Semua Bab My Father's Rival Is My Lover : Bab 221 - Bab 230

The peace didn’t last long.Three days after the collapse of Dominion, Alma awoke to the sound of waves and the scent of salt, only to find a strange drone hovering outside her beachfront window.It was shaped like a hummingbird, delicate, silent, and definitely not from their security team.Alma’s instincts kicked in. She grabbed the pistol beneath her pillow, rolled across the bed, and took cover behind the reinforced headboard. With one precise shot, the drone dropped.By the time she reached the sand, Ember and Ezra were already there, weapons drawn.“What was that?” Ember asked, eyeing the wreckage.Alma bent down, brushing sand from the drone's mangled body. Her eyes narrowed as a tiny projector on its side blinked red.“Message drone,” she murmured. “Military grade. Possibly Russian design but the encryption? That’s private sector.”Ezra squinted. “It’s locked with a biometric trigger. Only opens for you.”Alma hesitated, then placed her thumb on the scanner.The drone sparked

Monaco, Private Estate, 3 Weeks Until Hekate’s ActivationThe Mediterranean sun bathed Alma’s skin as she stepped onto the marble balcony of the Von Richter estate, a 17th-century castle refurbished into a luxury fortress by the richest and most mysterious man in Europe, Sebastian Von Richter, the only billionaire powerful enough to bankroll the destruction of Hekate.And Alma’s ex-fiancé.The air was too perfect. Too controlled. Just like Sebastian.“You haven’t changed,” Alma muttered as she watched the staff tend to the garden below. “Still pretending to be a king.”A voice behind her made her freeze.“I never needed to pretend, Alma. I was born one.”She turned slowly.There he stood tall, dark-haired, in a sharp navy suit with no tie, his tan skin still golden from sailing the Aegean. His icy blue eyes scanned her like a bank vault opening.And closing.Sebastian Von Richter.The man who once taught her how to kill and how to love.“I didn’t come here to reminisce,” she said cold

The air in the private clinic was crisp, sterilized, and eerily silent. Snow powdered the balcony outside, muting the world into a blanket of white. Inside, the soft hum of medical monitors broke the hush.Alma sat at the foot of the hospital bed, eyes rimmed with sleeplessness, fingers absently scrolling through encrypted files on her tablet. The only sounds were Sebastian's slow, steady breathing and the soft crackle of logs burning in the fireplace.She hadn’t left his side in over twenty-four hours.Julian was resting in the room next door. The doctors had stabilized his vitals, but whatever Hekate had done to him in that compound, chemically, psychologically, left shadows behind his eyes that Alma recognized. The same kind of darkness that used to live in hers.And yet, there was something more. Something urgent.She tapped open a new folder: Protocol V: Project EchoCore.It was buried deep in the Von Richter Foundation's closed archive, under false flags and shell labels. Sebast

The fire crackled softly inside the abandoned mining outpost, but the cold had a way of creeping into bones and memories. Alma sat in silence, turning ARES’ chip over in her hand. Each metallic edge felt like a blade against her conscience.Sebastian lay unconscious on a makeshift cot, barely breathing. His skin pale, colder than it should be.Julian watched from a distance, arms crossed, his jaw tight with unspoken worry.ARES stood near the doorway, barely illuminated, a living shadow. He hadn’t moved since revealing his price, Sebastian’s life.Alma finally spoke, her voice low. “You want me to kill the man who raised me.”ARES didn’t blink. “I want you to reclaim your freedom. He built your cage, Alma. The moment you understand that, everything changes.”She turned to face him. “And what happens when I outlive my usefulness to you? You kill me too?”He smirked. “That’s the difference between us. I don’t pretend to love anyone. But I would never betray you. Because without you, I’m

Julian dropped to his knees beside Alma, his fingers trembling as they searched for a pulse.Nothing.Her skin, once so full of life, had turned pale. Her chest still. Her lips parted as though caught mid-breath.“Alma!” he yelled, shaking her shoulders. “No, don’t do this, not now!”Gasps echoed around the auction room. Billionaires in silk and velvet, accustomed to controlling empires, now stared in awe at the fallen goddess.ARES stood on the stage, holding the encrypted drive like a trophy. A self-satisfied smirk curled his lips. “She’s not dead. She’s paused.”Julian’s blood boiled.“You monster!”ARES descended the stairs leisurely, stepping over golden carpets like a king at coronation. “She’s a machine, Julian. Built to withstand fire and war. But one phrase, and she crumbles.”He stopped two feet from her body, looking down as if at a masterpiece. “She needed this. Now she’ll listen.”Julian stood, eyes burning. “What gives you the right to control her?”ARES tilted his head.