All Chapters of A CONTRACT SIGNED IN BLOOD AND DESIRE : Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

Lina could not move.The man standing in front of her had just said the words she had spent her entire life believing she would never hear.“I am your father.”Her eyes remained fixed on him.“No,” she whispered.The man did not move.“I know this is difficult to believe.”Lina shook her head.“No. It cannot be true.”Her mother stood behind him, completely silent.Lina turned toward her.“Mom?”Her mother looked away.That was enough.Lina's heart sank.“You knew?”Her mother slowly nodded.Lina took a step backward.“You knew he was alive?”Another nod.“And you let me believe he was dead?”Her mother's eyes filled with tears.“I was trying to protect you.”“Protect me from what?”“The truth.”Lina laughed bitterly.“The truth? Everyone keeps saying that. Everyone keeps telling me they lied to protect me, but nobody tells me what they were protecting me from.”Her father finally spoke.“The Circle.”Lina looked at him.“What does The Circle have to do with you?”He took a slow breat

Lina stood completely still.Her grandfather was standing only a few feet away from her.The same man she had believed was dead.The same man whose face had appeared in the photograph.And now he was telling her that he could finally reveal the truth about her father.Lina's voice barely came out.“You're alive.”Her grandfather smiled faintly.“I have been alive for a very long time.”“Then why did everyone say you were dead?”“Because I needed them to believe it.”Fames stepped forward.“Why should we believe anything you say?”Her grandfather looked at him.“You shouldn't.”Lina turned toward Fames.He gave her a small nod.He was right.There had been too many lies already.She looked back at her grandfather.“Where is my father?”His expression changed.“Your father is closer than you think.”Lina frowned.“What does that mean?”“He has been watching you.”“Watching me?”“Yes.”“Then why didn't he come to me?”Her grandfather sighed.“Because he was afraid.”“Afraid of what?”“Of

Lina stared at Fames.For several seconds, neither of them spoke.The voice from the speakers had disappeared, but its words remained in her mind.Ask her why she made you sign that contract with Fames.Her contract.The contract that had brought Fames into her life.The contract she had once believed was nothing more than a cruel agreement between two people.Now, she was beginning to wonder if it had been something much bigger.“Fames,” she said quietly.He looked at her.“Did you know?”His expression tightened.“Know what?”“That my contract with you was connected to all of this.”Fames didn't answer immediately.That was enough to make Lina's heart sink.“You knew something.”“I knew there were things about your family that didn't make sense.”“That isn't what I asked.”“I didn't know the entire truth.”“But you knew something.”Fames looked away.Lina stepped closer.“When we first met, you hated my family. You blamed us for what happened to yours. You wanted me to sign that con

Lina stared at the ceiling.The girl's voice had come from upstairs.“Lina? I've been waiting for you.”Her mother stood frozen in the doorway.Fames looked toward the staircase.“Who is Elena?”Lina turned to her mother.“You said she was my sister.”Her mother nodded, tears filling her eyes.“Yes.”“Where has she been?”Her mother took a shaky breath.“Hidden.”“From who?”“The Circle.”Lina's voice became sharper.“Why would The Circle care about my sister?”Her mother looked at her.“Because Elena knows something.”A floorboard creaked upstairs.Everyone looked toward the staircase.Then the girl's voice came again.“Mom?”Lina's mother closed her eyes.“She knows we're here.”Lina started toward the stairs.Fames caught her arm.“Wait.”She looked at him.“We don't know who is up there.”“My sister.”“You've never met her.”“But she knows me.”Fames released her arm.“I'll go first.”They climbed the stairs slowly.The house was dark and quiet.At the top was a long hallway with

The church stood at the end of the empty road, surrounded by tall trees and silence.Lina stared at it through the car window.“This is where it all began,” Elena said quietly.Fames turned off the engine.For several seconds, nobody moved.Lina looked at the old building.She had been there before.But this time, everything felt different.She knew there were secrets beneath the church.Secrets about her family.Secrets about the contract.And now, possibly, the truth about her father.“We go together,” Fames said.Elena nodded.Lina stepped out of the car.The moment her feet touched the ground, her phone vibrated.She looked at the screen.YOU SHOULD HAVE COME ALONE.Another message appeared.NOW YOU WILL LOSE THEM ALL.Lina's heart tightened.“Someone knows we're here.”Fames looked around.“So do we.”They walked toward the church.The main doors were locked.Elena walked around the side of the building and stopped in front of a small wooden door.“This wasn't here before,” Lina