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Really?

Author: Adunni Ade
last update publish date: 2026-08-31 18:46:14

Chapter Twenty

Veyra’s POV

After Zuri finally went to bed, I stayed in her room for a few more minutes.

I sat beside her, watching her peaceful face as she slept, and for some reason, I found myself thinking about the conversation I had with Cairos earlier that day.

Don’t tell me you’re leaving me.

I still couldn’t understand why those words affected me so much.

For five years, I had convinced myself that leaving would be simple. We had an agreement, and the agreement had reached its end. That
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  • Apocalypse: My Husband's Stepbrother Is The 001 Commader   Veyra POV

    "We are not giving him your network." Cairos paced the length of my office. His boots hit the floor hard. "It is suicide.""Lucien gave us a deadline." I kept my arms crossed. "If we refuse, he disappears with Zuri.""I will find another way.""There is no other way right now.""I am not letting you give up your only protection."Before I could argue back, my phone buzzed. Darius sent a brief text message."Darius found Astro," I said. "She is hiding at a townhouse on the west side."Cairos stopped pacing. He reached for his jacket. "I am going to tear her apart.""No," I stepped in front of the door. "I am speaking to her first.""She betrayed us, Veyra.""And you will only make her shut down." I looked him right in the eyes. "You stay here. I will handle her."I left Cairos in the office and drove straight to the townhouse. I didn't bring backup. I didn't bring a weapon.Astro opened the door. She wore a silk robe and a bored expression."Veyra." Astro leaned against the doorframe.

  • Apocalypse: My Husband's Stepbrother Is The 001 Commader   Cairo's POV

    I had sworn the Senate could burn until we found Zuri. Yet at dawn, I was standing in my office, tightening a black tie.Veyra sat on the edge of my desk, her eyes dark and exhausted. We had made the decision together. Skipping the hearing was exactly what the Council wanted. A no-show would hand them the abuse-of-authority charge on a silver platter, letting them replace me by noon.Besides, the stolen access code pointed straight to the Council's security office. I couldn't interrogate them in a warehouse, but I could watch them in a courtroom.Veyra was handling Lucien's deadline. We had agreed not to hand over her network yet. We just needed time.I walked into the hearing room at exactly eight in the morning. The air was cold, smelling of floor wax and old paper. I didn't sit down immediately. I scanned the long oak table.The Chairperson sat in the center. Flanking him were the two senior officials who controlled the security office. I memorized their faces. At the far end of th

  • Apocalypse: My Husband's Stepbrother Is The 001 Commader   Verya’s POV

    I didn't bring Serena to an interrogation room. I brought her to the kitchen.She sat across from me at the small wooden table. Her hands were wrapped around a mug of tea she wasn't drinking. She looked exhausted, her eyes red and puffy from crying in Darius's car.I didn't yell. I didn't accuse her. I just reached into my pocket, unfolded the piece of paper, and slid it across the table.Serena looked down.The ink laid out the exact timeline. The camera hack. The guard's radio call. And right next to the time Zuri's room was found empty, Serena's name sat beside the dark green winter coat.Serena stared at the paper. The color drained from her face. Her lips parted, but no sound came out at first."Veyra," she finally whispered. Her voice shook violently. "What is this?""That is the timeline of how Zuri was taken from the safe house tonight," I said. My voice was completely flat. "And you are the only civilian on it."She dropped the mug. Tea spilled over the wood, dripping onto th

  • Apocalypse: My Husband's Stepbrother Is The 001 Commader   Cario’s POV

    Darius threw the tablet onto my desk. The screen glowed with lines of green text."I traced the Directorate code," Darius said. "The one that disabled the cameras at two-o-five."I leaned forward. "Who does it belong to?""A mid-level systems technician named Elias Thorne. He works in the lower grid." Darius tapped the screen. "But Thorne has been on medical leave for three weeks. His credentials were used remotely."Someone didn't forge an access key. They stole a real one. It was smart, clean, and left a perfect scapegoat."Find him," I said. "Pick him up quietly. No uniforms, no squad cars. Just bring him to the warehouse."An hour later, Thorne sat in a steel chair under a bare bulb. He was trembling.I stood in the corner, letting the silence stretch before I spoke. "Tell me about your login key, Elias.""I didn't do it!" Thorne's voice cracked. "I swear to you, Mr. Cairos. I haven't logged into the network since my surgery."I stepped into the light. "Someone used your code to b

  • Apocalypse: My Husband's Stepbrother Is The 001 Commader   Veyra POV

    I pulled the guard into the adjoining study, shutting the heavy oak door on Cairos's rigid silhouette in the hall. Cairos terrified people when he was cornered, and fear made witnesses useless.The guard stood by the cold fireplace, wringing his hands. His knuckles were white."Sit down," I said, keeping my voice low and steady.He sank into the armchair. "I didn't leave my post without cause, Miss Veyra. I swear it.""Tell me what happened at two-ten," I said. "No details skipped.""My radio clicked," he said, swallowing hard. "A voice gave the order to check the perimeter wall by the east gate. They used protocol code Echo-Seven."My chest tightened. Echo-Seven was an internal rot-code, updated every twelve hours. Only five people had access to today’s rotation."How long were you gone?" I asked."Five minutes maximum. I ran out, checked the wall, saw nothing, and came straight back. The door was still latched, but when I looked inside..." He dropped his head into his hands. "She wa

  • Apocalypse: My Husband's Stepbrother Is The 001 Commader   Cairo POV

    The engine hummed against the dark asphalt as I cut through the inner district.Inside the SUV, the silence was heavy. Veyra was already on her phone, tapping away as her network stirred to life. Beside her, I dialed Darius on speaker, keeping my tone clipped and level."Lock down the safe house perimeter," I said. "No one leaves the grounds. Check every camera feed within two miles.""Understood, sir," Darius replied, his voice tense. "I’m ten minutes behind you."I ended the call and tightened my grip on the wheel. I had chosen that safe house myself. Tucked into a quiet, high-security neighborhood, it was designed to be invisible. It was supposed to be the safest place in the city.Instead, it was a trap.Ten minutes later, the SUV pulled into the secluded driveway. I bypassed the main hall and went straight upstairs, Veyra right beside me.Nadia, my contact who managed the property, met us on the landing. She was usually composed, but her pale face betrayed her panic."I don't kno

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