Semua Bab VELVET GUN: Bab 71 - Bab 80

“In the quietest moments, the softest tremors speak of the greatest upheavals to come. A single misstep in peace can unleash the war that silence could not.” The morning sun slanted through the glass panels of Finn Mansion’s conservatory, turning the dew-soaked ferns into living jewels. At the long, polished table, Ellie and Amy sat side by side, plates of fresh fruit and warm pastries before them. The servants moved silently behind stained-glass screens, pouring coffee and passing dishes without pauseor word. Ellie lifted a strawberry to her lips and studied Amy over the rim of her cup. The morning was deceptively normal—bright, warm, and utterly peaceful. Yet Ellie felt an undercurrent of tension threading through her chest, as though her heart anticipated a trap laid within calm waters. Amy stirred her coffee absently. “The final carafe,” she murmured. “Thomas said he’d have news on our security upgrades today.” Ellie nodded, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. She took a b

“To create a life is to court the unknown. Each heartbeat is a promise, each breath a wager with fate.” The heavy door sighed as it closed behind them, sealing Ellie, Amy, and Dario away from the world. The laboratory’s sterile lights glowed cool-blue, reflecting off polished steel and glass. Every surface gleamed. Every tool lay precisely in its place. Even the air felt charged, as though electricity waited beneath the fluorescent hum.Ellie and Amy stood side by side before the central workstation, gloved hands clenched until their knuckles whitened. Dario gave them each a final nod of reassurance. His face was pale; a bead of sweat traced his temple. “Remember,” he said softly, “from this point until the procedure completes, we cannot pause. No hesitation.” Ellie swallowed. Amy squeezed her hand. Together, they nodded. Dario moved to the control console. “Step one: confirm sample integrity.” He tapped a sequence on the touchscreen. Three digital readouts flickered green. Ovu

“It is not the knife at your throat that undoes you,but the eyes that watch from the shadows, waiting to decide whether you live or die.” Ellie had been trapped in bed for six days now. The doctor’s orders were clear: No strain. No overexertion. No arguments, it was the kind of medical edict that seemed designed to torment someone like her — someone who had grown up learning that stillness was a sign of weakness. She lay propped against a mound of pillows, silk sheetspooling around her waist, the late-morning light spilling in from the tall windows of the master bedroom. The Finn Mansion’s air was unusually still, and for once, the distant noise of servants in the halls sounded too far away. Amy sat across the room in the armchair near the fireplace, legs crossed, reading a report she clearly wasn’t invested in. She kept glancing up — not at the page, but at Ellie. Watching her. Studying her. Guarding her. Ellie hated it and needed it at the same time. “You know,” Ellie muttered

The mansion was cloaked in uneasy silence, the usual hum of its daily rhythm replaced by a palpable tension that hung in the air like a thick fog. Every glance, every whisper carried weight. Everyone moved carefully, aware that the walls themselves might be listening. Amy sat in her private study, the leather chair creaking beneath her as she stared at the photographs spread across the desk. The faces were blurred, but the location was unmistakable — near the maternity wing where Ellie was confined. The implications churned in her mind, a gnawing fear tempered only by her steely resolve. Her phone vibrated sharply. She glanced down to see a message from an unknown number: They’re watching. Be ready. Amy’s jaw tightened. She wasn’t used to being caught off guard. Ellie lay in her bed upstairs, the soft light filtering through the curtains doing little to ease the storm inside her. Restlessness plagued her, every noise outside making her heart jump. She thought about the baby growing in

They called it unnatural, but it was the most natural thing I had ever known — loving her.” The storm rolled in before sunset. It was the kind of rain that came down like it meant something, each drop striking the old stone of Finn Mansion with sharp, deliberate force. Amy liked weather like this. It kept people inside, made the city’s streets quieter. Made it easier to hear your own thoughts — though tonight, hers weren’t exactly welcome company. She sat in her study, a cigarette burning low between her fingers, the smoke curling up in lazy ribbons. Her jacket hung open over a black shirt, the top button undone. The glass of whiskey in front of her was nearly empty. Across the room, Ellie stood by the tall window, her hand pressed lightly to the glass. The lamplight behind her cast her in a warm, golden outline — the curve of her hip, the slope of her neck, the faint shadow her lashes left on her cheek. They hadn’t spoken in several minutes, that wasn’t unusual. They could sit in si