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Chapter 7.
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2025-06-30 20:24:59Hulio.
We stumble into the room and freeze.
Devastation greets us completely.
A toppled plant. A shattered vase. A torn canvas slashed through the middle. Water pools on the marble floor, soaking into a cloth, scattered brushes and paper. Chaos painted in broad and visible strokes.
But no Alexa.
Odd and very alarming.
“Alexa?” Elviira’s voice breaks.
Usually poised, but now tinged with something unusual with her—fear.
I move forward, careful not to step into the puddle of water and smeared paint. My body tightens. Eyes scan the destruction. Something isn’t right. Too quiet. Too... staged.
My gaze shifts to the paintings on the wall. Life-sized portraits. Cityscapes. Wildflowers bursting with emotion. Utterly captivating. For a moment, I’m struck by her talent. Lost in this world she’s created here. But the admiration is short-lived.
Because then I see it. A flicker in the mirror across the room. Barely perceptible. But I see it. My critical eyes catch it.
A man. He’s Holding Alexa. His hand clamped over her mouth. A knife glinting at her throat.
Her eyes, widened, pleading. They meet mine in the mirror.
My stomach lurches. My hands curl into fists. My breathing increases rapidly.
I don’t move. Not yet. I school my features into calm. Mask the alarm now pounding in my chest.
“Elviira.” My voice is low, even. Calm, despite the storm brewing inside me. “I think we should get back to discussing business.”
She falters, confused. “But... where’s my granddaughter?”
“She’s fine. Just… around here somewhere.”
Elviira starts to protest, but I move, fast.
I toss the bucket of yellow paint beside me with precision.
Splash!
The man screams, high and hoarse. The paint splashing across his face, blinding him instantly.
“AHHHHH...!”
In the chaos, Alexa breaks free.
I’m there. Arms out. She crashes into me. Her body trembling, slick with paint. I catch her. Hold her tight. Protective.
Our eyes lock, again. This time not through the mirror. Fear still lingers in her eyes. But something else… trust.
And something in my chest unravels. Grating me, strangely.
“Are you alright?” It’s all I can say.
My voice rough with relief.
“No… no, I’m not...” Her voice cracks, and the sobs come.
Shaking. Raw. Honest.
And I hold her like I’ve known her all my life. I banish her monsters.
***
Alexa.
Breathing should be easy.
But it isn’t when it’s almost taken from you.
I can barely cling to the air left in my lungs. Hulio wraps me up, pulling me into safety—and something more. I cry into his chest, clinging to him, soaked in paint and fear.
How did he do that? How did he aim so perfectly? Blinding my captor, but sparing me?
My mind reels. My heart pounds. My body shakes, violently.
But I’m safe. Because he was there. Hulio was there. He got me in time.
“Alexa, oh my baby…” Grandma’s voice breaks through.
Her arms replace his. I collapse into her warmth. Her safety. She holds me like she’s afraid I’ll disappear.
And then,
“Who sent you?” Hulio’s voice slices through the tension like hard steel.
We turn to him. The man, the intruder, is on the ground now. Dragged from behind the alcove where he had hidden us. His face is stained with yellow paint. His jacket stained. His eyes squeezed shut in agony. He’s piercing groans, harsh.
The staff have begun to gather at the doorway, their gasps rising in a tide of confusion and alarm.
“Mrs. Hills, what happened?” the house manager asks, eyes wide.
“Call the police.” Grandma’s voice is sharp. Commanding. “Someone broke in to harm my granddaughter.”
“No...no! Please!”
The man gasps, curling inward.
“Don’t call the cops… I will speak!”
Silence.
Everyone stares. Waiting.
My heart crashes against my ribs.
“Who paid you?” Hulio steps forward, looming, dangerously.
His tone is ice.
The man hesitates. Paint dripping from his face. His eyes flutter open, blinking through yellow.
“Absalom Mage.”
Shock hits the room like a thunderclap.
Grandma’s hand tightens around me. Hulio’s jaw clenches. The name echoes through my mind. Absalom Mage...Dad’s accountant.
Bab terbaru
Ripples And Hills Epilogue
Alexa. July 27th. Two years later. Wisteria Vine, Northern Finland. Noon. “Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you…” The song rings loud through the halls of the mansion, cheers rising as my twins, Javier and Jewel, mash their little fists into frosting. They’re two years old today, identical miracles who fill every space with light. “Jewel…Javier…look up for the cameras,” I laugh, kissing their messy faces. They giggle, trying harder to steal icing. “Alexa, let them be,” Grandma chuckles, scooping some herself. The twins instantly mimic her, their mouths smeared in sugar. Around me, warmth hums. Family, grandma's distant family in Finland. Not high society, not money choked sophistication. Just love. All morning, calls have poured in. Mum, Aunt Anniika and Uncle Brian, Jon, Eve, Jace, their kids, voices filled with joy. My heart swells with gratitude. Because two years ago, I fought through a grueling storm of pain to bring these two into the world. I still remember the
Ripples And Hills Chapter 152.
