All Chapters of The Bride In The Wrong Wedding : Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

The line went dead, leaving nothing but the cold, hollow static of the encrypted satellite phone.Isabella lowered the device slowly. The phantom echo of her father’s agonizing, desperate scream still vibrated in her ears, a horrifying ghost trapped in the sterile hospital corridor.Nikolai stood perfectly still, his massive, tactical frame blending into the shadows. His icy blue eyes—so terrifyingly identical to the man bleeding out in the ICU—analyzed every microscopic twitch of her facial muscles. He was waiting for her to break. He was waiting for the weak, emotional Vance blood to override the Sterling crown."Well?" Nikolai prompted, his Russian accent slicing through the heavy silence. "What is the Syndicate's demand?""Richard has my father," Isabella stated, her voice devoid of the hysterical panic Nikolai clearly expected. She didn't tremble. "He gave me twenty-four hours to surrender myself at a drop point in Zurich. If I don't, he executes Anthony."Nikolai let out a harsh

The iron grips of Alexander’s operatives locked onto Isabella’s arms like industrial vises, violently tearing her away from the ICU glass. Her bare, bleeding feet slid uselessly against the polished linoleum."Execute him," Alexander ordered smoothly, turning his back on the glass as if Julian Sterling’s life was nothing more than a clerical error. One of the elite operatives raised a suppressed submachine gun, leveling the barrel directly at the comatose apex predator through the reinforced window."No!" Isabella shrieked. A primal, feral strength erupted from her very core, obliterating her exhaustion. She didn't try to pull away from the massive guard holding her left arm; instead, she threw her entire body weight forward, sinking her teeth viciously into the exposed flesh of his wrist.The man grunted, his grip faltering for a microsecond—just long enough for Isabella to violently wrench her free hand toward the medical tray beside her. Her fingers closed around the cold, heavy st

The heavy iron maintenance hatch slammed shut with a deafening, catastrophic clang, severing them entirely from the freezing white vapor and the muffled screams of dying men.Isabella collapsed against the cold, damp stone wall of the subterranean stairwell, ripping the emergency oxygen mask from her face. She gasped for air, her lungs burning as they pulled in the stale, metallic scent of ancient earth and copper. Above them, the heavy thud of C4 detonating against the blast doors vibrated through the bedrock, raining a thick layer of dust over her trembling shoulders."Keep moving!" Nikolai’s harsh, muffled growl sliced through the pitch-black darkness.A single, sickly yellow beam from a tactical penlight clamped between Nikolai's teeth illuminated the narrow, descending spiral of rough-hewn stairs. The massive Russian operative didn't pause for a single second, hauling Julian’s lifeless, bleeding frame over his broad shoulders with a grunt of immense physical exertion.Isabella fo

The water's impact was like being violently slammed into a solid wall of freezing concrete.Absolute, suffocating darkness instantly swallowed the alcove. The sheer, catastrophic force of the subterranean tidal wave ripped Isabella off her feet, tearing her completely away from Julian and Nikolai. She tumbled wildly through the crushing black void, the deafening roar of rushing water obliterating all other sound.The freezing temperature seized her muscles, acting like liquid nitrogen against her skin. She didn't know which way was up. The violent undertow slammed her shoulder ruthlessly against a jagged stone pillar, driving the remaining oxygen from her burning lungs in a burst of silver bubbles she couldn't even see. Panic, raw and primal, clawed at her throat"Fight."The command didn't come from her terrified mind; it was a ghost of Julian’s voice, cold and unyielding, vibrating in her memory. She was a Sterling now. She would not die in the dark.Isabella threw her arms out, fig

The sickly yellow glow of the overridden console washed over the claustrophobic cabin, turning the titanium walls into the interior of a gilded cage."Twenty-eight minutes to destination," the automated voice droned, completely devoid of mercy.Nikolai’s massive fists slammed down onto the navigation panel with enough force to dent the reinforced steel. He frantically tore at the console’s casing, ripping wires loose as he tried to force a physical bypass. But the yellow text kept scrolling."It is a hard lock!" Nikolai snarled, his heavy Russian accent thickening with rage as he threw down a severed bundle of cables. "Alexander initiated a level-one Syndicate encryption. It is hardwired into the drone's external thrusters. I cannot stop it from the inside. We are being delivered directly to the slaughterhouse."Isabella knelt on the freezing floor grate, cradling Julian’s heavy head in her lap. His breathing was a wet, agonizing rasp, but his stormy gray eyes were open, tracking the