Semua Bab A TALL HORNY STRANGER : Bab 111 - Bab 120

112HER SIDE OF THE STORYARIAI forgot how to breathe.Every part of me became still as the woman on the screen smiled with a warmth that reached her eyes. It wasn't merely her face that convinced me.It was the little things.The way she tucked a loose strand of dark hair behind her ear before speaking.The slight tilt of her head.The quiet kindness in her expression.These weren't details someone could easily imitate.This was her.Not alive.Not standing before me.But preserved in a recording my grandfather had made decades earlier."My beautiful granddaughter," she repeated, her voice as gentle as spring rain. "If you're watching this, then you've become a woman before I had the privilege of seeing you grow into one."My vision blurred again."I wish I could tell you this in person," she continued. "I wish I could hold your hands and tell you how proud I already am of you. But life rarely grants us every wish."I pressed my lips together to keep from crying aloud.Marcus remain

114THE ENEMY OF MY ENEMY MARCUS I looked at Aria.She still stared at the dead projector, her face pale from everything she'd just learned.Grandmother alive.Grandmother watching from afar.Three versions of the truth.It was too much for anyone.Yet there wasn't time for grief."Aria."She blinked toward me."You need to move.""My grandmother—""We'll finish the recording later.""What if we can't?""We will."I didn't know if that was true.But she needed something solid to hold onto.Another deafening blast rattled the walls.Cracks spread across the ceiling like lightning frozen in stone.The Vault was beginning to fail.Then the emergency lights died.Darkness swallowed us.Only the projector's dying bulb cast a faint blue glow across the room.Sebastian cursed under his breath."They cut the power.""No."I listened carefully.The ventilation had stopped.The security systems had gone silent."They destroyed the main generator."Which meant they had studied the Vault before

116GRANDMOTHER ARIASebastian hurried over and began searching the frame.His fingers brushed along the carved edges.Nothing.Another crash.The barricade shifted several inches.Marcus joined him."Help him."I crossed the room and ran my hands over the heavy wooden frame.It didn't budge."There has to be something," Marcus muttered.Viktor's eyes scanned the portrait."Not the frame.""The tree.""What?""The oak tree."He pointed toward the painted trunk."Your grandfather always hid keys where they belonged."Confused, I touched the trunk painted onto the canvas.My fingertips caught against something.A tiny knot.No—A button.I pressed it.A deep mechanical rumble echoed through the chamber.The portrait slowly slid sideways into the wall.Behind it—A narrow stone passage descended into darkness.Sebastian stared."I owe the old man an apology."Marcus didn't smile."Move."Nobody argued....As we entered the tunnel, another explosion erupted behind us.The barricade fina

118THINGS TO KNOWARIA"The recording," I whispered.Everyone looked at me."My grandfather said there were things he wanted me to know."My grandmother nodded."And I added my message because I knew he wouldn't tell you everything.""What about the rest?"Her expression turned solemn."There is one final recording."Viktor stared at her."You made another?"She looked at him."I had to.""Where is it?"She hesitated.Then she pointed back toward the Vault."In the chamber."Marcus cursed under his breath."The attackers are already inside.""Not where they'll look," she replied."My husband designed the Vault with layers.""The projector was only the beginning."Sebastian rubbed his forehead."So we have to go back?""No."Her answer came instantly."Not yet."Marcus glanced toward the darkness behind us."We don't have much time."As if summoned by his words, distant gunfire echoed through the tunnel.Closer than before.The attackers had discovered the hidden passage."They're com

120THIRTY YEARS OFMARCUSThe temperature in the station seemed to drop.Viktor took one measured step forward."I wondered when you'd finally say it."Adrian's eyes burned with restrained fury."You were supposed to protect us.""I tried.""You failed.""I know.""No."Adrian shook his head."You didn't fail."His next words landed like a hammer."You betrayed us."Before anyone could react—A burst of automatic gunfire ripped through the station.Bullets struck the locomotive, showering sparks across the tracks."They're here!" Sebastian shouted.Black-clad operatives poured from both tunnel entrances.At least twenty.Far too many."Down!" I yelled.We scattered behind concrete pillars as gunfire erupted from every direction.Adrian didn't move.Instead, he slowly reached into his coat.One of the attackers shouted, "Target acquired!""Eliminate everyone!"Adrian sighed."I was hoping to finish the conversation first."He withdrew a small black device from his pocket.No larger th