Semua Bab .THE SUBSTITUE WIFE RETURNS: Bab 31 - Bab 40

Ariana’s POVWe ran.Not like people escaping danger.Like people being chased by something that already owned them.The facility behind us was no longer a building—it was a collapsing organism. Steel groaned like bones breaking. Fire spread through the corridors in jagged veins. Every few seconds, explosions ripped through another section, shaking the ground beneath our feet.Dust filled my lungs instantly. My throat burned. My vision blurred between smoke and flashing emergency lights.Damien didn’t let go of my hand.Not once.Even when I stumbled.Even when my legs nearly gave out.Even when I felt like my body was slipping out of my control.“Keep moving,” he ordered sharply.His voice wasn’t cold anymore. Not distant. Not controlled.It was urgent.Human.Alive.And it was the only thing keeping me from collapsing completely.Ahead of us, Alina moved like she was born inside chaos. She didn’t hesitate. She didn’t look back. Every few seconds she fired behind her, taking down adv

Ariana’s POVThe roar came again.Closer this time.Deeper.Wrong.The sound vibrated through the collapsing facility like something ancient waking up after years of being buried alive.Dust drifted from the ceiling.Steel groaned overhead.And suddenly—every instinct inside me screamed.Run.Not fear.Not panic.Something primal.Something buried deep in my bones.Like my body already knew what was coming.Like it remembered.My breathing sharpened.Too sharp.Every sound around me crashed into my skull at once.Christopher’s uneven heartbeat.The static clicking of damaged electrical wires.The soldiers shifting their weapons.Damien’s breathing—controlled.But tense.Protective.Focused on me.Always me.The scientist smiled.Calm.Unbothered.Like the world wasn’t literally falling apart around him.“Prototype Zero has been waiting a very long time,” he said softly.Alina raised her gun immediately.“I’m about to make you stop waiting.”Bang.Bang.Bang.Three shots.Fast.Clean

Ariana’s POVPain.That was the first thing.Not sharp.Not sudden.No—this pain felt alive.Like something inside me had cracked open and didn’t know how to close again.My knees slammed into the floor.A scream tore out of me before I could stop it.The world twisted violently.Voices.Images.Fragments.Too many.Too fast.Children crying.Doctors shouting.Needles.Cold metal tables.Blood.A voice repeating—“Subject Nine adaptation levels unstable.”Another voice—“Keep Subject Zero away from her.”Then—warm hands.A quiet laugh.A familiar voice.Soft.Protective.“Little star.”My breath shattered.“No—”The memory disappeared instantly.Gone before I could grab it.Like someone ripping pages out of a book.Damien caught me before I hit the ground completely.“Ariana!”His hands steadied me immediately.Firm.Careful.Like he was afraid I’d disappear if he held too tight.My breathing came out uneven.Pain trembled through my body.Everything felt wrong.Too loud.Too bright

Ariana’s POVDarkness.Complete darkness.For several terrifying seconds, nobody moved.Nobody spoke.The emergency lights had died.The corridor that moments ago had been filled with red flashing alarms was now swallowed by blackness.The only sounds were heavy breathing, distant explosions, and the groaning of metal as the facility continued to collapse around us.Then—A roar echoed again.Deep.Ancient.Wrong.The sound rolled through the underground structure like thunder trapped beneath the earth.Every hair on my body stood upright.My pulse accelerated instantly.Beside me, Damien grabbed my hand.“Ariana.”His voice was low.Steady.Grounding.“I’m here.”The simple words somehow cut through the panic threatening to consume me.I squeezed his hand tightly.Then emergency lights flickered back on.Weak.Unstable.And what they revealed made my blood freeze.The scientist was gone.Vanished.So were half the guards.The shattered control device lay abandoned on the floor.Smoke

Ariana’s POVSubject Origin.The words echoed through my mind long after the scientist spoke them.Not Ariana.Not Subject Nine.Subject Origin.The name felt wrong.Like a lock clicking open somewhere deep inside my head.Around me, chaos erupted instantly.Omega was still screaming.Its massive body convulsed violently as the silver device pulsed in the scientist’s hand.Blue light flashed beneath its skin.Metal groaned.Concrete cracked.The entire tunnel shook beneath the force of its pain.Yet the scientist simply watched.Calm.Satisfied.As if tormenting living beings was nothing more than routine.As if suffering was science.I hated him.Not the way I’d hated Richard.Not the way I’d hated the doctors.This was something deeper.Something colder.The kind of hatred born when someone steals entire lives and calls it progress.“Stop it!” I shouted.The scientist’s eyes shifted toward me.“There she is.”His smile widened.“The impossible child.”My stomach twisted.“Stop calli