All Chapters of The Scandalous Step Siblings: First Enemies, Then Lovers : Chapter 181 - Chapter 190

Ethan’s POVThe heavy, cold-rolled steel security doors of the High Ridge facility hissed shut behind us with a pneumatic, absolute finality, completely sealing out the howling mountain wind and locking the three of us into the sterile, unyielding white glare of the main corridor. This place was a quiet monument to old, generational ambitions. The stark walls were lined with heavy, frosted glass panels, behind which sat the massive, inactive machinery of my father’s earliest, uncompromised experiments. It had taken a fortune in shell companies and political bribes to keep this place entirely hidden from federal investigators over the last two decades, but every single cent was worth it for this exact moment of intersection.I walked a few paces ahead of the group, the rhythmic, clinical click of my Italian leather shoes echoing off the polished concrete floors. Behind me, the two tactical guards kept a bruising, iron-clad grip on Kai’s forearms, while Anya walked alongside him. Her sh

Anya’s POV"Get down on the ground! Face down! Do it now!"The deafening shout shattered the sudden, ringing silence that followed the slamming of the vault door. It came from the far end of the dark, smoke-filled hallway, a booming chorus of authoritative voices that lacked any of the corporate polish Ethan’s men carried. High-intensity tactical flashlights cut through the swirling red emergency smoke and the thick concrete dust rising from the buckled entrance. Before I could even blink, a heavy, gloved hand grabbed the fabric of my shoulder, pulling me violently away from the thick, impenetrable steel face of the vault.It was over. The narrative had fractured completely. Ethan was locked deep inside the belly of the mountain with his stolen prize, trapped by the very architecture he thought he owned, but the corridor outside had transformed into an absolute war zone."Anya! Hold on to me!" Kai’s voice ripped through the chaos.He lunged through the blinding, strobe-lit darkness, h

Anya’s"Get behind the dumpster!" Kai yelled, his voice bouncing violently off the towering brick walls of the narrow alley.He didn't wait for my body to react. He reached out, grabbed the heavy sleeve of my jacket, and pulled me backward with a sudden force that nearly took me off my feet, shoving me into the claustrophobic, shadow-drenched gap between a rusted green waste bin and the rough masonry. A fraction of a second later, a soft, compressed phut sound broke through the afternoon heat. A tiny, perfectly circular hole punched into the metal face of the dumpster, right where my head had been positioned a breath before. There was no thunderous bang, no theatrical explosion—just the terrifying, high-velocity hiss of a silenced bullet cutting the air.The fixer did not speak. He didn't offer a monologue or demand a surrender like a caricature in a cheap thriller. He simply adjusted his two-handed grip on the weapon, took two measured, predatory steps forward, and raised the barrel

Anya’s POV"Three!" Kai shouted.The word hadn't even fully left his lips before I slammed both of my feet onto the brake pedal with every ounce of desperate, terrified strength I possessed. The tires locked up instantly, screaming a high-pitched note of friction against the loose gravel as the sedan’s rear end fishtailed violently, throwing up a massive, blinding wall of white dust that swallowed the morning light.The blue SUV was simply moving too fast, its momentum governed by a lethal mathematical certainty. Its massive, reinforced front bumper crashed into our rear end with a sickening, metal-rending crunch that shattered our taillights and compressed the trunk. But because our velocity was already dropping exponentially, the impact didn't possess the kinetic energy required to pitch us over the precipice and into the rushing river below.Instead, the predatory driver of the SUV attempted a desperate, last-second swerve to avoid overriding our trunk completely. It was his final

Anya's pov"Get down on the floor!" Kai shouted.Before my brain could even process the warning, he grabbed my shoulder and pulled me flat onto the rough, salt-weathered wooden planks of the cabin floor. A fraction of a second later, a loud, sharp crack echoed across the open water. A small, perfect circle of daylight erupted in the white wooden wall of the superstructure as a high-velocity bullet tore straight through the hull. Splinters rained down on my back, sharp, dry, and stinging against my skin.The old man did not flinch. He stayed anchored at the wooden wheel, his large, veiny hands gripping the spokes with absolute authority as he pushed the heavy iron throttle lever all the way forward. The ancient diesel engine beneath our feet groaned, shuddered, and sputtered violently. It threw out a thick, suffocating cloud of black exhaust smoke that smelled of burning oil and sulfur, but the boat began to forge ahead. We were slowly, agonizingly pulling away from the rotting wooden