Novel-novel oleh Strawberry Love

The world didn’t stay blind for long.Three weeks after the battle in the orchard, William stood on the steps of an international tribunal building, cameras flashing like lightning all around him. His coat was dark against the pale stone, his arm loosely around Lily’s as they pushed through the crush of journalists.Behind them, Adrian and Sofia carried files thick with names, locations, ledgers—everything they had risked their lives to recover. Justin lugged a hard drive, his face pale but resolute.Microphones thrust forward.“Mr. William, are the reports true?”“Was Leonard Mikhail really running an international network?”“What about the missing women and men—are they alive?”William paused on the top step, turning to face them. For the first time in years, he didn’t hide behind shadows or secrets. His voice carried across the plaza, calm and unshakable.“Leonard Mikhail built an empire on lies, fear, and the suffering of innocents.We’ve ended it.And today, we hand over everythi

The sky was paling when they reached the orchard at the edge of the abandoned farmland. Rows of gnarled apple trees twisted in the cold breeze, their branches skeletal, heavy with forgotten fruit rotting in the grass. The place smelled of damp soil and smoke drifting from distant fires—ghosts of everything they had survived.William raised a fist and they all stopped behind a fallen trunk. He scanned the area: no movement yet, but tracks in the mud showed vehicles had come through recently.“Adrian,” he said in a low voice, “eyes out.”Adrian crouched, scope sweeping the rows. “They’re close. We didn’t lose them for long.”Sofia checked her battered map, her hands trembling. “If we cut through here and hit the far side of the highway—”A sound cut her off: tires on gravel, slow and deliberate. Headlights killed, engines muted. William felt the air tighten as dark shapes glided between the trees.Leonard’s men.They fanned out, rifles raised, moving with practiced precision. William mo

The night was breaking into gray when they reached the old orchard at the edge of the highway—a place choked with wild trees, their twisted branches clawing at the pale sky. Rusted farming equipment lay scattered among the rows, ghosts of another life.They slipped into the orchard, ducking low as headlights swept the distant road. William raised a hand, signaling them to halt behind a line of fallen trunks. Adrian crouched, scanning the perimeter with sharp eyes.“They’re spreading out,” Adrian whispered. “We’ve shaken off some, but not all.”Sofia checked her transmitter, its light blinking weakly. “Signal’s jammed tight now. They’re narrowing in.”Lily pressed her good hand against her ribs, catching her breath. The orchard smelled of damp earth and rot, leaves whispering above them in the wind. She felt the weight of every step they had taken, every friend they had lost, every secret still unsaid.Justin peeked through the branches, voice trembling. “We can’t keep running. They’re

The service road wound through the hills like a scar, cracked and overgrown with weeds. Moonlight spilled across the asphalt in pale ribbons, broken by shadows of leaning utility poles and scrubby pines. The group moved in silence, their breath steaming in the cold.Sofia checked her compass as she walked. “Two more miles. There’s an old interchange ahead that connects to the main highway.”Lily kept pace beside William, her injured arm bandaged crudely with torn cloth. Every jolt sent a flare of pain through her shoulder, but she refused to slow. William noticed her wince and touched her back gently. “You holding up?”“I have to,” she said simply.Adrian moved ahead, sweeping the road with his rifle. The night was too quiet—no insects, no birds. Only the crunch of their boots and the occasional rustle of wind in the weeds. Justin trudged behind Sofia, muttering under his breath, clutching his laptop like it contained his soul.As they rounded a bend, Adrian suddenly raised a fist, ha

The ledge clung to the canyon wall like a scar, narrow enough that every step demanded focus. Gravel skittered off into the abyss with each bootfall, vanishing into the black ribbon of the river far below. Above, the cliff loomed jagged and steep, shadows hiding fractured outcrops and brittle roots.Sofia went first, her flashlight switched off to avoid giving away their position. She relied on the faint glow of moonlight spilling across the ridge. Every so often she pressed her palm to the rock face, steadying herself before moving on.Lily followed, her injured arm pressed close to her chest. The cold night air numbed the pain a little, but her legs shook—not just from exhaustion, but from the dizzying drop only inches away. William moved behind her, close enough that she could feel his presence like a steady hand even when he didn’t touch her.Adrian took the rear again, rifle trained back toward the tunnel. From somewhere deep within, the muffled crash of tools on metal echoed—a f

The tunnel curved downward, walls slick with condensation, the air heavy and damp. Their footsteps echoed endlessly, each sound bouncing off the stone like whispers. Faint drips of water splattered somewhere ahead, mingling with the rhythmic rasp of their breathing.Sofia led the way, her flashlight beam slicing through the dark. She followed faded maintenance arrows stenciled on the walls, muttering landmarks under her breath. “Green stripe… left bend… next junction should lead to the canyon outlet.”Lily moved close behind her, pistol drawn despite the trembling in her arm. The wound throbbed with every heartbeat, but she gritted her teeth and kept going. She wouldn’t be the one to slow them down.William stayed in the center of their formation, eyes flicking from Lily to the darkness behind them. His instincts screamed that Leonard’s men weren’t far behind. Adrian walked backward at the rear, rifle up, scanning the shadows.Justin panted heavily, one hand clutching his laptop case

