Lahat ng Kabanata ng RUTHLESS BILLIONAIRE EX-HUSBAND CHASED ME BACK: Kabanata 191 - Kabanata 200

Voss twirled Jeff's dog tags around her finger, the metal glinting with fresh blood. My stomach twisted as I pressed Mara and Lena behind me, their rapid breaths hot against my back."Let's make this simple," Voss said, her surgical mask fluttering with each word. "Give me Lena, and I'll let you walk away with your... daughter." Her gaze flicked to Mara. "Such a touching reunion."Nolan stepped forward, hands raised. "There's another way—"Voss shot him in the knee.He collapsed with a grunt as Lena screamed. Mara buried her face in my jacket, trembling. The armed men moved in, rifles trained on us.Voss sighed. "I'd hoped we could be civilized." She tossed the dog tags at my feet. "Jeff fought well. Pity his last words were about you."The world narrowed to those bloodstained tags. Jeff couldn't be—Lena darted out from behind me. "You're lying!"Voss's smile was a razor cut. "Am I?" She pulled a tablet from her coat, tapping the screen.Security footage played—Jeff pinned beneath tw

The car ride to Geneva passed in a haze of exhaustion and quiet touches. Lena slept curled against Jeff's side, her small fingers tangled in his torn shirt. Mara dozed in my lap, her breathing steady for the first time in days. Outside the windows, the Alps gave way to rolling green hills and the occasional glimpse of Lake Geneva's sparkling waters.Jeff's hand found mine in the space between the seats, his thumb tracing slow circles on my skin. Neither of us spoke. Words felt too heavy, too fragile for the weight of everything we'd survived.Nolan broke the silence first. "We're here."The car turned onto a private drive lined with towering cypress trees. At the end stood a sprawling stone villa overlooking the lake, its shutters painted a soft blue, ivy creeping up the walls.Jeff stiffened beside me."Where is this?" I asked softly."A safe place," Nolan said, but his eyes flicked to Jeff in a silent question.Jeff exhaled through his nose. "My aunt's house."His aunt. The realizat

The interrogation room door hissed open.Daniela didn't look up as I entered, just traced idle circles on the steel table with a fingertip. Up close, the resemblance was uncanny—same arch of the brows, same slight crook in the nose from what might have been a long-ago break. But where my hands bore callouses from a decade of weapon drills, hers were soft. Untouched."You're taller than I expected," she said without looking up. Her voice was my own, but lighter. Unburdened.Jeff moved to stand behind me, his presence a solid wall at my back. Nolan and Elise hovered near the door, tension radiating off them in waves.Daniela finally lifted her gaze. "Do you remember the orange tree outside our bedroom window? How the branches would scrape against the glass during storms?"A fragment surfaced—wind howling, the scent of citrus, small hands clutching mine beneath a blanket fort.I clenched my fists. "Those aren't my memories.""Of course not." Daniela leaned forward, her dark eyes gleaming

The embossed invitation arrived in a black envelope, sealed with crimson wax.You are cordially invited to the auction of the century.Palais des Nations, Geneva. Midnight.Dress code: Blood and diamonds.Jeff crushed the card in his fist. "It's a trap."Nolan spun the accompanying flash drive on the table. "Or a surrender. Daniela's network is crumbling—Interpol raided three of her labs this week."Claudette set down her tea with a clatter. "Then why walk into her spectacle?"I met Jeff's gaze across the table. "Because she's offering something we want."The drive's contents played across the screen—a vault filled with rows of cryo-chambers. Each held a sleeping Lazarus subject. The camera panned to a control panel: *TERMINATION SEQUENCE INITIATED - 72:00:00*Daniela's recorded voice purred: "Come to my party, Demi. Let's negotiate their lives."The Palais des Nations glittered like a knife.Chandeliers dripped crystal above a sea of tuxedos and couture gowns. Security patrolled in w

The key felt heavy in my palm—cold, ordinary metal. No glow, no transformation. Just a simple silver key that could open any lock in Geneva.Jeff exhaled sharply beside me as the last of Daniela’s men disappeared into the night. The room was silent now, save for the distant wail of sirens. The children were still here, still asleep in their pods. No vanishing act. No shared consciousness. Just scared kids caught in our mess.I turned the key over in my fingers. "Where does this lead?"Jeff’s jaw tightened. "Only one way to find out."The smallest girl in the nearest pod stirred, her dark lashes fluttering. Not waking—just trapped in a restless sleep. The bruise on her cheek stood out against pale skin. I knew that kind of bruise. Knew exactly how it got there.Daniela’s voice crackled over the abandoned intercom, tinny and distant: "You always were sentimental, Demi."Then silence.Jeff touched my arm. "We need to go. Now."I looked at the key again. A address was etched into the meta