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Todos os capítulos de Sold to the Devil: His Ruthless Vow: Capítulo 61 - Capítulo 70

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CHAPTER 61 : The Quiet Room

The Quiet Room lived up to its name.The walls were padded with heavy, cream-colored vinyl. The floor was soft foam. There were no windows, only a recessed light in the ceiling protected by a steel cage.The orderlies had strapped me to the single bed in the center of the room. Leather cuffs bound my wrists and ankles to the metal frame. They weren't tight enough to cut off circulation, but they were tight enough to make movement impossible.Then they left.I lay there, staring at the ceiling, my heart pounding a frantic rhythm against my ribs. I tested the cuffs. Solid. There was no way to slip my hands out.I had gambled everything on Sterling coming in alone. If he didn't—if he just left me here to rot for the night—Julian would burn the front gates down in three days, and we would lose the element of surprise. And probably our lives.Click.The heavy door unlatched.Dr. Sterling walked in.He closed the door behind him. He didn't lock it—he expected me to be helpless.He walked ov

CHAPTER 62 : The Hollow

I moved through the corridors like a ghost.Dr. Sterling’s lab coat was too big for me, the cuffs rolling down over my knuckles, but it commanded respect. A passing nurse nodded to me without looking at my face. I kept my head down, adjusting the wire-rimmed glasses, and walked with purpose.Act like you own the place, Julian always said.I reached the heavy steel door in the corner of the dining hall. The common room was empty now; the patients were all locked in their rooms for the night.I stood before the retinal scanner. My heart was thumping so hard I thought it would trigger an alarm.I reached into my pocket and pressed the button on Sterling’s remote fob.Buzz.The red light on the scanner turned green. SYSTEM BYPASS.I swiped the key card.The heavy hydraulic locks disengaged with a groan that sounded like a dying beast. I pulled the door open and slipped inside.The air in Wing 4 was different. It didn't smell like lavender or antiseptic. It smelled like ozone and old damp

CHAPTER 63 : The Riot

The heavy boots pounded against the metal grating. They were close."This way," I hissed. I pulled Elena into the shadow of a support pillar just as three armored guards rounded the corner.They held stun batons that crackled with blue electricity. They weren't looking for a lost patient. They were looking for a target."Subject 404 is missing," one of them shouted. "Seal the exits."Elena trembled against me. She covered her ears and hummed a frantic, broken tune to block out the noise.I looked at the guards. Then I looked at the wall of cells behind them.There was a master control panel near the stairwell. It controlled the magnetic locks for the entire row of cells.I didn't have a gun. I didn't have a knife. But I had Dr. Sterling’s key card."Stay here," I whispered to Elena."No," she whimpered. She clutched my sleeve. "Don't leave me with the bad men.""I am not leaving you," I promised. "I am getting us some help."I sprinted across the hallway."Hey!" a guard yelled. "Stop

CHAPTER 64 : The Inferno

Julian pressed his thumb down.There was no sound at first. Just a flash of blinding white light that erupted from the lower windows of Wing 4. The ground lurched beneath our feet like a waking beast.Then came the roar.BOOM.The shockwave hit us. It shattered the remaining glass in the lobby. It threw Dr. Sterling backward into the reception desk. The stone walls of the asylum groaned and cracked. Dust billowed out in a massive gray cloud that swallowed the entrance."Go!" Julian shouted. He jumped into the passenger seat of the SUV.Leo slammed his foot on the gas. The tires screeched against the marble floor. We shot through the broken frame of the front entrance and launched out into the snowy courtyard.Behind us the east wing of the institute began to crumble. The explosion had taken out the structural supports in the basement. Stone and steel collapsed inward. It buried the cells. It buried the secrets."They are following!" Leo yelled. He glanced at the rearview mirror.Two a

CHAPTER 65 : The Cabin

We crossed the border into France an hour later.We didn't use the main highway. Leo navigated a series of dirt logging roads that were barely visible under the snow. We ditched the damaged SUV in a ravine and hiked the last mile on foot.The safe house was a hunting cabin deep in the woods. It belonged to an old associate of Julian’s father. It had no internet and no cell service. It was perfect.We walked inside. The air was stale and freezing."I will get the fire going," Leo said. He moved immediately to the stone hearth.Julian led his mother to the only sofa. She was shivering violently now. The shock had set in. She hugged her knees to her chest and rocked back and forth. She muttered about the "bad men" and the "thunder.""I need warm water," I said to Julian. "And towels. She needs to get out of these filthy clothes."Julian nodded. He looked at his mother with a helpless expression. The man who could burn down an asylum didn't know how to comfort a traumatized woman."I will

