Lahat ng Kabanata ng My Father's Rival Is My Lover : Kabanata 231 - Kabanata 240

Jericho was a ghost city.What used to be a military compound deep in the Syrian desert had been erased from all maps. The coordinates Helios left behind led to a place where time stood still, a place Alma swore she’d never return to.And yet, here they were.A sleek black jet, courtesy of Julian’s offshore tech partners, descended into the barren landscape. Sand swirled. Wind howled. And the memories came flooding back.Alma pressed her palm to the window. "I was born here. But I never lived here."Julian glanced at her. "We don't have to do this now."But Alma shook her head. "We do. This is where they began to turn us into gods."Ground Level, The Gates of JerichoThe facility rose like a monolith from the sand, scorched and corroded by time. Automated guns had long rusted into silence. The biometric gate no longer blinked, but Alma’s presence was enough.With a hiss, the massive steel doors parted.Julian followed her into the dark hallway, their boots echoing against ancient ceme

The sun had barely risen over Marrakesh, casting golden streaks across the aged rooftops. But inside Nova’s hideout, the air was heavy with tension.Alma sat alone at the old wooden table, steam curling from the untouched coffee in her mug. Her fingers tapped against the polished metal of a recovered drive, one of the last fragments from the Eidolon Core. Though they’d destroyed the system, this fragment had survived. And it pulsed faintly like a dying heartbeat.Julian entered quietly, the buttons of his shirt half-fastened, his hair tousled from sleep. He paused in the doorway, watching her.“You’ve been up all night,” he said.Alma didn’t look up. “Sleep feels like a luxury I can’t afford.”Julian walked over, placing a soft kiss on her temple before sitting beside her.“What’s bothering you?”She finally turned to him, her eyes heavy. “When the Core collapsed, something else opened. A hidden network. Deeper. Older. Something even she was afraid of.”“Evelyn?”Alma nodded. “She did

The world didn’t end in a bang.It began unraveling in whispers.At first, it was the banking disruptions, accounts frozen in Dubai, entire systems blacking out in Zurich and Hong Kong. Then came the communication outages, drone delivery fleets falling from the skies, AI hospital assistants suddenly refusing to comply with emergency requests.But only Alma Vale understood the pattern.They were probing.The Primogenitors weren’t just launching an attack, they were studying how the world would bleed.And it was her blood that painted the target.London, Nova Safehouse, 3:14 AMThe walls vibrated with tension as Nova’s avatar walked alongside Julian through the inner lab. Her form flickered between a calm blue hue and an urgent red.“We just lost our uplink in Jakarta. Vienna’s defense grid is offline,” Nova announced. “This isn’t a drill anymore.”Julian grunted. “We need backup.”“From who?” Alma asked, entering with eyes that hadn’t seen sleep in days. Her tone was clipped. Controlle

The day had begun like a dream.Sunlight filtered in through the sheer white curtains of their countryside villa, dancing across the marble floors in golden strips. Alma stretched slowly beneath the sheets, her bare back kissed by morning air. Beside her, Julian was already awake, propped on one elbow, watching her with the kind of reverence usually reserved for temples."You ever get tired of staring at me?" she murmured, her voice still coated in sleep."Not even on my worst days," Julian replied, brushing a strand of hair from her face.They hadn’t spoken about the wedding again since her global broadcast. Too much had happened. The world was still adapting to Parity. Governments scrambled to understand it. Tech giants tried to buy it, bury it, destroy it, but none could. Alma had built it to be free. Untouchable. Like her.But this morning felt different.Safe.Real.Julian rolled over, reaching for something on the nightstand.She blinked the sleep from her eyes as he turned back

A crimson glow bathed the corridor walls, pulsing like the heartbeat of something ancient and alive. The air inside the Icelandic base had shifted, heavier now, almost sentient. Julian raised his weapon, and Selene flicked her flashlight off, switching to thermal vision.But Alma couldn’t move. Her breath hitched as she stared at the girl standing just meters away.Elara.She looked exactly like Evelyn in her youth, but colder. Her features too symmetrical, her expression too calm.“Elara?” Alma whispered, stepping forward.The girl tilted her head slightly, like a curious machine trying to mimic human empathy. “That’s what she called me. But I am no longer Elara.”Julian stepped in front of Alma. “Then who are you?”The girl’s eyes flickered red.“I am Phoenix.”A burst of energy exploded down the hallway behind them. Selene grabbed Knox and dove for cover. The walls began to reshape, steel plates folding like origami, sealing exits.“We’re locked in,” Knox shouted. “She's hijacked t