CHAPTER 193

Pinakabagong kabanata

• RUTHLESS BILLIONAIRE EX-HUSBAND CHASED ME BACK   CHAPTER 201

  The red door stood barely visible behind a tangle of ivy, its peeling paint the color of old blood. The tallest priest—Father Ion according to his name tag—pressed a rusted key into my palm."Quickly," he urged, his gaze darting toward the SUVs. "Before they flank us."The lock turned with an ominous groan. Beyond lay a narrow staircase descending into darkness, the air thick with the scent of antiseptic and damp stone.Lina whimpered in Sister Marguerite's arms. "It's cold..."Daniela pushed past me, her heels clicking on the worn steps. "Where's the treatment room?"A new voice answered from the shadows—a woman's, crisp with authority. "Right where we left it."The lights flickered on, revealing a makeshift hospital ward carved into the catacombs. And standing beside an IV drip...Dr. Anya Petrov.Ryans' former lead researcher.The woman who'd engineered the original Lazarus protocol.Jeff's gun came up instantly. "You."Petrov didn't flinch. She simply adjusted her lab coat and nod

• RUTHLESS BILLIONAIRE EX-HUSBAND CHASED ME BACK   CHAPTER 200

  Sister Marguerite's gnarled fingers trembled as she extended the file folder. The faded label read *Subject D-29* in Ryans' precise handwriting.I reached for it, but Daniela was faster.Her breath hitched as she flipped it open. Inside: a birth certificate for Mateo Perez, born eighteen months after our separation. Father: Unknown. Mother: Daniela Perez, age 13.The room spun."You never told me," I whispered.Daniela's laugh was razor-wire tight. "They took him from me the day he was born. Said I'd contaminated him." She traced the edge of the document where someone had stamped TERMINATION APPROVED. "Lina's his daughter."Lina coughed again, the sound wetter now. Blood speckled her palm.Jeff stepped forward, his medic training overriding his shock. "We need to get her to a hospital.""No!" Daniela clutched Lina closer. "They'll just let her die like they did him." Her manicured nails bit into the file folder. "But we have something better now."She flipped to the last page—a DNA an

• RUTHLESS BILLIONAIRE EX-HUSBAND CHASED ME BACK   CHAPTER 199

  The key felt heavy in my palm—cold, ordinary metal. No glow, no transformation. Just a simple silver key that could open any lock in Geneva.Jeff exhaled sharply beside me as the last of Daniela’s men disappeared into the night. The room was silent now, save for the distant wail of sirens. The children were still here, still asleep in their pods. No vanishing act. No shared consciousness. Just scared kids caught in our mess.I turned the key over in my fingers. "Where does this lead?"Jeff’s jaw tightened. "Only one way to find out."The smallest girl in the nearest pod stirred, her dark lashes fluttering. Not waking—just trapped in a restless sleep. The bruise on her cheek stood out against pale skin. I knew that kind of bruise. Knew exactly how it got there.Daniela’s voice crackled over the abandoned intercom, tinny and distant: "You always were sentimental, Demi."Then silence.Jeff touched my arm. "We need to go. Now."I looked at the key again. A address was etched into the meta

• RUTHLESS BILLIONAIRE EX-HUSBAND CHASED ME BACK   CHAPTER 198

  The streets of Geneva were slick with rain as we moved through the shadows, the Palais des Nations looming ahead like a gilded cage. Every light in its windows burned too bright, every shadow stretched too long.Jeff kept pace beside me, his silence more telling than words. He didn't trust this. Neither did I.But we were here anyway.The service entrance was unguarded—too unguarded. The metal door swung open at the barest touch, revealing a dimly lit corridor that smelled of antiseptic and something faintly metallic. My fingers brushed the dagger at my thigh out of habit."She wants you to come alone," Jeff had said back at the safehouse."Then it's a good thing I never listen," I'd replied.Now, his hand found the small of my back as we stepped inside, the door clicking shut behind us with finality. The hallway stretched before us, lined with doors marked with numbers instead of names. Somewhere beyond them, Daniela was waiting.And so were the children.A sound echoed from deeper w

• RUTHLESS BILLIONAIRE EX-HUSBAND CHASED ME BACK   CHAPTER 197

  The embossed invitation arrived in a black envelope, sealed with crimson wax.You are cordially invited to the auction of the century.Palais des Nations, Geneva. Midnight.Dress code: Blood and diamonds.Jeff crushed the card in his fist. "It's a trap."Nolan spun the accompanying flash drive on the table. "Or a surrender. Daniela's network is crumbling—Interpol raided three of her labs this week."Claudette set down her tea with a clatter. "Then why walk into her spectacle?"I met Jeff's gaze across the table. "Because she's offering something we want."The drive's contents played across the screen—a vault filled with rows of cryo-chambers. Each held a sleeping Lazarus subject. The camera panned to a control panel: *TERMINATION SEQUENCE INITIATED - 72:00:00*Daniela's recorded voice purred: "Come to my party, Demi. Let's negotiate their lives."The Palais des Nations glittered like a knife.Chandeliers dripped crystal above a sea of tuxedos and couture gowns. Security patrolled in w

• RUTHLESS BILLIONAIRE EX-HUSBAND CHASED ME BACK   CHAPTER 196

  Daniela's body hadn't even hit the floor before Jeff was at my side, his knife slicing through the restraints. His hands trembled as they brushed over my arms, my face—checking for injuries."She didn't hurt you?"I shook my head, still staring at Daniela's lifeless form. The syringe had rolled from her fingers, its contents now seeping into the concrete.Jeff followed my gaze, his jaw tightening. "She wasn't trying to save anyone." He pulled a tablet from his pocket, swiping to a video file. "Nolan found this in her Berlin safehouse."The screen showed a different room, another surgical table. But the girl strapped down wasn't an original—she was a clone. One of mine.Daniela's voice rang out from the recording: "The flaw isn't in our DNA. It's in theirs."The camera panned to show rows of incubation tanks, each holding a familiar face.Jeff's finger paused the video. "She wasn't harvesting you to cure the originals." His voice dropped to a whisper. "She was perfecting the clones."A