Reclaimed Crown: The Ascension of Aidan Pierce

Victor's Vengeance

At night, Victor Pierce made plans in the dark of his office. The air was thick with worry. They were always one step ahead of him, and he had a tight grip on his kingdom. but when his nephew came back, it messed up his carefully planned life. Aidan was destroying Victor's business, making deals with other people, making trouble for Victor, and making Victor look bad. But Victor wasn't going to give up the city or his power. Tonight, he was going to send Aidan a message that he couldn't miss.

Victor leaned in, and his face was rock hard. In a cold voice, he told Vargas, the head of security he trusted, "I want Aidan's assets crippled."Quickly and hard hit him.I want his friends to be scared and not sure what to do. Tell them that people who back him will be hurt.

Vargas did agree, and he smiled. "Think of it as done." "Why not do something straight-forward?"

Victor had bright eyes. "We need to show Aidan what it's like to have a target on his back."

It began that very night. A sudden, well-thought-out attack hit many of Aidan's assets in the city. I think he just bought these things as his power grew. First, Aidan had put money into a diner that was on fire. The building was already on fire when the firefighters got there. Everything was burned to ash when the fires reached the sky. As if it were just another accident-related tragedy, pictures of the wreck were all over the news the next morning. Reporters were eager to get the story. Aidan was smarter than that, though. That wasn't a mistake; it was a note.

Aidan was reading the news when his phone rang with important messages from his friends. Samuel Bishop, his business partner in real estate, called him and sounded scared and stressed.

Bishop tried not to laugh and said, "They hit my offices too, Aidan." "Crashed everything and left a message saying that this is nothing compared to what's going to happen if I don't back you up." Victor wants to kill everyone who is connected to you.

Aidan clenched his teeth, and he was almost angry. Aidan knew Victor had big plans, but he wasn't ready for how big his reaction would be. His uncle had always been mean, but this level of violence showed how desperate he was. Vic's fear was making things worse, he could tell.

Even though Samuel was talking, Aidan told him to "hold your ground." "Victor wants to hurt us." We will beat him if we stick together.

Even though the call ended, the consequences were still there. The attacks were getting worse, so Aidan knew it was only a matter of time before they became even more personal.

There was an attack after two nights.

Aidan had a small room where he hid out of sight. Only his closest friends knew about it. The place wasn't special—it was an old, lost part of the city—and it was only meant to be seen by his close family and friends. That was too far away for even the best plans to work, though. Aidan knew something wasn't right around midnight. He could barely make out a sound outside the window. It was the rumble of tires getting closer. He quickly got to his feet and told his friends to stay down.

Gunfire broke out as Aidan and his friends ran for cover. The shots broke the apartment windows and tore through the walls and furniture. They were paid killers who were mean, well-armed, and never stopped shooting. Aidan, one of the helpers, grabbed Claire and hid her behind a metal cabinet as the room fell apart around them.

The attack never ended. Bullets were being fired all the time, which broke glass, split tables, and made big parts of the wall fall down. The thought of getting away made Aidan's heart beat fast. It was a short tunnel that led to the fire escape, and he told Claire and the others to follow it.

"Let's go now!" Aidan yelled over the noise.

Aidan's mind was racing with ideas for what they could do as they crawled along the floor to stay out of the way of the bullets. The fire escape led them out of the building and into an alley. It was dangerous, but they had to do it.

As they went through the broken-down parts of the flat, more gunshots rang out, and the fire escape door was opened. It was hard to hear them as they ran down the metal steps because of the gunfire above. Aidan took them down a number of back streets and secret paths in the city until they were out of harm's way.

Aidan's group finally stopped in a workshop on the edge of town. They were hurt and out of breath. When the thrill wore off, the hard truth of what had happened came back. Victor made it clear that he wouldn't give up until Aidan was gone.

As Aidan checked on his friends, he saw a small wound on his arm where a bullet had just missed him. It wasn't very deep, but it was enough to remind him of how close he came to losing everything. He took a deep breath to calm down.

Claire said in a cool voice and with a pale face, "Victor's playing for keeps." "When we don't fight back, he'll come at us again, stronger."

Aidan said yes, and he was making plans for what to do right away. Victor behaved like he was in a panicked state, attempting to hold on to power that he could feel slipping away. But this attack scared Aidan a lot. He knew he couldn't keep fighting without thinking about how to keep himself and those around him safe.

