Semua Bab Twisted Fate: Bab 41 - Bab 50

Claire thrashed against the stranger's grip, panic exploding in her chest like a wildfire.She tried to scream, but the rough hand clamped tighter over her mouth, cutting off any sound.Her captor dragged her backward, away from the gate, into the suffocating darkness of the woods.The rain battered down harder now, turning the ground into a muddy trap.Claire kicked wildly, her foot connecting with something soft—a grunt of pain escaped the man, but he didn't loosen his hold.Instead, he lifted her bodily, throwing her over his shoulder like she weighed nothing.Claire's heart pounded against her ribs.This is it,This is how I disappear.Tears blurred her vision as she struggled in vain.Where was Ryan?Where was anyone?Was this a setup?Had Ryan let her go… knowing someone else would capture her?Betrayal twisted her gut, but there was no time for answers now.Only survival.---They broke through the trees and came upon an old, battered truck parked by the side of a dirt road.T

The halls of the Gold estate were eerily silent, every shadow seeming heavier, every creak of the old wood floors louder than usual.Only the low, steady hum of rain against the windows kept them company, a soft percussion that filled the empty spaces where words couldn’t.Claire sat curled in an armchair in the guest room, a thick blanket wrapped around her like armor.Her wet clothes had been stripped away by kind, nameless hands, and a fresh set of soft cotton pajamas clung to her skin.A cup of tea steamed on the nightstand nearby, untouched, forgotten.She stared blankly at the wall, not really seeing it.Her body was there.Her mind...Her mind was still back in the woods.Still feeling the slick weight of the gun in her shaking hand.Still seeing the twisted snarl on Mason’s face.Still hearing the deafening crack of the gunshot.She should have felt victorious.Strong.Triumphant.Instead, she just felt—Tired.So, so tired.Her bones ached with it.Her soul sagged beneath it.

Claire sat by the window that night, wrapped in a blanket Ryan had placed around her shoulders.The rain had softened to a drizzle, tapping softly against the glass.But inside her chest, a full storm still raged.Ryan sat across from her, watching her in silence, a glass of whiskey untouched in his hand.Neither of them spoke for a long time.Words felt too small for what they had been through.Finally, Claire broke the silence."Who were they?" she asked, her voice still hoarse from screaming earlier.Ryan leaned back, jaw tight."Enemies," he said simply.Claire let out a shaky breath."But why me? Why not come straight for you?"Ryan’s eyes darkened."Because they know how to hurt me."The confession sat between them, heavy and raw.Claire tightened the blanket around herself.For so long, she had thought she was just a pawn—an outsider trapped in a game too big for her.Now, it was terrifying to realize she mattered more than she thought.That she was the leverage.---Ryan stood

Claire woke up the next morning, the remnants of a restless night clinging to her.The storm clouds still hung heavy in the sky, and there was no sign of the sun. It seemed fitting, considering the tension she felt, coiling tighter around her chest with every passing hour.She glanced over at Ryan, still sleeping soundly beside her.It was a rare sight.The lines on his face were softer now, his usual fierce demeanor replaced by a quiet vulnerability. For a moment, Claire just watched him, letting herself breathe a little easier. But the weight of their situation pressed down on her, pulling her thoughts back to reality. They didn’t have the luxury of peace for long.Her phone buzzed beside her on the nightstand.Claire’s heart stopped.It was a message from an unknown number.She reached for the phone, her fingers trembling as she unlocked the screen.The message was short, but the words hit her like a punch in the gut.> "You won’t see it coming. Be careful."Claire’s stomach flippe

Claire’s heart dropped.Someone closer?The words echoed in her mind like a drumbeat, each thud growing louder, more insistent.She had been through so much. The violence, the betrayals, the bloodshed.But hearing this — the sharp, cold implication of it — was different. It felt like a punch to the gut, a strike to the very core of her being.Ryan’s hand, still clutching Mason’s collar, tightened with a force that seemed to rattle the very air around them.His face was a mask of rage, but Claire could see it—the briefest flicker in his eyes.A shadow.Fear.He wasn’t just angry. He was terrified.It wasn’t the same fury that had burned through him when Mason had first walked into the room.This was something deeper, something that went beyond simple hatred.Mason was watching them both with a smile that seemed to grow with each passing second, basking in the tension he had created.The air in the room grew thick, suffocating, like smoke from a fire that no one could put out.No one sp