Chapter 28 – Flames That Remember
The night was restless.
Xueqing stood alone on her penthouse balcony, overlooking the restless lights of City A. Her fingers trembled slightly as she replayed Tang Xinyi's words in her mind:
> "He calls himself the Flame... Says he's here to rewrite the ending we stole from him in the last life."
She hadn't said anything to Mo Chen yet, but something inside her stirred—an echo of pain, of betrayal… of fire.
"Xueqing."
She turned sharply.
Mo Chen stood in the shadows of her living room, sleeves rolled, tie loosened, his eyes scanning her face.
"You're hiding something," he said gently.
She looked away, gripping the railing. "You knew we'd crossed paths in our last life… But there was another. Someone who..."
"Burned you," he finished softly.
She nodded, eyes flashing. "He tried to destroy everything I built. Pretended to love me. I thought he was my salvation." She met Mo Chen's gaze. "His name wasn't Flame then. It was Yan Huilong."
Mo Chen's jaw tensed. "That name's dead to the world. I saw his company collapse. His records wiped."
"That's what makes him dangerous," Xueqing murmured. "He didn't die. He waited."
Mo Chen stepped closer, the heat of his presence grounding her. "Then we don't wait. We smoke him out."
"How?" she asked bitterly. "He's in the wind."
"No," he said. "He's in the ashes. Watching. Waiting for us to stir the embers."
Xueqing turned to face him fully. "He thinks I'm the same as before. The same foolish girl he could manipulate."
"You're not."
She hesitated. "And what if I fall again?"
Mo Chen cupped her chin, lifting her gaze to his. "Then I'll catch you. Every time. Until there's no one left but you and me standing at the top."
The air between them trembled.
But just as he leaned in—her phone buzzed violently.
Zhihao's voice crackled through the speaker. "Boss! Emergency alert. One of our data vaults in Sector C was just breached. We have heat signatures—five intruders in black suits. They used Mo International override codes."
Mo Chen's eyes darkened. "He's not waiting anymore."
Xueqing clenched her fists. "Then neither are we."
She stormed inside, already issuing orders. "Seal the building. Activate lockdown protocol. I want every intruder boxed in."
Mo Chen was right beside her.
The past was no longer sleeping.
And the Flame had come to reignite the war.