All Chapters of THE MAFIA KING'S FORBIDDEN BRIDE: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

The night in India was supposed to be peaceful.Instead, Aria stood beneath the stars, staring at the black symbol that had appeared beneath the seven marks on her palm.The Eighth Gate.The Prison.She had thought the seven gates were the beginning and the end of the mystery.She had been wrong.Something was imprisoned beyond the Void.Something even the Void feared.And somehow, it had spoken directly to her.You opened six doors. Now come and open mine.Aria closed her fingers.The symbol disappeared beneath her skin.But the voice remained."Aria?"She turned.Lucian stood several feet away."Did you hear that?""Hear what?""The voice."Lucian's expression changed."You heard it too?"Aria nodded."What did it say?""It told me to open the prison."Lucian looked toward the mountains."We shouldn't.""I know.""But you're thinking about it."Aria didn't answer.Lucian walked closer."Don't.""What if Noah is there?"Lucian stared at her."What?""What if the Eighth Gate is where

The figure stood beneath the white doorway.Nobody moved.Nobody breathed.For several seconds, the only sound was the distant trembling of the Void.Aria stared at the stranger.The face was impossible.It looked like her.Then Ava.Then Noah.Then Elena.It kept changing.Every few seconds, the features shifted, as if the creature couldn't decide what identity to wear."What are you?" Aria finally asked.The figure smiled."You already know.""No.""You have spent your entire life searching for me."Aria tightened her grip around the Key."I've never seen you before."The figure laughed softly."Not with your eyes."A cold sensation moved through Aria."Then how?""Through your memories."Ava stepped beside Aria."Don't listen to it."The figure turned toward her."You still carry his voice."Ava's face changed."Whose?""Your creator.""The First One?"The figure smiled."That is what you call him."Aria stepped forward."You said we should come home."The figure nodded."Yes.""Wh

Aria had always believed that silence meant peace.She was beginning to understand that sometimes silence meant something was waiting.The ocean was completely still.Not calm.Still.There was a difference.No waves touched the shore.No wind moved through the trees.Even the birds had disappeared.Aria stood at the edge of the water, staring at the horizon.Beside her, Ava remained unusually quiet.Noah was watching the sea.Lucian had his hands clenched.Seraphina stood several feet behind them.Lorenzo and Gabriel were examining the strange markings that had appeared in the sand.Cael was the only one who didn't look surprised.He looked afraid.Aria noticed."You knew this would happen."Cael didn't answer."Cael."He finally looked at her."I knew something would happen.""What?""The Deep Archive was never meant to open.""But it did.""Because of you."Aria looked at her palm.The symbol was gone.Yet she could still feel something beneath her skin.Something enormous.Somethi

The white world was collapsing.Cracks spread across the endless sky, splitting the emptiness like broken glass.Aria stood motionless.Across from her stood the woman she would become.Her future self.The same face.The same eyes.But the woman in front of her carried a sadness Aria had never experienced.Behind them, Ava, Noah, Lucian, Seraphina, Lorenzo, Gabriel, and Cael watched in silence.The First Architect remained seated upon nothing, observing them as though she had seen this moment countless times.Aria looked at her future self."You said I destroyed the universe.""I did.""Why?""Because you refused to accept loss."Aria shook her head."I don't understand.""You will."Future Aria raised her hand.The broken sky changed.A vision appeared.Ava stood alone inside a burning city.Noah was on his knees.Lucian was trapped inside a massive gate.Seraphina was disappearing.Lorenzo was screaming.Gabriel was forgotten by everyone around him.Cael stood before the First One.

The morning after the collapse of the Deep Archive should have felt peaceful.Instead, Aria woke with the uncomfortable feeling that something was missing.She opened her eyes slowly.Sunlight slipped through the curtains of the room she had grown up in, painting thin golden lines across the floor. For several seconds, she simply stared at the ceiling.No voices.No alarms.No strange symbols.No visions.Nothing.She lifted her hand and examined her palm.The symbol was still gone.For the first time in what felt like forever, there was nothing beneath her skin.Aria smiled.Maybe it was finally over.Maybe the universe had finally released her.She sat up.Then she heard a knock."Aria?"Ava."I'm awake."The door opened.Ava stepped inside, still wearing the clothes from the previous night."You've been sleeping for almost twelve hours."Aria frowned."Twelve?"Ava nodded."You needed it."Aria looked toward the window."Where is everyone?""Outside.""Everyone?""Almost."Ava's ex