George didn't say anything except raise his eyes. Observing George's expression, Carol gave a fake smile, "Yes mom, George is right. She did this for her own sake. She was kidnapped. What if I was the one who was kidnapped. I would have done the same."George narrowed his eyes and asked, "I never said that she was kidnapped."Both Carol and Mary's faces froze. After a second, Carol said, "Oh George, it's my dad who said this."George gave a little nodding.Both Carol and Mary took a deep breath. Out of blue, Carol asked, "So, you aren't going to divorce Jenny right?"George didn't say anything. He was silently looking at Carol's eyes. Since the day he had met these two women, he always had a strange feeling toward them. This feeling was unpleasant. But he didn't know why, the more he tries to distance themselves, the more they appear in front of him.He stood up and said, "If you want to talk to Jenny, let me send her here."George didn't want to talk to them. So, he decided to let Je

Mary Antao suddenly asked, "Carol, how do you manage to do this? Tell me!"Carol smiled and said, "Mom, that's simple. I was in the mansion when I saw a few men assembled in the hall waiting for dad. I just asked them the reason. They told me that they were having some proof regarding Jenny and they have done their work. I just told them that I would give it to dad.Later, when I checked the Pendrive, I saw these things. So, dad was trying to save his daughter from the world. And I don't want that. So, I call two-three editors of certain newspapers and media agencies and handed those things."Mary Antao was happy. She said, "After Jenny would go to jail, there won't be any chance for Jennifer. Everything would be yours. And what more, you can marry George, he is oh-so-handsome."Carol smiled, "Yeah! I was into him. But I don't know how suddenly Jenny impressed him and did those things."Mary gave a hooked smile, "Jenny isn't a normal person. I have met George. He won't marry any woma

All of a sudden, Jenny's video of killing William Watson got viral all over the country. Everyone in the town started talking about that video. Jenny who wasn't even aware of this woke up at 8:00 am. Just after waking up, she looked around her husband, who wasn't in the room. She sighed! Just as she was about to wake up, her phone rang.Ring Ring Ring Ring.Reluctantly, she walked toward her phone and saw the name of the caller. It was Adriana. She picked up and said, "Hey!"Adriana's sound wasn't looking good. She said, "Have you read the newspaper?"Jenny replied, "No! What's wrong?"Hearing the lazy voice of Jenny, Adriana gritted her teeth and said, "It's already 8:00 am and you just woke up?"Jenny took a deep breath and said, "Yeah! What's wrong?"Adriana said, "Go and check!"Jenny looked around the newspaper and saw that newspaper was lying near the couch. She frowned. George had never thrown a newspaper like this. He always used to fold it and keep it on the table. She picke

The boss paused. He stopped there and looked at Jenny, who was not far from him, but he couldn't grab her. Jenny was also looking at him with the same intensity.The boss said, "Jenny... I had married four years ago. We even had a child. But now, I have nothing left in my life. We were having a great time, but suddenly I don't remember why we started quarreling for some reason and I mistakenly slapped her."Jenny clenched her fist. "How could someone slap a woman?" But she didn't dare to say him. She just acted like she was very keen to listen to him.The boss continued, "My father also used to beat my mother. But my mother never retaliates. So, why my wife was retaliating. I wasn't wrong at all. I just slapped her. I thought that she was angry with me. But to my surprise, she filed divorce against me."Jenny was happy to hear that. But she didn't show any type of expression. The boss continued, "She not only filed a complaint against me, but she also won the case, took my kids and m

"Our Boss's Room!""Your boss's room?" Justin's eyes widened.That man nodded. "Yes sir, one day, I visited his room for some work, I saw some pictures of women including our senior mam and the woman, oh I don't know her name, the woman who died first."Justin nodded, "Ok, then?"That man said, "Sir, I saw the 'tick mark' from a red pen in her photo. That indicated that his plan for her was over. And yes, she was dead. The next photo, I saw was of our senior mam, who wassaved somehow. But, she was also dead.I even saw his girlfriend's photo and also, Jenny's photo. So, I wanted to alarm her every time. But,whenever I used to come near her, that boss used to come up suddenly from nowhere and tried to interfere. Then, I talked to his girlfriend in the car and she told me that he had never invited her to his house. I confirm that in his house, there must be proof of killing."Justin was speechless. How could a person ki

Jenny surfed the internet to find out the biggest hacker in her locality. She just wanted to know the person who was blackmailing her. Suddenly, her eyes sparkled.Her dad!How could she forget her dad? But, should she ask him? Jenny bit her lips."Would he help me?" Thinking about this, she decided to meet her dad. She ordered a cab and left to meet her dad.****In a random restaurant.Jenny and Jerry Antao were sitting in front of each other. Jerry was pretty sure that she had called him for some reason or else she would have never.He took a piece of bread in his mouth, chewed it, and said, "Now tell me, why you called me?"Jenny was biting her lips. She said, "I am being blackmailed."Jerry narrowed his eyes. "Since when?"Jenny replied, "A few days ago."Jerry clenched his fist. "Don't worry, whoever filmed my daughter while changing the clothes would be finished till midnight."Jenny replied, "No,