection, my breath uneven, my eyes hollow. The glass is cracked—thin fractures running like veins across the surface, distorting my face. Fitting.The overhead light flickers, casting brief shadows across the room. It’s cold. Not the kind of cold that bites at your skin, but the kind that settles in your bones, that tells you something is coming. The kind that makes you wonder if it’s always been there, waiting.I press my palms against the sink, fingers curling against the porcelain. The weight in my chest isn’t fear. It isn’t regret. It’s something worse. A question with no answer.Behind me, the door creaks open. A slow, deliberate sound. My hand moves instinctively to my gun, but I already know who it is."That the last time you’re gonna check yourself out, Nathan?" a voice teases, rough with amusement.I smirk, though it feels foreign on my face. "Figured I should see what’s left of me before I walk out that door."Jackson leans against the doorf
CHAPTER 219
The End of the LineThe city is quiet. Too quiet.Not the kind of quiet that comes with peace, but the kind that signals something is about to break. It settles over the skyline, heavy, waiting. The streets are empty, but the ghosts of what I’ve built, of what I’ve destroyed, linger in the alleyways and shadowed corners.I stand at the edge of it all, watching from the rooftop of an old high-rise, the cold wind whipping against my face. Below me, the pieces are moving, each player stepping into position, some thinking they’re the ones holding the strings. They aren’t.They never were.Jackson shifts beside me, his hands buried deep in his pockets. He’s restless. Always is before things go south.“You sure about this?” he asks.I don’t answer right away. Because there’s no easy answer. No right one, either.He sighs, shaking his head. “You always do this. Get in too deep and think you can control every variable. But this—” he gestures to the streets below, to the quiet before the storm
CHAPTER 218
The Final MoveThe city is waiting.It doesn't know it yet, but the tides are shifting. Power doesn’t disappear; it transforms and morphs into something new, something unrecognizable until it’s already taken hold. I’ve seen it happen too many times to count. This time, I’m the one pulling the strings.This time, it ends on my terms.I stand in the shadows of an empty warehouse, the scent of oil and dust thick in the air. The city hums outside, its lights flickering through the gaps in the rusted metal walls. Jackson stands beside me, his body tense, arms crossed. He’s waiting for me to explain, to tell him what comes next.I let the silence stretch before I finally speak.“We’re not burning it down.”Jackson’s head snaps toward me, eyes narrowing. “What?”I meet his stare, my voice steady. “We’re not wiping the board clean. We’re flipping it.”For the first time in a long time, Jackson looks unsure. He shifts his weight, jaw tightening as he processes my words. “You said yourself—this
CHAPTER 217
The Final CrossroadsThe city hums beneath me, restless and alive. From this rooftop, I see everything—the neon glow stretching into the horizon, the winding streets below, the fractured heartbeat of a place that never stops moving. A world of light and shadow, built on secrets, power, and debts that can never truly be repaid.The air is thick with the scent of rain and asphalt, the faintest trace of gasoline lingering in the wind. It’s the smell of something on the verge of combustion, of a city always teetering on the edge of chaos. I tighten my grip on the cigarette between my fingers, watching the ember glow in the dark, a tiny heartbeat against the cold night. I don’t smoke. Not really. I just like the way it feels—holding something that’s burning, something that’s alive for just a little while before it fades into nothing.I should walk away.I should let it all burn.But I don’t.Because no matter how much I tell myself that I don’t care anymore, that none of it matters, the tr
CHAPTER 216
The Last Time He Sees RileyThe air is colder than I expected. Maybe that’s fitting. Maybe that’s how it’s supposed to be.She’s already there when I arrive, standing near the edge of the pier, arms folded tight against the wind. The city sprawls behind her, all light and noise, but out here, it’s just the quiet lapping of the water and the space between us.Riley doesn’t turn when I approach.“I wasn’t sure you’d come,” she says, her voice carrying over the water, calm but unreadable.I stop a few feet away. Close enough to feel the weight of her presence. Far enough to know I shouldn’t get any closer.“Neither was I,” I admit.She exhales a slow, steady breath. “You look the same.”“So do you.”A lie.There’s something different in her now. Something more guarded, more distant. Like she’s finally built the walls she should’ve had when we were younger.Like she’s learned.She turns, finally meeting my gaze, and for a moment, it’s just us. No past, no future. Just this one sliver of t
