All Chapters of HER BEAUTIFUL RUIN.: Chapter 21 - Chapter 29

Candidate Twenty-EightI couldn't stop staring at the countdown.21:41:58.Every second felt like a heartbeat.Every heartbeat felt like a warning.Vivienne stood across from me, silent.I hated how calm she looked.But I knew better now.She wasn't calm.She was terrified."You said they want me to choose who I love."Vivienne didn't answer."Between Daniel and you?"Her jaw tightened."I didn't say that.""You didn't have to."I stepped closer."He's alive.""Maybe."I laughed bitterly."Maybe?"She looked at me."I've never seen him."The words stopped me."What?""I've seen his records. I've seen the footage. I've seen the reports."She swallowed."But I've never stood in the same room with him."I stared at her."Then how do you know he's alive?""I don't."My stomach twisted."The people who run this place are very good at making people believe things."I looked back at the screen.Daniel's photograph remained frozen there."What if it's real?""Then we'll find him."The certain

The Final Key:"Vivienne!"She collapsed into my arms.For one terrifying second, I thought she was dead.Blood soaked through the side of her coat.Her eyes fluttered."Stay with me."I lowered her carefully against the wall."Please."Vivienne tried to speak.Nothing came out.Her father stood at the top of the stairs, watching us.Calm.Almost bored."You shot her."My voice shook with rage.He looked at Vivienne."She made her choice.""You shot your own daughter.""She stopped being my daughter the moment she betrayed the Board."I felt something inside me snap.I stood."You don't get to decide that."His eyes moved toward me."You still don't understand what you are.""I don't care."I stepped in front of Vivienne."You hurt her."His expression didn't change."Because she refused to complete her Trial.""What Trial?"He smiled."The same one you're about to complete."Behind me, the stone door groaned.It opened another few inches.Cold air rushed through the corridor.And so

My Mother’s Secret:“Twenty-eight.”The voice came from everywhere.Above me.Beneath me.Inside the walls.I froze.My mother stood only a few feet away, watching me with tears in her eyes.“Twenty-eight,” the voice repeated.Then the black circle on the wall pulsed.Once.Twice.Like a heartbeat.I looked at my mother.“What does that mean?”She didn't answer.“Mom.”Her lips parted, but whatever she wanted to say seemed to frighten her more than it frightened me.“You weren't supposed to remember,” she whispered.I felt something cold settle in my stomach.“Remember what?”She looked toward the black circle.“Everything.”A silence followed.Then I heard Vivienne behind me.“Ava.”Her voice was weak.I turned.She was leaning against the wall, one hand pressed against the wound in her side. Daniel stood beside her, keeping an arm around her waist to support her.Blood had soaked through part of her shirt.“Vivienne needs a doctor,” Daniel said.My mother shook her head.“If she lea

What Ava Is:I couldn't move.The words kept repeating inside my head.Elizabeth wasn't the first one to come back.I stared at the woman in front of me.“Then who was?”She didn't answer.“Who?”Her expression softened.“You're asking the wrong question.”I wiped the tears from my face.“Then give me the right one.”She smiled faintly.“What happened before you were born?”My stomach twisted.“I don't know.”“You were never supposed to.”She stood and walked toward the seven doors.I followed her.“What happened to me?”She stopped beside Door Seven.“You died.”“I know that.”“No.”She looked at me.“You died before you were born.”I stared at her.“That doesn't make sense.”“It will.”She placed her hand against the door.The wood immediately began to glow.Images appeared across its surface.A laboratory.Doctors.Machines.People in white coats.A young Elizabeth Blackthorn lying on a metal table.I stepped closer.“What am I looking at?”“The beginning.”The image changed.Eliza