Urban Plundering: I Corrupted The System!-Chapter 193: Old Promise

The school came into view, looming over the traffic like some overpriced temple for rich kids with too much time and not enough common sense. The afternoon sun bounced off the glass windows, making the whole place look way more pretentious than it had any right to be.

Parker wasn’t driving fast, but he sure as hell wasn’t slow either. His thoughts were running faster than the Lambo, looping back to the same damn thing—whatever was happening, it was going to leave a mark.

Because everything that fucked with his life left a scar.

The only question was: how deep was it going to be this time?

Would it be life-changing, like Tessa? A shift so sharp it carved itself into his very existence? Or would it be like Maya Winslow—something that came crashing in like a storm and left wreckage in its wake like back then?

He hoped—prayed, even, if he was that desperate—that this one was simple. That whatever the hell was coming wouldn’t leave another permanent stain on his life. But let’s be real—his luck wasn’t that good.

He turned into the school’s parking lot, slipping between lines of luxury cars that screamed Daddy’s Money. The Lambo purred to a stop in the middle of them, a sleek black panther among overfed house cats. Ferraris, Bentleys, G-Wagons—cars that cost more than most people’s homes.

Parker killed the engine and leaned back in his seat, eyes drifting across the lot.

Had the cyber kids actually followed his orders? Were they here, blending in with the spoiled elites, pretending to be normal students while digging into Naomi’s ghost of a past? He didn’t know.

Before he could decide whether to check, something pulled his attention.

Maya Winslow and Annabelle.

Walking side by side. Laughing like they had no goddamn worries in the world.

What were the fucking chances?

Two girls who had no reason to be out here in the middle of the hot damn day, conveniently showing up just as he pulled in? Coincidence? Not a chance. This felt too deliberate, too precise—like one of those bullshit transparencies of fate, the kind that made people believe in destiny and meant-to-be’s.

As if to put the final nail in the coffin, both girls turned at the same time, their heads snapping toward the Lambo with eerie synchronization. Parker felt that shit in his bones.

Like they weren’t just looking at him. Like they felt him.

Like his so-called Invisible Presence, the ability that was supposed to keep him hidden from Champions and Origin Families, wasn’t doing shit.

"Yeah, this ability is so fucking useless," he muttered under his breath, watching them. He knew Maya and Annabelle were friends, but this? This was some borderline hive-mind level shit.

And yet—

His eyes narrowed when they walked right past his car.

Straight to the SUV parked next to him.

And sitting inside it—

Evelyn Harper.

Parker exhaled through his nose, leaning deeper into his seat. He sighed in relief. "Yeah. Origin Families thingy," he muttered.

The three of them were tight. A little clique of girls who weren’t just rich and powerful, but the kind of powerful that mattered. The kind that made people disappear. Whatever the hell they were about to talk about—

He wanted zero part in it.

Parker waited.

And waited.

Until, finally, the three of them walked off, disappearing into whatever cryptic Origin Family shit they had going on. His shoulders eased a little, just a fraction. They hadn’t noticed him. They hadn’t given the Lambo a second glance.

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He let his head rest back against the seat, ready to finally exhale that breath he’d been holding—but before relief could even settle, he saw her.

Maya Winslow.

Walking back.

Alone.

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And staring straight at his car.

Parker didn’t need to see her face clearly to know what kind of expression she had on. He could feel it. That grin. That particular smile she wore when she had someone exactly where she wanted them.

Parker could feel it coming before it even happened. Like a goddamn horror movie when the music dips right before the monster jumps out. His fingers curled around the wheel, his jaw tightening as he watched Maya Winslow turn back.

No way.

No fucking way.

She hadn’t even glanced at him earlier. Not once. Hadn’t even pretended to notice the black Lambo parked like a sleek beast among the other overpriced cars. But now? Now she was walking back, her stride slow, deliberate.

And her eyes?

Locked.

Right on him.

A grin curled across her lips—one he knew too fucking well. That grin that meant she’d already decided the outcome of whatever game she was playing. That stupid, knowing smirk that said, Yeah, I found you. And you’re not getting away.

"System, tell me I’m paranoid this time. Tell me Invisible Presence actually fucking works."

[Host, the ability only hides your presence from their senses, not from their eyes. If you thought it did more than that, I’m honestly disappointed in your intelligence.]

Parker twitched. "Y—you little—"

Knock. Knock.

Two sharp taps against the window.

He didn’t move. Didn’t breathe. Maybe if he stayed still enough, she’d think he wasn’t there. Maybe she’d decide she was hallucinating and walk away. Maybe—

Another knock. This time slower. Playful.

Fuck it.

With a heavy sigh, Parker wanted to roll the window but instead, he reached over and pushed the passenger door open. If he didn’t, she’d just keep standing there waiting for him to let her in like some horror villain until he caved. At least this way, it was on his terms.

The door swung open, and with it, the golden afternoon light spilled in—

And so did she.

Maya Winslow, stepping inside like she owned the damn car. Like she belonged in it. Like she hadn’t just hunted him down in the middle of the school parking lot for no reason other than to fuck with him.

Her perfume wrapped around him before she even got the chance to speak. A mix of something sweet and sharp, honey and citrus, like she was both the temptation and the bite that followed.

She slid into the seat, moving like liquid, like she had all the time in the world, and turned toward him with those piercing, problematic eyes.

Then, she whispered it.

That one word. That one stupidly dramatic way she always said his name, like it was some kind of goddamn love song written just for her.

"Parker~"

Parker exhaled slowly, dragging a hand down his face.

Yeah.

Here we fucking go.

Maya’s eyes glowed with that look—the one that meant trouble, the one that always meant she was about to pull some dumbass move just to see how he’d react and Parker barely had time to process before she moved.

Slow. Deliberate.

Leaning in.

The scent of her perfume wrapped tighter around him, honey and citrus, sweet and sharp, just like her. Her gaze flicked to his lips, her smirk deepening like she already knew what came next. Like she owned the moment. Like she had already won.

And Parker?

He just sat there.

Because—

What the fuck was he supposed to do now?