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139

Author: Detty Scent
last update Petsa ng paglalathala: 2026-04-11 03:34:48

Anya’s POV

That night, the snow began to fall.

It started as a fine, white dust drifting past the cabin windows, almost too delicate to notice. By the time we finished the last of the soup and washed the bowls in the small sink, it had turned into a heavy, wet blanket that muffled the world even further.

The wind had died down, leaving only the soft, constant hush of flakes piling against the glass and the roof. Everything outside felt sealed away distant, unreachable, wrapped in white silenc
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  • The Scandalous Step Siblings: First Enemies, Then Lovers    167

    The doors of the van were flung open, and the world became a strobe-light assault of flashbulbs and screaming questions. "Anya! Over here!" "Is it true, Kai?" "Did Ethan Vance kill his father?"Officers with grim faces and heavy hands grabbed my arms, pulling me out into the frigid night air. I saw Marcus Stone being led into a separate side entrance, his face buried behind the lapels of his ruined jacket, the ultimate fixer finally broken. Further down, near a line of black sedans, I saw Ethan Vance. He was surrounded by a wall of men in tailored suits, his lawyers acting like a human shield. He looked at me across the chaos, and for the first time since I’d known him, the arrogance was gone. There was a raw, naked fear in his eyes. He knew."Anya Miller!" a reporter shrieked, shoving a microphone toward my face. "Was it worth the prison time? Is the Archive real?"I didn't give them a quote. I didn't give them the satisfaction of a soundbite. I just looked at Kai as they led him tow

  • The Scandalous Step Siblings: First Enemies, Then Lovers    166

    Anya's povThe back of a police van is not a place for a lady, but since I’d spent the last few weeks being a fugitive, a prisoner, and a mountain-climbing stunt double for a snuff film, I figured I’d lost my "lady" status somewhere around the Nebraska state line. If there was a finishing school for critics who blow up federal property, I’d probably be the valedictorian.The walls here were cold, sweat-slicked metal that smelled of old rust and damp apprehension. The floor was a slab of reinforced steel that didn’t give an inch, telegraphing every bump in the road directly into my bruised tailbone. The only light in this rolling metal coffin came from the small, barred window in the back door, flickering with the strobing, hypnotic rhythm of the sirens. Blue, red, blue, red. It was like being trapped inside a very small, very loud disco designed specifically for people who had made a series of spectacularly bad life choices."You okay back there, Miller?" the driver yelled. I could he

  • The Scandalous Step Siblings: First Enemies, Then Lovers    166

    AnyaI looked up from the snow. The sky was still a bruised purple, but the rhythmic thrum-thrum-thrum of a helicopter was returning. Ethan Vance was circling back. Of course he was. He was the director who couldn't leave the set until he was sure the leading lady was dead. He wanted to see the wreckage. He wanted to look down from his mechanical throne and make sure the "final note" was silent.But as I lay there, shivering and broken, I saw something else.A pair of headlights appeared at the bottom of the quarry road, tiny twin stars cutting through the dark. Then another pair. Then six more. They weren't the sleek, black SUVs of Ethan’s private security. They were white and blue, flashing with a frantic, rhythmic intensity. Local police. State troopers. The actual cavalry.And right in the middle of the convoy was a van with a massive satellite dish bolted to the top. A news crew. My people. Sort of.I let out a wet, painful laugh that turned into a cough. The broadcast had worked

  • The Scandalous Step Siblings: First Enemies, Then Lovers    165

    Anya's POVThe world didn’t just end again, it tilted.It wasn't some poetic metaphor for my life falling apart. It was actual, screeching physics. The metal floor of the relay station—the same floor I’d been standing on while I tried to play God with a radio frequency—groaned like a dying whale. Then, it leaned thirty degrees to the left. For a heartbeat, my stomach stayed at the top of the tower while my boots began a desperate, screeching slide toward the edge of the platform. Below us, the quarry looked like a hungry black mouth, yawning wide, waiting for the punchline of a very long, very expensive, very bad joke.I slammed my shoulder against a support beam, the cold galvanized steel biting through my jacket. My fingers scrabbled for purchase, my nails digging into the grit on the metal. I looked at Marcus Stone. He was clinging to a control console with the desperation of a man who realized his golden parachute was made of lead. His knuckles were white, his eyes were dinner pla

  • The Scandalous Step Siblings: First Enemies, Then Lovers    164

    AnyaThe backseat of the whistleblower’s beat-up sedan smelled like wet upholstery, old cigarettes, and a faint hint of peppermint that made my stomach turn. It was a real step down from the leather-scented luxury of a kidnapping vehicle, but I wasn't in a position to leave a bad review. My ankle was throbbing in three different time signatures, and my shoulder felt like it had been chewed on by a mountain lion. Every time we hit a bump, the pain flared up, bright and hot, reminding me that I was very much made of breakable parts."Can you drive any faster?" I hissed, clutching the thumb drive so hard the metal was starting to leave a permanent dent in my palm. "Or is this the scenic route where we wait for the helicopter to turn us into a roadside attraction? Because I’m not really in the mood for a tour."The man—I think his name was Miller, which was a very boring name for someone involved in a conspiracy—didn't look at me. He kept his eyes fixed on the narrow strip of road that wa

  • The Scandalous Step Siblings: First Enemies, Then Lovers    163

    Ethan stood there like a shadow against the white snow, looking perfectly calm. He was wearing a long, expensive overcoat that looked like it belonged in a city office, not on a freezing mountain. Not a single hair was out of place, even though the wind was screaming around us. He wasn't holding a gun, but he didn't need one. He had all the power, and he knew it. Behind him, the cliff dropped off into a black hole, and the silence of the mountain felt like a heavy, cold blanket over my head."You really thought a small cabin and a few computer files would be enough to stop me?" Ethan asked. His voice was smooth and slow, almost like a father talking to a child. "I built the North Star, Anya. I created the world Kai lives in. Did you really think I wouldn't build the exits, too?"I squeezed the silver thumb drive in my hand. The metal was so cold it felt like it was burning my skin. My heart was jumping like a scared bird trapped in my chest. I looked past him, trying to see the flat a

  • The Scandalous Step Siblings: First Enemies, Then Lovers    72

    AnyaIf life was a joke, I was definitely the punchline, and Ethan was the one laughing all the way to the bank while I stood in his kitchen trying to remember how to breathe without tasting his smugness. The estate didn't even feel like a home anymore, it felt like a giant stomach that was slowly

    last updateHuling Na-update : 2026-03-29

  • The Scandalous Step Siblings: First Enemies, Then Lovers    71

    Anya's POV I really thought Ethan was the smartest guy in the room, but it turns out he’s just the best at hiding his receipts, and for the next three days, I gave him the performance of a lifetime.I played the role of the defeated pet to perfection because I knew he was watching my every move. I

    last updateHuling Na-update : 2026-03-28

  • The Scandalous Step Siblings: First Enemies, Then Lovers    68

    Anya’s POV“To my office now.”My phone pinged with that short, cold message from Ethan and honestly, I felt like my heart was going to beat right out of my chest because I was still vibrating from the "discovery" I’d made in the library. I walked down the hall and the air in the mansion felt diffe

    last updateHuling Na-update : 2026-03-28

  • The Scandalous Step Siblings: First Enemies, Then Lovers    65

    Anya’s POVThe move happened with a terrifying efficiency that felt less like moving house and more like being extradited to a foreign country.I barely had enough time to throw my life into a suitcase before two of Ethan’s "security detail" were standing in my doorway, looking like a pair of high-e

    last updateHuling Na-update : 2026-03-27
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