CHAPTER 215
The Fall of KingsThe thing about power is that it never learns.It moves through different hands, dresses itself in new suits, and speaks in fresh voices. But underneath, it’s always the same: greed, arrogance, and the inevitable mistake of thinking you can control what was never meant to be tamed.Ronan believed he could do it differently.I watch from the shadows as he proves himself wrong.---The city is quieter these days. Not because the storm has passed, but because it’s waiting to break.I see it in the way people move, the way deals are whispered instead of spoken. Ronan’s reign is still fresh, but already, the cracks are showing.And he doesn’t even realize it.Or maybe he does. Maybe he’s just too proud to admit it.I’m standing outside a high-rise downtown, watching from across the street. Up there, behind floor-to-ceiling windows, Ronan is playing king. A meeting’s in progress—his men, his allies, his problems.He thinks he has time. He thinks he’s in control.He doesn’t
CHAPTER 214
The Last WarningThe city breathes differently when men like Ronan step into power.It’s a slow shift, subtle. The same streets, the same lights flickering over cracked pavement, the same late-night murmurs of business and betrayal. But there’s a tension now, a new weight pressing down like the first signs of a storm.I know it because I’ve felt it before. I did it before.Which is why I know exactly how this ends.---I picked the place. Neutral ground. A quiet, high-end bar tucked away in the heart of the city, the kind where power plays out in whispered deals and expensive whiskey. A place where men like Ronan feel at home.I sit in a booth at the far end, back to the wall, watching the entrance. He’s late. Not long enough to be disrespectful, just enough to establish control. Classic move.When he finally steps inside, he moves like he owns the place.Not in the way Cormac did, with brute force and intimidation. No, Ronan is more refined. His presence doesn’t demand attention—it i
CHAPTER 213
The New ProtégéThe city doesn’t rest, and neither do the people hungry for its power.Cormac is gone. Locked away, his empire dismantled, his influence reduced to nothing but whispers in the dark. And yet, before the dust has even settled, another one steps forward. It always happens this way.A cycle. A curse.I watch from the rooftop as the meeting below unfolds. A dozen figures sit around a long table in a high-rise suite, their silhouettes blurred by tinted windows. But it’s the one at the head of the table that has my full attention.Young. Too young.Sharp suit, sharper eyes. He moves like he owns the room—because he does. The way they lean in when he speaks, the way they nod, hesitant but obedient. He’s already in control.He reminds me of someone.Me.I exhale slowly, pressing my earpiece. "Evelyn, you getting this?"Her voice crackles through. "Loud and clear. Looks like we found our new kingpin."I don’t respond right away, just watch as he steeples his fingers, listening i
CHAPTER 212
The War That Never EndsThe Oath had fallen, but the world didn’t change. Not really.Power is a living thing—it doesn’t disappear; it mutates. It slithers, molds itself into new hands, new faces, new kings and queens who claim they’ll do better. I watch from the shadows as history repeats itself, over and over, like a bad song stuck on a loop.I blend into the dimly lit alleyway, my coat pulled tight against the cold bite of the city. Rain drips from the rusted gutters, forming puddles at my feet, but I barely notice. Across the street, men shake hands under the glow of a flickering street lamp, sealing deals in the same way their predecessors did—with quiet, well-dressed ruthlessness. Different players, same game.I should walk away.I promised myself I would.But ghosts don’t rest easy, and the ones I carry are especially loud.A gust of wind blows through the alley, ruffling my hair as I step back into the shadows. My ribs still ache from my last fight, and my knuckles are a canva