CHAPTER 66 : Withdrawal

Peace lasted exactly three hours.Around midnight Elena woke up screaming.It wasn't a nightmare. It was physical agony. She thrashed on the narrow sofa and kicked the blankets off. Her skin was slick with sweat despite the freezing temperature of the cabin."Get them off!" she shrieked. She clawed at her own arms. "The spiders! They are under my skin! Cut them out!""Elena!" I grabbed her wrists to stop her from tearing her flesh. Her skin burned like fire. "There are no spiders. Look at me. It is just a fever.""No!" she wailed. Her eyes rolled back in her head. She arched her back in a violent spasm. "Light! Too much light!"Julian was at her side in an instant. He pinned her legs down to keep her from hurting herself."What is happening?" he demanded. Panic edged his voice. "She was fine an hour ago.""She is crashing," I said grimly. "Sterling had her on high-dose antipsychotics and sedatives for thirty years. Her body is dependent on them. This is withdrawal."Elena gagged and r

CHAPTER 67 : The Pharmacy

The wind cut through Julian’s jacket like a blade.He kept his head down and trudged through knee-deep snow. The village of Saint-Pierre was asleep. It was a cluster of expensive chalets and boutique shops that catered to wealthy skiers. Now it was a ghost town buried under the blizzard.Streetlamps flickered overhead. They cast long, dancing shadows on the white ground.Julian scanned the main street. He saw a bakery, a ski rental shop, and a small green cross glowing faintly in the distance.Pharmacie.He moved faster. He hugged the walls of the buildings to stay out of the direct light.He reached the storefront. It was dark inside. A metal grate covered the glass door.He didn't have time to pick the lock. He needed speed.He walked around to the back alley. Dumpsters were piled high with snow. There was a steel delivery door. It looked solid.Julian checked the frame. The hinges were on the outside. It was a security flaw he had exploited a dozen times in his youth.He pulled a s

CHAPTER 68 : The Fever Breaks

The door flew open with a crash.Julian stumbled inside. He was covered in snow. He looked like an ice sculpture brought to life. He kicked the door shut against the howling wind and dropped the plastic basket on the floor."I got it," he gasped. He stripped off his frozen gloves. "Diazepam. Antibiotics. Everything."I didn't waste time with questions. I grabbed the basket and dumped it onto the wooden table."Hold her arm," I ordered.Julian rushed to the sofa. He pinned Elena’s thrashing arm to the cushion. She was burning up. Her skin felt like paper that had been left in an oven.I tore open a saline bag. I spiked it with the IV line. I filled a syringe with the anticonvulsant."Elena," I said firmly. "I need you to stay still."She didn't hear me. She was muttering about the "Apex" and the "Key" again. Her eyes rolled back. A seizure was seconds away.I tied the tourniquet around her upper arm. Her veins were thin and fragile. They were collapsed from dehydration and years of abu

CHAPTER 69 : The Truth

The sun rose over the mountains. It turned the snow into blinding diamonds.The storm had buried the cabin in three feet of powder, but inside the fire still crackled. The air was warm and smelled of woodsmoke and coffee.I sat at the kitchen table. I watched the dust motes dance in the light. Julian sat on the floor beside the sofa. He had not moved all night. He held his mother's hand while he slept sitting up.Elena stirred.Her eyelids fluttered. She took a deep breath. She let it out slowly.Julian woke instantly. He squeezed her hand."Mom?" he whispered.Elena opened her eyes.They weren't the wild, terrified eyes of the night before. They were tired. They were old. But they were present. She looked at the wooden beams of the ceiling. She looked at the fire. Then she looked at Julian.She smiled weakly."You have your father's worry lines," she rasped. Her voice was rough from the screaming.Julian let out a breath that sounded like a sob. He pressed his forehead against her ha

CHAPTER 70 : The Warpath

The microchip sat on the scarred wooden table. It looked innocent. It was just a speck of silver and silicon. But we all knew it was the deadliest weapon in the room."We need a computer," Julian said. He paced the small cabin. His energy had shifted. The exhaustion was gone. It was replaced by the cold, calculating focus of the CEO who had built an empire from nothing. "We need to verify the data before we make a move.""We can't verify it here," I said. "Leo checked the sat-phone. We have enough battery for one call. That is it. No data. No internet."Julian stopped pacing. He looked at the phone on the table."One call," he muttered. "Then we have to make it count."He picked up the heavy satellite phone. He extended the antenna."Who are you calling?" Elena asked. She sat by the fire wrapped in blankets. She looked frail but her eyes were sharp. "The Russians?""No," Julian said. "The Russians are compromised. I need someone who hates rules. Someone who loves money more than he fe

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