Semua Bab From Lies To Love: Bab 171 - Bab 180

life.Chapter Title: Shadows of the PastPoint of View: LilyI was chopping vegetables in the kitchen when I saw him once more—Nelson striding down the corridor like a ghost from an ancient war. His feet were heavy, not with noise, but with feeling. Something in the slouching shoulders and the constant curling into fists of his hands wailed restlessness. But not the usual kind. It was deeper. Darker.I exchanged a glance with Simeon, who had been sitting in the doorway, watching while I prepared food. His brow furrowed as he followed my eyes to Nelson."He's done it all morning," I said quietly, carefully setting down the knife. "Even last night, I saw him at 2 a.m. pacing. He's thinking too much."Simeon crossed his arms. "Or he's scheming."My heart stopped there.Scheming.That one word dangled there like a loaded gun in the middle of our kitchen.I used my hands to dry off with a towel and spun around entirely to turn toward Simeon. "Do you think he's… considering returning?"Sime

CHAPTER TITLE: Gone Without a TracePOV: LilyI looked at the clock again. 8:37 PM."She would be back by now…" I murmured to myself. I finger-rolled the cuff of my sleeve, standing near the window, looking out at the empty street outside our house."She left in the afternoon," Nelson said from the couch, his voice abnormally tense. "It's almost five hours already. That's not normal."Simeon leaned against the dining table, arms folded across his chest, jaw clenched. His eyes were trained on Leora's empty chair — the chair she always used for dinner, beside me. No one had touched the food. The aroma of fried rice and roasted chicken filled the air, but none of us was hungry.I went back to the table, sat down carefully, and moved my plate forward."She didn't take long the last time she came to the company," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "She would have called if she was held up.""Her phone is off," Simeon complained, pulling his out once more to try for the fifth time. I w

Chapter 175: Searching for LeoraThe weight of the world was on my shoulders as I stood outside the police station. I had never been to one for something this serious. My heart raced in my chest, a constant reminder of the fear gnawing at my insides. Leora was gone. Gone into thin air. No calls, no messages, no texts from anyone. It was like she had just vanished. I couldn't believe it.I looked over at the others, Simeon and Nelson flanking me on each side, their faces as grave as my own. They had tried to reassure me that Leora would be here any moment, that she was probably in some sort of trouble, but inwardly I knew this was bigger. So much bigger. This was not her. Not by any stretch.We had waited and searched all night, combed the house, retraced her route, even called her phone until it had gone quiet. Nothing. Nothing at all. I was ready to break by the time we went to visit the police.Inside the room, tension was thick in the air, the hum of ringing phones and murmurs of d

Chapter Title: A Flicker of HopeLeora’s POVIt was dark again.I couldn’t tell if it was night or just the windowless room I’d been locked in, but the emptiness inside me stretched deeper than time. I’d cried until there were no more tears left, screamed until my throat burned, and now—there was only silence. Cold, frightening silence.My stomach had ceased growling two days prior. Or perhaps three. I wasn't certain anymore. I hadn't eaten. I hadn't seen another face since that awful moment when Adrian's men grabbed me and shoved me into a car, held something to my neck, and the world went dark.When I awoke, I was here. Alone.A basement perhaps. The air was stagnant. The walls were concrete. The door? Locked. Always locked.At first, I thought it was a dream. Then I knew it was a nightmare. A true nightmare.I folded myself further in the corner of the room, trying to get warm. My hands trembled as I put the blanket up over my knees, the lone thin layer they'd left. It didn't help

Chapter 179: Footsteps in the DarkLeora's POVI was cold.I couldn't tell if it was the room or my body collapsing. The cement floor was rough against my skin, the thin blanket not even offering shelter from the cold that crept in through the walls. My stomach ached from hunger. My lips were dry, and whenever I tried to lick them, they felt like they were cracking.How long? Days? Or merely hours upon hours stretched out into what felt like forever?The only light came from the small barred window above my head. It created long, skeletal shadows on the floor—phantoms of freedom taunting me.I wanted to cry, shout, break something—but I didn't. I wasn't allowed to be too loud. He could hear me. Adrian.I hugged my arms around me more closely.I thought I was smart. Careful. That I was in the right. Collaborating with Lily and Simeon in bringing down Adrian's deceitful secrets was the right thing to do. He was powerful, too powerful. Fatal. And we were merely seeking to stop him from d