Lahat ng Kabanata ng CUTTING THE CORD: my ex-husband regret : Kabanata 111 - Kabanata 117

We moved quickly through the twisting hallways, following Claire’s lead. The control room was within reach, yet every step felt heavier as if the air itself were thick with danger. Ethan kept close, his sharp eyes scanning the surroundings. The tension between us all was palpable—mistrust still lingered, despite Claire’s sudden defection to our side. We rounded a final corner, ducking beneath hanging cables and debris, until Claire stopped in front of a metal door. She pressed her ear against it briefly, then motioned for us to follow her inside. “This is it,” Claire whispered. “We’ll be safe for a little while.”The room we entered was dimly lit, filled with computer monitors displaying surveillance feeds, encrypted data streams, and maps marked with enemy movements. But what struck me most was the figure waiting inside—a slender man in his late forties, wearing a frayed suit jacket, his glasses perched precariously on his nose. I knew this man.“Dr. Lucas?” I gasped. “What the hel

The explosion echoed in my ears as I stumbled, forcing my mind to regain focus amid the chaos. Dust hung in the air, coating every surface, but it was the shadow standing at the edge of the dimly lit room that caught my attention.She stepped forward, her face emerging from the shadows, and my heart twisted.“Natalie?” I whispered, disbelief tightening my throat.My sister’s gaze met mine with an unsettling calm, the cold, unyielding look of someone who’d made peace with betrayal long ago. “Hello, Emily,” she replied, her voice smooth, detached, and entirely too confident. “I knew you’d get this far eventually. You’ve always been tenacious. Just… misguided.”I stared at her, a thousand memories and emotions surging through me at once. “Misguided?” I demanded, the hurt and anger in my voice sounding foreign even to my own ears. “How could you do this, Natalie? You’re my sister. Family.”She tilted her head, a faint smirk touching her lips. “You still think family is sacred?” Her laugh

I sat in the quiet darkness of my apartment, Natalie’s words still ringing in my ears. The silence felt oppressive, a stark contrast to the storm raging within me. Her offer had lingered long after the call ended, haunting me with its twisted logic. Join the conspiracy. Work from the inside. Gain the power to actually make a difference. For someone like Natalie, it was simple, practical—a means to an end, detached from any trace of morality.For me, though, it was so much more complicated. I knew the devastation this organization was capable of, the ways it thrived on manipulation, fear, and outright destruction. The idea of joining them felt like betraying everything I’d fought to protect, every value that had brought me here. But as I leaned back, a darker thought crept in, one I couldn’t quite shake: What if Natalie was right? What if I was going about this all wrong? From the outside, I was just one person fighting a behemoth with endless resources. Maybe… maybe I could use those

The blaring alarms were deafening, piercing through the walls as the heavy metal doors around me slammed shut with finality. I had seconds to make my escape, but every route was blocked, leaving only a narrow path through the shadows—a corridor that seemed as if it led deeper into the building. The sound of footsteps echoed from behind, rapid and closing in. Dominic’s cold laughter lingered in my mind, a dark reminder of the trap they’d set for me. I couldn’t afford to falter now. The adrenaline kicked in, fueling every step as I darted forward, the stale, oppressive air thickening as I moved deeper down the corridor. Shadows stretched across the walls, twisting and turning as I dashed through. I tried to suppress the gnawing fear in my chest. They had to be onto me; they had seen through my facade. Every turn seemed designed to mislead, winding me farther from the safety of the exit, and just as I thought I’d reached a dead end, I saw it—a door left ajar, the faintest line of light