Chapter 23: A Taste of Normal

최신 챕터

• Shattered chain    Chapter 49: A Choice Between Shadows

  The ride to the outskirts of the city was quieter than before. The neon lights of the city faded into the distance as we drove through winding, empty streets that seemed to stretch endlessly. Every turn, every passing shadow felt like a reminder that we were getting closer to something that neither of us were fully prepared for. I glanced over at Carter, his expression stoic, his eyes focused on the road ahead. It wasn’t like him to be so silent, to shut me out like this. But I understood. The pressure of what we were about to do weighed heavily on us both. We couldn’t ignore the consequences anymore, the line we were about to cross. The building we were heading to was a dilapidated structure, a remnant of the city’s forgotten past. Its crumbling walls and shattered windows made it look like a place where even the sun had given up. But it was exactly the kind of place Marcus would hide in—a place that would give him the advantage, where he could see everyone coming but remain unseen

• Shattered chain    Chapter 48: The Quiet Before the Storm

  The air in the safe house felt different now, thicker, almost suffocating with the weight of what we were about to face. Isabella moved through the room with calculated precision, her every movement a reminder that she was a master of manipulation. It wasn’t hard to see she was always thinking two steps ahead, weaving webs of her own design. I didn’t trust her, but Carter did. And that was all that mattered right now. I watched him, his back to me as he paced the room, his hand rubbing his jaw as if trying to force clarity into the chaos of his mind. I could feel the tension radiating off him, the strain of everything he’d been carrying—the weight of decisions made, of battles fought and lost. But there was more to it than that. There was a darkness in his eyes, a part of him that had become hardened, distant. I wanted to reach out to him, to bridge that gap, but the words caught in my throat. Everything was changing, and I couldn’t quite keep up with it. Isabella’s voice cut throu

• Shattered chain    Chapter 47: Into the Fire

  The drive to the safe house was eerily silent. The cityscape outside the car window blurred into a mix of shadows and faint lights as we moved through the dark streets, our tires humming on the slick pavement. My thoughts were a tangled mess, and every turn we took seemed to lead us deeper into the unknown. But it wasn’t just the mission weighing on me—it was Carter. His tension was palpable, a quiet storm simmering beneath the surface, and I couldn’t help but feel like I was standing on the edge of something far bigger than either of us. We had made a deal with Isabella, but I didn’t trust her. No part of me believed that she had our best interests at heart. She was playing her own game, just like everyone else in this mess. Yet, as much as I wanted to resist, I knew we didn’t have any other choice. Not if we wanted to find Marcus and take him down for good. Carter’s jaw was clenched, his grip on the steering wheel tight. His silence was deafening, but I knew better than to push hi

• Shattered chain    Chapter 46: Shifting Loyalties

  The air inside Isabella’s hideout was heavy with the scent of stale tobacco and something sharp, like the metallic tang of sweat and fear. As Carter and I stood there, waiting for her response, the tension was unbearable. The flicker of uncertainty in the air grew thicker with every passing second. Isabella’s eyes locked onto Carter’s, her gaze unwavering as if she were trying to decipher every emotion he had carefully hidden. The past between them wasn’t something I was eager to understand, but it was clear that whatever it was, it ran deep. “I didn’t expect to see you again,” Isabella said, the words sliding from her lips with an edge that almost felt like a challenge. “What happened to you, Carter? The stoic, silent type who never relied on anyone? You’ve changed.” Carter’s jaw clenched, his fingers flexing at his sides. “People change.” The bitterness in his voice cut through the space between us, and I couldn’t help but notice how stiff he had become, how guarded he was in he

• Shattered chain    Chapter 45: New Alliances

  The night after Langford’s departure felt like a break in the storm. The rain had finally subsided, leaving the world outside quiet and still. But inside, the tension was palpable. Carter and I had made our choice, but the road ahead was more uncertain than ever. What now? How could we rebuild what had been shattered? How could we find our way when every ally we had was either a shadow or a threat? We had lost Langford. A man who, despite everything, had been our biggest ally. He had given us the chance to take down Damien, and for a while, we had thought him on our side. But the truth had shattered that illusion. What else had he been hiding? How much more of this world had we been blind to? The questions circled in my mind as I stood in the quiet of the cabin, staring out the window at the city lights in the distance. The rain had left everything wet and glistening, but the city had an eerie calm to it now, as if it, too, was waiting for something. I heard Carter’s footsteps behi

• Shattered chain    Chapter 44: The Unraveling Thread

  The tension between us was palpable as we made our way back to the cabin, the rain still lashing against the windows. Carter’s hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles were white. I could feel his anger, his confusion, pulsing through the car like an electric current, but neither of us spoke. What Samuels had said kept playing over and over in my head: Langford’s just as much a part of this as Damien was. It didn’t make sense. Langford had been our ally, our partner in all of this. He’d been the one who gave us the chance to take down Damien, who pulled strings to get us out of tight spots. But now, after everything, we were being told that he wasn’t who we thought he was. I could feel my heart sinking with every passing mile. The world I had known, the one I thought I understood, was beginning to crumble, piece by piece. We pulled up to the cabin, the headlights cutting through the rain and the darkness. Carter killed the engine, and for a long moment, neither