All Chapters of The Widow Who Married My Husband : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

“Damien.”The name echoed through the phone.Nobody spoke.Nobody moved.Ava felt as if the ground had disappeared beneath her feet.She slowly turned toward Damien.“No.”The word left her lips before she could stop it.Damien looked just as shocked as everyone else.“What?”Ethan stared at the phone.“Lucas.”His voice was cold.“Say that again.”Lucas coughed heavily.“The Founder…”Another cough interrupted him.“…is Damien.”Silence.Then Damien laughed.Not because it was funny.Because it was impossible.“This is insane.”Ava wanted to believe him.She desperately wanted to believe him.After everything they had been through, Damien had saved her life more than once.He had stood against Richard.He had helped them find the vault.He had nearly been shot protecting Ethan.None of it made sense.“It can’t be him,” Ava whispered.Richard suddenly spoke.“No.”Everyone looked at him.Richard’s face was pale.For the first time, he looked genuinely disturbed.“It isn’t Damien.”Rel

Ava stared at the photograph.Her hands trembled so badly that she almost dropped Ethan’s phone.The picture had been taken only minutes ago.Every single person standing in the street appeared in the image.Her.Ethan.Elena.Damien.Richard.The man who had pretended to be her father.Everyone.The Founder had been watching them.Not yesterday.Not last week.Tonight.Right now.And the message beneath the photograph made her blood run cold.One of you already belongs to me.Silence fell over the group.Nobody spoke.Nobody moved.Ava slowly looked around.For the first time, she didn’t know who to trust.The realization terrified her.Because the Founder wasn’t just threatening them.He was playing with them.Making them doubt one another.And it was working.“What does that mean?” Ava whispered.Richard laughed bitterly.“It means exactly what it says.”Ethan looked at him.“You think someone here is working for him?”“I know someone is.”The words hung heavily in the air.Damien

Ava stared at the symbol on the recording device.The Guardians.The name meant nothing to her.But judging by the reactions around the room, it meant everything to everyone else.Richard looked as though he had seen a ghost.Elena’s hands were trembling.Even Ethan seemed unsettled.Only Damien remained standing, his eyes fixed on the small device lying on the table.Ava was tired of being the last person to understand what was happening.“What are the Guardians?”No one answered.Her patience snapped.“Enough!”The force in her voice startled everyone.“I’m done with secrets.”Silence.Then Richard slowly sat down.For the first time since Ava had met him, he looked defeated.“The Guardians were supposed to protect the truth.”Ava frowned.“What truth?”“The truth about the people who controlled everything.”“The Black Ledger?”Richard nodded.“And before the Black Ledger existed?”Ava leaned forward.“What do you mean before?”Richard exchanged a glance with Elena.Neither looked c

The estate erupted into chaos.Gunshots shattered windows.Men shouted orders.Furniture splintered as bullets tore through the walls.Ava’s heart hammered against her chest as Ethan pulled her toward the back staircase.“Keep moving!”Another explosion shook the building.The lights flickered.Then went out completely.Darkness swallowed the house.Screams echoed from downstairs.Someone was hit.Ava didn’t know who.Didn’t want to know.All she knew was that the Circle had found them.And they weren’t leaving survivors.Ethan gripped her hand tighter.“Don’t let go.”“I won’t.”For a brief moment, despite the danger, she felt safe.Because Ethan was here.Because Ethan was alive.Because after everything, she still trusted him more than anyone.Then the front wall exploded.The force threw everyone off their feet.Ava screamed as she crashed against the floor.Pain shot through her shoulder.“Ethan!”Dust filled the air.She couldn’t see.Couldn’t breathe.Couldn’t hear anything exc

The message glowed on the screen.Bring Ava Brooks to Blackwater Church before sunrise.Or Ethan Cross dies.The cabin felt suffocatingly small.Ava couldn’t breathe.Her eyes remained fixed on the phone.The words refused to disappear.As though reading them again might somehow change them.It didn’t.The threat remained.Real.Terrifying.And very specific.Adrian slowly lowered the phone.His face had become unreadable.“What do we do?”Ava hated how small her voice sounded.For several seconds, Adrian didn’t answer.Then he laughed bitterly.“They finally did it.”“What?”“They backed me into a corner.”Ava stood.“We’re not going.”His eyes immediately met hers.“You don’t know that.”“I do.”She shook her head.“I’m not walking into a trap.”Adrian stared at her.“Ava.”“No.”“If Ethan is really in danger—”“He wouldn’t want this.”Silence.Ava swallowed hard.“He would never trade my life for his.”The words hurt because they were true.Ethan had spent months risking everything