LOGIN"At ikaw, Kristoff," lumingon ang Arbitrator sa lalaki. "Akala mo ba ay ikaw ang biktima rito? Ikaw ang nagtanim ng binhi ng sumpa sa sinapupunan ni Paola. Alam mong ang dugo ng mga North at Valeriano ay hindi kailanman dapat maghalo, ngunit ginawa mo ito para magkaroon ka ng 'insurance' laban kay Don Valeriano. Isang anak na magiging mas malakas kaysa sa kahit sinong bampira o tao. Isang halimaw na kontrolado mo."
[The Truth Behind Her Death]“I had spent my whole life grieving a woman who was supposed to be dead. Now I had to face the truth that someone had taught me to grieve her.”Paola's POVI couldn't take my eyes off the photograph.My mother.Standing outside the hospital.Alive.The date beneath the photograph said she was already dead.My hands were shaking.“This is impossible.”Daniel was staring at the picture like someone had punched the air out of him.“No.”His voice was barely audible.
[The Father I Never Knew]“The man who claimed to be my father had been searching for me for years—and the people I trusted had spent years making sure he could never find me.”Paola's POVFor several seconds, nobody moved.The phone was still in Dominic's hand.The call had already ended.But the man's voice remained inside my head.I am her father.My father.No.That word didn't belong to him.It belonged to the man who raised me.
[The Man Behind the Silence]Paola's POV“For nine years, someone had been hiding the truth from me—and tonight, I was finally going to find out who.”The elevator doors close.I stare at Dominic.He was never working for Victor.The words won't leave my head.For a few seconds, none of us speaks.Gabriel presses the emergency floor button.The elevator stops between floors.“Gabriel.”“I need a minute.”
[The Truth He Never Told Me]Paola’s POV“Sometimes the person who knows the truth is not the person you expect to save you—it is the person you once thought you had already lost.”The call with Elena ends.I keep the phone against my ear for several seconds, even though the line has already gone dead.Suite 1904 wasn't the beginning.Those words won't leave my head.Neither does Mara's face from the video.Neither does the knowledge that someone has been moving information around us for months.But there is one thing I cannot stop thinking about.Dominic.I don't know why.Maybe because his name has been absent from too many conversations lately.Maybe because I remember the way he looked at me during the board vote.Not like a husband waiting for his wife to come back.Not like a man hoping Gabriel would fail.Just like someone who had already accepted that my life had moved somewhere he no longer belonged.But maybe I was wrong.Maybe Dominic didn't leave.Maybe he simply stepped b
[The Badge We Never Questioned]Paola's POV"Ang pinakamasakit na betrayal ay hindi nanggagaling sa kaaway. Galing ito sa taong hindi mo kailanman naisip na pagdudahan."Hindi ako agad nakapagsalita.Parang may kung anong bumara sa lalamunan ko habang nakatitig ako kay Gabriel."The badge belongs to someone we've trusted from the very beginning."Paulit-ulit na umalingawngaw ang mga salitang iyon sa isip ko."No..." mahina kong sabi.Hindi ako naniniwala.Ayaw kong maniwala."Who?" tanong ko ulit.Hindi agad sumagot si Gabriel.Tumingin muna siya kay Victor, saka bumalik sa akin."Adrian already confirmed the badge ID."Humigpit ang hawak ko sa cellphone."Gabriel...""It's Mara."Parang may sumabog sa loob ng dibdib ko."Mara?"Hindi ko namalayang napaatras ako ng isang hakbang.Hindi...Hindi puwedeng si Mara.Tatlong taon ko siyang kasama.Siya ang unang dumarating sa opisina.Siya ang huling umaalis.Alam niya kung paano ko gustong magkape.Alam niya kung kailan ako tahimik dahil
[The Price of Me]"The most terrifying ransom isn't money. It's when someone asks for you."The line goes dead.I don't realize I've stopped breathing until Gabriel gently takes the phone from my shaking hand."What did he say?"My lips part, but nothing comes out.My mind is still trapped in those four words.I want you, Paola.Not money.Not Gabriel.Not the company.Me.Gabriel studies my face.He doesn't ask again.He already knows the answer isn't simple.Slowly, he lowers the phone onto Victor's conference table.The room has become painfully quiet.Even Victor looks unsettled."Who was it?" he asks.I turn to him."I don't know.""Was it Elena?""No.""Then who?""I said I don't know."Gabriel steps closer."What exactly did he say?"I swallow."He said Elena is alive."A brief wave of relief crosses Victor's face."...for now."The relief disappears instantly."And then?"I force myself to repeat every word."He said he doesn't want money."Gabriel's jaw tightens."He wants me
Chapter 201 continuation...Hinuli ni Sebastian ang kamay ni Paola at hinalikan ang palad nito. Ang init ng kanyang labi ay tila nagpaliyab sa buong pagkatao ni Paola. "Dahil ikaw ang aking simula at wakas, Paola. Binuho nila ako para pumatay, pero nang makita kita, nalaman ko kung bakit kailangang
…continuationAng Paglalakbay sa KadilimanSa loob ng private jet patungong Europe, nakatingin si Kristoff sa labas ng bintana, sa mga ulap na nababalot ng kadiliman ng gabi. Sa kanyang tabi, ang isang monitor ay nagpapakita ng vital signs ni Seraphina na nasa isang portable life support system sa k
Ang shower ay square-shaped, kasya ang limang tao at may flat head sa gitna."Mag-iiwan ako ng damit sa kama," sigaw ni Kristoff at isinara ko ang pinto ng en-suite. Tinanggal ko ang heels ko, hinubad ang masikip na dre
[PAOLA POV]Punong-puno na ako."Subukan mo pang tumitig nang ganyan at pipirutin ko palabas 'yang mga mata mo," bulyaw ko sa lalaking kanina pa nanlilisik ang mga mata sa akin.Mas gugustuhin ko pang may nakatutok na baril sa mukha ko kaysa tiisin ang malagkit, manyak, at nakakadiring tingin niya







