Lahat ng Kabanata ng My Ex, My Ruin: Kabanata 21 - Kabanata 30

Elena's POVVictor's driver navigated through Manhattan traffic with practiced ease. I sat in the back seat, Victor beside me, his hand possessively on my knee. Every time I tried to shift away, his grip tightened."Relax," he said, smiling. "You're going to see your brother. Isn't that what you wanted?"I didn't answer. My mind was racing, trying to process everything that had just happened. Michael worked for Victor, every piece of "help," every bit of "intel," every concerned phone call is all manipulation.And Adrien. God, Adrien had been right about everything. The bank statements were fake. The videos were fabricated. He'd been trying to prove his innocence while I'd been believing Victor's lies.I'd abandoned him. Left him to face federal charges alone because I'd been too stupid, too blind to see the truth."You're very quiet," Victor observed. "Having second thoughts?""No," I lied. "Just worried about Miguel.""He's fine. I told you I keep my word." He checked his watch. "We

Elena's POVI woke to the smell of coffee.For a moment, before I opened my eyes, I thought I was home. That everything Victor, the abduction had been a nightmare.Then I tried to move my hands and felt the rope bite into my wrists.My eyes snapped open.I was in a bedroom. Large. Hardwood floors. A four-poster bed beneath me. Everything decorated in muted grays and whites, like a luxury hotel.Except for the rope tying my hands to the bedpost.And Victor Kaine sitting in a chair beside the bed, reading a newspaper, a cup of coffee on the side table.He looked up when I stirred. Smiled like we were old friends. Like this was normal."Hi Elena. I was starting to worry you'd sleep all day."I pulled against the ropes. They didn't budge. "Where am I?""Somewhere safe. Somewhere we can talk without interruption." He folded the newspaper carefully, set it aside. "Would you like some coffee? You've been unconscious for hours. You must be thirsty."God!!"I'm not thirsty," I said, my voice

Elena's POVThe car's tires screamed as Adrien took the turn too fast.I held onto Miguel in the back seat, one arm wrapped around my brother as he slumped against me. He was breathing shallow, ragged, but breathing. The sedatives were still working through his system, making him drift in and out of consciousness."Stay with me," I whispered, brushing his hair back. "Miguel, stay with me. We're almost safe.""Elena?" His voice was barely audible. "Is this real?""Yes. It's real. Adrien found us. We're getting out."In the driver's seat, Adrien's knuckles were white on the steering wheel. His jaw was clenched so tight I could see the muscle jumping. Blood stained his shirt, not his own, I thought. Michael's.Michael was dead.The reality of it kept trying to surface, but I pushed it down. Couldn't process it now. Couldn't think about the man who'd betrayed us dying on that bedroom floor, blood spreading beneath him as he choked out warnings about the Syndicate.I'd break down later.Ri

Elena's POVThe screaming woke me at 3 AM.I bolted upright, heart hamming, reaching for Adrien in the darkness. He was already moving, already out of bed, already running toward Miguel's room.I followed.Miguel's door was open. Inside, he was thrashing in his bed, tangled in sheets soaked with sweat. His eyes were closed but his mouth was open, screaming words I couldn't understand."No no, please I didn't tell her anything please don't Elena ELENA!"Adrien reached him first, grabbed his shoulders. "Miguel! Wake up! You're safe"Miguel's eyes snapped open. Wild. Unfocused. He swung at Adrien, connected with his jaw. Adrien stumbled back."Miguel, it's me!" I moved forward carefully, hands raised. "It's Elena. You're safe. You're not there anymore."He looked at me. Didn't recognize me for several horrible seconds.Then recognition crashed in and he collapsed. Just folded in on himself, pulling his knees to his chest, hands over his head like he was protecting himself from blows."I'

Elena's POVFew days after the threatening call, Miguel did something I didn't expect.He started working again.I found him in the safe house's small office, really just a converted bedroom with a desk and a window overlooking the woods. He was hunched over Michael's laptop, the one we'd grabbed from the building while we were rescued."Miguel?" I stood in the doorway, not wanting to startle him. "What are you doing?""Something useful." He didn't look up from the screen. His fingers flew across the keyboard, lines of code scrolling past. "I can't sleep anyway. Might as well work.""You should be resting""Resting doesn't help. It just gives me more time to think. To remember." His voice was flat. Exhausted. "But this? This I can do. This I'm good at."I came closer, looked at the screen. Couldn't make sense of what I was seeing. "What is it?""Michael's laptop. I've been trying to decrypt his files for the past three days." He pulled up a folder. "There's more here than what you sen