Lahat ng Kabanata ng Bound by a billion hearts: Kabanata 31 - Kabanata 40

Darkness swallowed everything.The grand hall once lit with chandeliers and power was now nothing but shadows and silence.Then a sharp, metallic click echoed behind Richard Blackwood.The unmistakable sound of a gun being cocked.No one moved.No one breathed.Even Richard stood still.For the first time that night, he hesitated.A voice followed.Calm.Cold.Unfamiliar.“Drop it.”The command was quiet.But it carried absolute authority.Richard didn’t turn.“Interesting,” he said smoothly.Alexander’s eyes strained in the darkness.“Who’s there?”No answer.Only the faint sound of footsteps behind Richard.Slow.Measured.Dangerous.Isabella’s heart pounded wildly.She reached for Alexander instinctively.He grabbed her hand instantly.“Stay close.”Behind them, Dominic whispered in the dark.“…I really can’t see anything.”Victor chuckled softly.“That’s the point.”Elena raised her gun, her eyes scanning the shadows.“Whoever you are,” she said, “you just made a very dangerous mo

The shattered chandelier still swayed above them.Glass crunched underfoot.Silence filled the hall again, but this time, it wasn’t still.It was unstable.Like everything was about to collapse.Alexander held Elena’s wrist tightly.The gun had fallen from her hand.Sliding across the marble floor.Out of reach.Elena’s chest rose and fell rapidly.Her eyes burned with fury.With grief.With everything she had carried for ten years.“You had no right,” she said, her voice shaking.Alexander didn’t let go.“I wasn’t going to let you destroy yourself.”She let out a bitter laugh.“Destroy myself?”Her eyes flicked past him.To Richard.Standing there.Calm.Untouched.Smiling.“That man destroyed me a long time ago.”Alexander’s grip tightened slightly.“And killing him won’t fix that.”Elena’s gaze snapped back to him.“It’s not about fixing it.”A pause.“It’s about ending it.”Behind them, Isabella watched.Her heart heavy.She understood that look in Elena’s eyes.That pain.That ne

The red lights pulsed like a heartbeat.Slow.Heavy.Alive.A low mechanical hum vibrated through the walls, deep enough to be felt in the bones.Isabella tightened her grip on Alexander’s arm.“Tell me that’s just for show.”No one answered, because everyone knew it wasn’t.Elena’s eyes scanned the ceiling, the corners, the structure.Her breathing slowed.Focused.“This place is wired.”Dominic looked up, squinting.“…Wired how?”Elena’s voice was tight.“Defense systems.”Victor smiled faintly.“Offense systems.”Elena shot him a look.“Both.”Alexander stepped forward slightly, his gaze sweeping the room.“Explain.”Elena didn’t hesitate.“Pressure sensors.”She pointed subtly toward the floor.“Motion tracking.”Her eyes flicked to the walls.“Automated weapons.”Isabella’s stomach dropped.“…Automated?”As if answering her, soft mechanical shift echoed from above.Panels in the ceiling slid open.Dark.Circular openings revealed themselves.Dominic’s eyes widened.“…Those look l

The guns fired.All at once.The sound was deafening.A storm of bullets tore through the air, ripping into the staircase, the walls, the marble floor, everything in sight.Isabella screamed but Alexander had already moved.“RUN!”He pulled her forward hard, his body shielding hers as they sprinted toward the steel door.Bullets slammed into the steps behind them.Splinters of wood exploded into the air.Stone cracked.Metal screamed.Elena dashed beside them, her movements sharp and precise, weaving through the chaos like she’d been trained for this exact moment.Below, Dominic ducked as debris rained down around him.“THIS IS INSANE!”Victor grabbed his collar and dragged him forward.“Move or die!”Dominic didn’t argue this time.He ran.Up the stairs.Into the storm.Above, Alexander reached the door.Locked.Reinforced.Unbreakable.“Open it!” Isabella shouted.Elena slid beside him, already working.“It’s biometric.”Alexander’s jaw tightened.“Of course it is.”Bullets slammed

Silence swallowed the hall.Heavy.Unforgiving.Richard Blackwood stood in the center, hands raised, unarmed, waiting.“Kill me.”The words still echoed.Alexander didn’t move.Didn’t blink.Didn’t breathe.Because this this was the trap.Not the guns.Not the house.Not the system.This.Isabella’s voice trembled beside him.“Don’t do it.”He didn’t answer.Elena’s eyes stayed locked on Richard.Her gun still raised.But she didn’t pull the trigger.Not anymore.Dominic whispered behind them.“…Why would he ask for that?”Victor’s voice was low.“Because he wants it.”A pause.“Or needs it.”Alexander’s jaw tightened.“Why.”Richard smiled faintly.“You still don’t understand.”Alexander took a slow step forward.Gun in hand.“Then explain.”Richard lowered his hands slowly.Calm.Unafraid.“Everything I built…”He gestured around the mansion.“…was never meant to last forever.”Isabella frowned.“That makes no sense.”Richard’s eyes flicked to her briefly.“It was always meant to be