vagabond_love1999

Aaron San Agustin was never meant to be noticed. Born in the rural city of Crestfall, where secrets weigh heavier than the soil, he grew up under the shadow of poverty, fractured loyalties, and a family bound by silence. Burdened by the emotional wreckage of a complicated upbringing, Aaron made a quiet decision: to walk away from his past and build a life of quiet endurance in Velmont City—a place that promised opportunity, but offered only relentless struggle.

By day, he worked tirelessly to make ends meet, sending money back home to his aunt, Coleen, who kept what little remained of his family afloat. By night, he fought the quiet war of loneliness, rejection, and humiliation—particularly from Elena Layne Fonte’s affluent family, who saw him as nothing more than a poor farm boy clinging to their daughter’s light. But through it all, Elena believed in him. Where others saw nothing, she saw purpose. Her love became his only sanctuary.

Then, fate intervened.

In a moment of distracted frustration, Aaron mistakenly invested $10,000—nearly all he had—into an obscure digital currency on his outdated smartphone. Ridiculed for his recklessness, he braced for collapse. But the currency was BITX, and within years, its meteoric rise transformed him from invisible to invaluable. Not only did Aaron become one of its largest shareholders, but he was also selected—by means unknown—to receive the Black Diamond Card: a mysterious, elite pass granting him unlimited access to networks of influence, power, and wealth few could imagine.

With quiet precision and the same humility that once made him forgettable, Aaron began to reshape his life—and the world around him. But power brings new shadows, and not everyone welcomes his rise. Old secrets from Crestfall stir, dangerous eyes begin to watch, and the quiet farm boy no one believed in becomes a force that neither the elite nor the corrupt can ignore.

From forgotten to formidable, Aaron San Agustin is a story of quiet rebellion, impossible odds, and the uncanny twist of destiny that turns broken beginnings into legacies.

"Ashes of Crestfall: The Rise of Aaron San Agustin"

The city loomed grey and restless under drifting morning fog as Selena's black sedan rolled out from the private airstrip. She sat in silence, sunglasses hiding eyes that flickered with fatigue and quiet determination. Beside her, a local detective in a worn grey suit scrolled through his phone, tapping an email open.

"Welcome back, ma'am," he said softly, glancing at her reflection in the tinted window. "I've compiled what we could gather on Aaron San Agustin."

Her lips pressed into a thin line at his name. Aaron. No titles. No ranks. Just the man she once held in her blood-soaked hands as medevac rotors thundered overhead.

The detective passed her a slim folder with a few printed sheets. Sparse lines of text stared up at her. His full name. Date of birth. Last known employment: part-time stockroom clerk at Velmont Central Mart. Her eyes scanned further down and froze.

Family file – San Agustin, Maria Elena (mother). Deceased. Stroke. Found alone in public housing unit.

Selena felt a hollow ache settle deep in her chest. She had never met Aaron's mother – only heard faint mentions of her, a name spoken with weary affection during those quiet nights between deployments. To see her reduced to a single cold line in a forgotten file felt wrong.

She closed the folder for a moment, pressing it to her knee as silence filled the sedan.

"Did he have anyone else?" she asked softly, her voice hoarse. "Friends. Anyone."

The detective nodded, flipping to another page. "One name kept coming up. Lucas Devara. Friend and co-worker at the store. They worked inventory shifts together. Neighbors described them as close."

"Lucas…" Selena whispered, trying to recall the name. She could almost hear Aaron's voice mentioning him offhand once, "Good guy. Covers my shifts when I need to visit Ma."

The detective cleared his throat and continued. "The store incident was… unusual. There was a security server breach three years ago. Payroll data hacked. Staff records wiped. Surveillance deleted. The breach used Aaron's admin credentials to override system security."

Selena frowned sharply. "Admin credentials? He was a store clerk."

"That's what flagged the investigators," the detective said, shaking his head. "No one knows why he even had admin-level access. He wasn't IT. He wasn't management. Just stockroom support. When the breach was traced to his ID, the company terminated him immediately pending investigation. But before police could follow up… he vanished."

Her mind raced, piecing together fragment after fragment. Why would a clerk have that clearance? Who gave it to him? Did he hack it himself? Was he framed… or hiding something deeper?

"He stayed around for about a year," the detective continued quietly, "working odd jobs under different names. Then he just disappeared like a bubble. No flagged flights. No border crossings. No local employment records. Nothing. Until now."

Selena exhaled shakily, setting the folder down on her lap. Three years. No calls. No messages. His mother died alone. And now he's back?

"Find Lucas," she said firmly, her voice regaining its steel. "I want to know everything Aaron told him. Every word. Every shift. Every habit. And dig deeper into that breach. Who benefited. Who covered it up."

"Yes, ma'am," the detective replied, sliding out of the sedan to open her door.

She stepped out, dawn glare catching her sunglasses. Crowds surged along cracked sidewalks, shouting at vendors, the air thick with oil smoke and spices. None noticed the woman whose chest burned with quiet grief and rising resolve.

"Three years without a word, Aaron," she thought, her jaw tightening. "Wherever you disappeared to… whatever darkness you're in now… I will find you."

She exhaled slowly, lifting her chin as she entered the building.

CHAPTER 52: Ghosts of the Living