Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Billionaire's Runaway Bride: Kabanata 41 - Kabanata 50

The laughter continued.Deep.Cold.Impossible.Ava stood completely still as the underground chamber shook around her.Her eyes remained fixed on the black screen.“Grandfather?”The word felt strange in her mouth.She had never known his name.Never seen his face.Never heard a story about him.As far as Ava knew, her mother's family had ended with Amara.Yet the man on the screen had looked at her as though he had been waiting for her.For years.Amara suddenly grabbed Ava's hand.“We have to leave.”Ava turned toward her.“Who is he?”“Not here.”“Mom—”“Now!”The urgency in Amara's voice silenced her.Daniel immediately understood.“Everyone move!”Another section of the ceiling collapsed.BOOM!Stone crashed behind them.Aria pulled Ethan toward the exit.Adrian grabbed the emergency equipment.Ava stayed beside Amara.“Can you walk?”Amara nodded.“I've been waiting nineteen years to walk out of here.”Ava's eyes filled with tears.“Then we're going home.”Amara looked at her d

The darkness swallowed everything.For several seconds, Ava couldn't hear anything except her own breathing.Then—BOOM!Something exploded somewhere deep beneath the chamber.The floor shook violently.Ava stumbled forward.Daniel caught her around the waist before she could fall.“I'm here,” he whispered.His voice was the only thing keeping her anchored to reality.“Daniel…”“I've got you.”Another tremor ripped through the chamber.Metal screamed.Glass shattered somewhere in the darkness.Then a voice came through the emergency speakers.Cold.Mechanical.Terrifying.“SERPENT CORE DESTABILIZATION: 87%.”Ava froze.“What does that mean?”Adrian's voice came from somewhere behind them.“It means we don't have much time.”Emergency lights suddenly flickered on.Once.Twice.Then stayed on.The chamber looked completely different.Smoke crawled across the floor.Sparks rained from damaged cables.The massive circular platform in the center was cracked down the middle.And standing be

Ava couldn't move.She couldn't breathe.She couldn't even blink.Her father's words kept repeating inside her head.Your mother didn't give birth to you.“No.”It came out as a whisper.Then louder—“No.”Amara stood frozen.Her face was wet with tears.“Ava…”“Don't.”Ava raised a trembling hand.“Don't call my name.”Amara flinched.“You're lying.”Her father gripped the glass chamber.“I wish I were.”Ava shook her head violently.“You're my father.”“Yes.”“And she's my mother.”Amara's lips parted.“Yes.”“Then what does that mean?”Her father closed his eyes.“It means the truth is worse than you think.”Ava turned toward the machine.The screen was still flashing.MATERNAL DNA ERROR.BIOLOGICAL MOTHER: UNKNOWN.ORIGINAL HEIR: NOT FOUND.Her heart hammered.“Adrian.”He immediately moved toward the console.“I'm trying.”“Fix it.”“I can't.”“Then find the records!”“I am!”His fingers moved rapidly across the keyboard.Ethan stepped beside him.“What are you looking for?”“The

The chamber stopped breathing.Ava couldn't move.She stared at the enormous red eyes glowing inside the ancient core.Her grandmother.Inside the Serpent.The words repeated in her mind.Your grandmother never died.Daniel slowly stepped in front of Ava.“Stay behind me.”But Ava barely heard him.Her eyes remained fixed on the creature.“Grandmother…”The red lights blinked.Once.Twice.Then the voice returned.“Ava.”Ava's entire body trembled.“Is that really you?”The creature shifted.Metal groaned.Something inside it moved like a living heart.“I have waited for you.”Amara suddenly screamed.“No!”She rushed toward the core.“Don't listen to her!”Ava turned.“Why?”“Because that's not your grandmother anymore!”The voice from the core laughed.It wasn't a human laugh.It sounded like thousands of voices whispering at once.“Still lying to her, Amara?”Amara froze.The voice continued.“Even after all these years?”Ava stared at her mother.“What is she talking about?”Amara

THUMP.THUMP.THUMP.The heartbeat echoed through the chamber.Ava stood completely still.Her eyes remained fixed on the screen.SEVENTH SUBJECT: UNKNOWN.Nobody spoke.Nobody seemed willing to breathe.Then Ethan whispered,“What the hell is underneath us?”Adrian stared at the readings.“I don't know.”“You're the one who understands this system.”“I said I don't know!”Adrian slammed his hands against the console.“The files for the seventh subject are completely erased.”Ava turned toward him.“Erased by whom?”“I can't tell.”“Then recover them.”“I've tried.”“Try again.”Adrian looked at her.Something in Ava's expression made him turn back to the console.His fingers moved rapidly.A few seconds passed.Then his eyes widened.“I found something.”Everyone moved closer.“What?” Daniel asked.Adrian stared at the screen.“There's a hidden directory beneath the original Serpent archive.”“Open it.”“I can't.”“Why?”“It requires seven genetic signatures.”Ava's heart sank.“Seve