Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Mafia's Forbidden Heat: Kabanata 161 - Kabanata 170

THORNE POVThe assassination attempt happened on a Thursday while I was giving a speech at the United Nations about network rights. A man in the audience stood up with a modified electromagnetic weapon designed to overload bond connections and fired it directly at my head.I felt the pulse hit me like a sledgehammer to my consciousness. Every bond connection in my network screamed in agony simultaneously. One thousand minds experiencing my pain amplified through collective consciousness. For a moment I thought I was dying and taking everyone connected to me down with me.But then Rin was there through the bond pulling strength from every person in our network and using it to shield my mind from the worst of the damage. The pulse scattered against our combined consciousness and dissipated.Security tackled the shooter before he could fire again. Medical personnel rushed toward me. And through the network I felt one thousand people breathing in relief that I was still alive."Status re

THORNE POVThe detention camps started appearing within weeks of the Guangzhou bombing and I knew we were losing this fight. Not just politically but emotionally. The constant fear and pressure was breaking people and breaking the bonds that held us together.I found Rin on the roof of our safe house staring at the city lights. Through our bond I felt his exhaustion and something else. Loneliness despite being connected to a thousand minds."When was the last time it was just us," I asked sitting down beside him."I do not remember. Weeks maybe. Everything has been crisis management and coalition meetings and trying to keep people from being arrested.""I miss you."He turned to look at me and through the bond I felt surprise mixed with relief. "I am right here. We are always connected.""That is not the same as actually being together. Just you and me without a thousand other people in our heads."Through our private channel he sent warmth and longing. "I miss you too. I miss when o

THORNE POVSix months of peace felt like a lifetime after everything we had been through. Our small network of eight people functioned smoothly. No drama. No crisis. Just genuine connection and support between people who actually chose each other.I should have known it would not last.Kai showed up at our house one morning looking uncharacteristically serious. Through the network I felt his anxiety before he even spoke."The government found Lisa," he said without preamble. "The woman we severed from the network when China tried to control her. She has been in a psychiatric facility since then. Completely broken."The guilt hit me immediately. We had cut her loose to save the others and then forgotten about her while we built our peaceful life."Is she okay," Rin asked even though we both knew the answer."No. She tried to kill herself twice. She cannot function without the network. Her mind keeps reaching for connections that are not there anymore and it is destroying her."Through

THORNE POVSera gave birth to a daughter she named Elena and the moment the baby took her first breath I felt a new presence bloom in the network. Faint and confused and utterly innocent. The baby had bonded automatically through Sera's connection to all eight of us."Oh no," Sera whispered and through the network I felt her panic. "She is already connected. I can feel her in my head and she can probably feel all of us.""Is that bad," Marcus asked."She is one day old. She should not have eight adults in her consciousness. This is exactly what I was afraid of."Dr. Voss came to examine the situation and confirmed our fears. Elena was fully bonded to our network. Her developing consciousness was intertwined with eight adult minds. There was no way to sever her without causing catastrophic damage."She will grow up never knowing what it is like to be alone in her own head," Dr. Voss explained. "Her sense of self will be shaped by the collective from the beginning. She will be fundament

THORNE POVIris was born on a spring morning and the moment she entered the world I felt her consciousness snap into sharp focus. Unlike Elena who had taken months to develop clear awareness, Iris arrived already knowing the network. Already understanding the eight minds connected to her.Her first emotion broadcast was not fear or confusion but curiosity. Pure focused interest in everything around her."She is different from Elena," Dr. Voss said while examining her. "More aware. The dual bond with both parents created something stronger."Through our connection I felt Rin's exhaustion and overwhelming love. He had just given birth but he was already reaching toward Iris through the network making sure she felt safe and connected."How are you," I asked him."Tired. In pain. Completely in love with her. The usual."Iris turned her head toward my voice even though she could not see me clearly yet. Through the network she knew exactly where I was. Who I was. She recognized my consciou