Helia. Friday, 6th February. A week later… Morning. I stand at my office window, watching snow drift past the glass. Coffee sits warm in my hand, but I barely taste it. I should feel something today, it’s our birthday. But all I feel is the weight of loss pressing down on me. My brother. The woman I love. Both gone, in different ways. The company staff didn’t dare sing that cursed song. I made it clear anyone who tried would lose their job. Still, solitude doesn’t bring me peace. It only amplifies the storm in me. My mind drags me back to a week ago, the night Alexa’s family nearly burned alive. The same night the Special Weapons team had to break into the Hills mansion to rescue the family, since one of them had already been shot. I remember the suffocating smell of petrol, when we stormed in. I remember Erwin’s frightened eyes, when he stared at Alexa, as he was cuffed. Alexa who had stepped out of the shadows, a storm herself, and had saved her family. She hadn’t flinched when
Ripples And Hills Chapter 151.
Erwin. “Erwin… please, let’s get Jon to the hospital…” Scarlett begs, voice trembling. “Shut up!” I roar, slicing through her plea. The gun swings toward her chest. They all flinch, and my lips curl into a grin. Good. They finally see who’s in charge. I’m going to kill them all tonight. Every last one of them. Rage scorches through me, blistering, relentless. All those years of planning, wasted. Now the fucking cops are breathing down my neck. I’ve been hiding like a rat, slipping past cameras, ducking the streets. But today? Today I snapped. A tip said the cops found my latest hole, so I came here. To finish this once and for all. “You think I did all this for nothing?” I snarl, my voice breaking raw. “I wormed my way into your husband’s heart, into your precious family, just to make you pay, Scar. To hurt you like you hurt me when you broke up with me all those years ago.” Her gasp stabs the air. She covers her mouth. I lean close, close enough to breathe her in, and I sniff h
Ripples And Hills Chapter 150.
Alexa. Meanwhile. I finally get home from Martha’s. She found a place of her own, still kind enough to stick by me, even with Neil there. He was worried when he saw me crying but he didn’t press. Martha will tell him later, I guess. I didn’t tell her everything. Some things are too raw to say aloud. Killing someone, how do you put that into words? The night should be full of small promises. For me it’s full of dread. My thoughts keep snapping back to Hulio’s accusation about Helia and to Helia’s reaction, his silence that felt like a confession. He couldn’t defend himself. That silence is the thing that breaks me more than the accusation. I pull my legs up the steps to the front door and freeze when a shout rips through the air. A gunshot follows. I drop to the ground without thinking, crawling low to the door. My heart is in my mouth as I edge to a window and peer in. My breath dies in my throat. Erwin has Mum, Grandma, Jon and Aunt Anniika at gunpoint. Jon lies on the floor in
Ripples And Hills Chapter 149
Helia.Meanwhile…Minutes after Alexa leaves, I finally will my limbs to move. I’d stood there when she stormed out, rooted like a fucking statue. My breaths shallow, my chest tight, Hulio’s threat echoing in my skull.‘I will ruin that thread of trust she has in you…’The words won’t stop circling, each one a blade. But then a faint trace of her scent hits me, and something breaks loose inside me. She belongs to me. I don’t want this to end. I don’t want us to end, not because of Hulio. Not because of Roderick. Not because of my silence.So I drag myself outside. But she’s gone. Her car, wherever she parked it, I can’t find it. Panic claws through me, anguish ripping my chest open. I choke back sobs and dive into my own car.I dial her again. Voicemail. Again. Voicemail. Again.“Come on, Alexa… pick up.” My voice is raw as I weave through traffic, vision blurred from tears. My chest is caving, my heart a fist of pain. This can’t be happening. Not now. Not like this. How dare Hulio b
Ripples And Hills Chapter 148.
Alexa.Friday, 30th January, two days later…Evening.Helia kisses me deeply before he rises for the bathroom. I hear him take a leak while I shift on the bed and reach for my phone. 4:30 p.m. I groan, more from mischief than frustration. I can’t believe I drove to his office just because I missed him. I wanted him. I wanted his touch. I chuckle, swinging my legs off the bed.We’re in an adjoining bedroom in his office. It’s cozy. Stylish, just like him. I remember what he said when I asked why he needed a room in the office, when he backed me up here an hour ago and kissed me.“I lay my head in here whenever I have tons of work to do.” He kissed me again; his hands finding the curve of my dress, exploring. He had me spread before him on the bed as he sucked me, loud and relentless, making me squirm. Then he filled me with his hard cock. At some point when we were done, I found his guitar and asked him to play. He did. That voice of his charming in that moment.Now I’m sated and ti
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