Aidan said in a strong voice, "From now on, security will be tighter." "We constantly switch where we meet, talk to each other as little as possible, and check out everyone twice." I want everyone we trust to be very careful.

Aidan looked deep inside himself as Claire and the others agreed. Victor was even more determined because he was mad, but he knew he couldn't win this fight by being nice or strong alone. He needed more than just friends. He also needed power. He was sure about what to do first.

Aidan slowly wrote each word of his message that night, when everyone else had gone home and he was by himself. It wasn't something he had thought about before, but recent events made him do it. Victor was lying, and someone who was interested in the story but didn't know the whole thing had to be able to show it.

The answer was Emily Carter, the writer who had been very interested in the Pierce family's story.

Aidan made a simple letter and secured it to keep it safe. The information he wrote into his request was just the right amount to get her interested without giving away too much.

Hi, my name is Aidan Pierce and this is Emily. Let's talk. Tomorrow at 8 p.m., meet me at the front door of the old Argyle Library. I can only tell you certain things about Victor that you need to know. Please be careful because this shouldn't get out to anyone else.

After pressing "send," his finger stuck on the button for a short time before moving away. Emily was dangerous, but if he could get her to join the group, she'd be a great friend. Victor had been telling lies in some ways, and she felt like she knew the truth better than anyone else in the city. If she worked with him, she could learn more about Victor than Aidan could.

Aidan stood by the front door of the old Argyle Library that next night. It was an old, broken-down building on the edge of town that no one had seen in a long time. The only sounds were the buzzing of lamps and the noise of cars, which was far away. It was quiet and empty there. To wait for Emily to come home, he kept a close eye on the street.

She moved slowly and carefully as she got closer to him, her eyes moving from shadow to shadow. She was dressed in a long coat and her hands were in the pockets. In the way she stood, she seemed both wary and interested.

An easy voice told me she said "Aidan," but her eyes told me she wasn't sure what she meant. "I didn't know if this was a set-up."

Aidan smiled at her, but it was clear that he was nervous. "I get it. You care about what I have to say, though, because you're here.

She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow as she looked at him. "Yes, I am." But let's be clear: I don't work for you. The truth can't be changed; I want the truth.

Aidan gave her a steady look and said, "You'll find out the truth." "But you don't understand how much is at stake here." Victor isn't telling the truth and is also dangerous. When people got in his way, he hurt them and told them to shut up. I'm being harmed by the same thing right now.

Emily's face looked a little less angry, but she was still not sure. "Then why do you come to me?" It's clear that you have other ideas about this.

This is why Aidan was so serious: "Because I need someone who isn't afraid to look into Victor's past, someone who can take him down in ways I can't." "I have the proof you need available to you." The city has been robbed dry by him, as shown by bills, names, and financial records.

Emily's eyes got smaller as she moved toward him. "What does it benefit you?"

Aidan's smile was thin and almost worn out. Vic took it all away from me. I remember my family and myself... He changed my life so that he could get ahead. I need it back. More than anything else, I want to get rid of his rule. With your help, I think we can do it.

They stood there and looked at each other for a moment without saying anything. Aidan knew that he was trying to get her to risk her life in a war that could end badly for both of them. But he could also see the fire in her eyes—the fierce determination that made her seek the truth no matter how dangerous it was.

Emily gave one last nod and then looked straight ahead. "All right, Aidan. I'll help you." I won't tell Victor if I find out you're not telling the truth, though.

"I certainly don't expect anything less," Aidan said with eyes filled with thanks. "I only want the chance to tell you the truth." After that, you can decide what to do with it.

Amy looked at him for a long time before she reached out her hand. "In that case, we agree."

The promise they had made to work together felt heavy as Aidan shook her hand. She helped him look into things, and now he had a plan to hit Victor that wasn't based on a secret deal or a group of friends. Along with each other, they could show what was wrong with Victor's kingdom and tell the people about his crimes, which made them question his power.

As they said goodbye that night, Aidan felt like his life had a new end. He was no longer fighting by himself, and Emily's help gave him a new way to destroy Victor's country. He was aware that this partnership came with some risks, though. Hugo wouldn't just stand there and do nothing if he thought Aidan was stronger. His next move would be the most dangerous one so far.

As the battle lines were drawn, Aidan could feel his stress level climbing. The war was still going on, even though he had a strong new friend.