Chapter: Chapter 126Maya’s POVCold water slapped against my face.I gasped awake with a sharp inhale that burned my throat, my body jerking forward before pain snappeds me back down. My head throbbed, the world swimming, lights blurring into streaks that make my stomach churn. Something forced my chin up roughly, with fingers digging into my jaw.“Easy,” a voice said mockingly. “She’s awake now.”I blinked hard. Once, then a second.The room came into focus slowly. Bare concrete walls. A single bulb hanging from the ceiling, flickering like it couldn't decide whether to stay alive. Shadows crawled along the corners, stretching and shrinking as the light swayed.My wrist ached.I looked down and panic hit me full force.My hands were bound behind my back, rope biting into my skin. My ankles were tied too, tight enough that even shifting my legs sent sharp pain shooting up my calves. I tried to move again anyway, my heart pounding, breath coming fast.“Don’t,” another voice warned, amused. “You’ll just hu
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2026-02-11
Chapter: Chapter 125Nico’s POVThe TV was loud, but it didn't sound like anything.Colors flashed across the screen, cartoons yelling, music bursting, laughter canned and fake but it all washed over me without sticking. I sat on the edge of the couch with my legs tucked under me and my eyes fixed forward, breathing shallowly, like if I breathe too deeply, someone might notice something is wrong.Dad stood behind me.I could feel him there without looking. He always smelled the same coffee and something sharp, like aftershave. His shadow stretched over the carpet, long and unmoving.“Nico,” he said.I didn’t answer.He waited a few seconds, like he was hoping I’ll turn around if he gave me time. When I didn’t, he sighed. The sound was tired, rough around the edges, like he hadn’t slept properly in a while.“You’ve been quiet all morning,” he tried again. “Do you want to go out later? We can—”“I’m watching TV,” I muttered, with my eyes glued to the screen.The words felt heavy in my mouth, like I had to p
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2026-02-10
Chapter: Chapter 124Maya’s POVThe ceiling hasn’t changed in three days.Same faint crack running diagonally above the fan. Same pale stain shaped like a cloud that never moves. I laid on my back, with my eyes open, breathing shallowly, as if even air was something I needed to ration. The sheets are twisted around my legs, damp with sweat, but I didn’t move to fix them. Moving felt like effort. Existing felt louder than it should.“Maya.”Tanya’s voice came from the doorway, very soft. Like she was afraid the sound alone would shatter me.I didn’t answer.The mattress dipped as she sat on the edge of the bed. I felt it and registered it distantly, the way you notice thunder after lightning. Her hand hesitated before touching my arm, her fingers warm against my skin that felt foreign.“You haven’t eaten,” she said quietly. “You haven’t spoken. You haven’t even yelled at me, and that’s how I know something’s really wrong.”I stared at the ceiling.She sighed. “I’m worried about you.”Silence stretched betw
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2026-02-09
Chapter: Chapter 123Luca’s POVThe cameras came at me in a rush.Flashes burst in my face the moment I stepped out of the car, voices overlapping, questions shouted without pause. My name echoed through the air, distorted by accusation and hunger.“Mr. Alfredo, did you know who she was?”“Is it true you were involved with her?”“Do you condone her past?”I kept my face impassive, my shoulders squared and my eyes forward. Rod walked half a step ahead of me, his body angled protectively, but even he couldn’t fully block the chaos. Microphones shoved toward my chest. A hand brushed my sleeve. Someone tripped over another person’s foot and cursed loudly.I hated this part, the circus, the way people reduced lives to headlines and scandals.By the time I made it back into the car, my jaw ached from how tightly I’d been clenching it.“Route change,” Rod said immediately, already on the phone. “They’re gathering at the main gate too.”I stared out the window as the car pulled away, the noise fading but not disa
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2026-02-08
Chapter: Chapter 122Luca’s POVAnger hollowed me out until there was nothing left inside but heat and noise.I stood there staring at her, and it felt like the room had tilted off its axis. Maya’s face blurred, not because my vision failed me, but because my mind refused to accept what my eyes were seeing. Her shoulders were shaking. Tears slid down her cheeks unchecked, dropping onto the marble floor like small, accusing stains.I should have felt satisfied. Answers, finally. Truth dragged into the open, but instead, humiliation burned through me like acid.“How long?” I asked again.My voice sounded calm, which frightened me more than if I had been shouting.She wiped at her face with the back of her hand, as if that would somehow stop the unraveling. “Luca… please.”“How long have you known who I was?” I pressed.Her lips parted, closed, parted again. The hesitation alone told me everything I needed to know.My jaw clenched so hard it hurt. “Say it.”“From the start,” she whispered.Something in my ch
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2026-02-07
Chapter: Chapter 121Maya’s POVThe room felt too bright. Too open. Like there was nowhere left to hide.Luca was at my side in seconds.“Maya?” His hand came to my arm, firm, grounding. “What’s wrong?”My heart was slamming so hard I could hear it in my ears. The sound drowned everything else, the rustle of papers, Rod’s low voice cutting off mid-sentence, the faint hum of the air conditioning. I tried to speak, but my tongue felt thick, useless.“It’s nothing,” I lied automatically, the word tumbling out too fast, too sharp. “I just—”My phone.He bent to pick it up before I could react.“No—!” I lunged forward, my fingers grazing his wrist, but I was too late. The screen lit up in his hand, a frozen frame of my past glaring back at us both.Time slowed.I watched his eyes scan the screen, the lines between his brows deepening. Confusion flickered there first genuinely, almost boyish confusion like he was looking at a puzzle that refused to make sense.“Maya,” he said slowly. “What is this?”I couldn’t
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2026-02-06
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