All Chapters of His Beautiful Obsession : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

The silence was unbearable.Eliana stood a few feet away from Adrian, her phone trembling in her hand. The message remained on the screen, its words burned into her mind.Ask him what he promised to give them in exchange for your life.Adrian had read it, too.She knew because he hadn't looked at her since the message appeared.Not once.And somehow, that hurt more than the document.“What did you promise them?”Her voice was quiet.Adrian stood beside the computer, his face pale beneath the red emergency lights.“Eliana—”“No.”She shook her head.“Please don't start with my name. Don't tell me to calm down. Don't tell me that you're trying to protect me. I want an answer.”He swallowed.“I was ten years old.”She stared at him.“What?”“I was ten when that recording was made.”“I saw the recording, Adrian.”“I know.”“You signed the document.”“Yes.”“And you want me to believe you don't remember anything?”His jaw tightened.“I remember being in a hospital. I remember my grandfathe

“Now, my dear, you're going to tell me where your father hid the final signature.”Edward Vale's gun remained pointed at Eliana.Behind her, her father struggled to breathe. Blood soaked through his shirt, spreading beneath his body across the concrete floor. Every second that passed felt like another piece of him slipping away.Adrian stood several meters away, his weapon aimed at Edward's guards.The alarms continued screaming.Somewhere in the distance, someone shouted that the eastern exit had been breached.But Eliana heard only her father's uneven breathing.“Please,” she whispered, pressing her hands against his wound. “Don't leave me again.”Her father tried to smile.It was a terrible smile. Weak. Painful. Nothing like the warm, reassuring smile she remembered from childhood.“Little star,” he murmured.Her heart broke.He was the only person who had ever called her that.“Don't call me that and then leave,” she said, tears running down her cheeks. “You don't get to do that,

The countdown continued.00:09:41.Eliana stared at the monitor, unable to process the words flashing across the screen.IDENTITY CONFLICT RESOLUTION INITIATED.IDENTITY A: ELENA REYES.IDENTITY B: ELEANOR REYES.RESOLUTION REQUIRED.Nine minutes.That was all the system had given them before it decided which identity would survive.“What does ‘erase’ mean?” Eliana demanded.Eleanor still held her wrist. Her fingers were cold, and her expression had lost every trace of the calm confidence she had displayed moments earlier.“It means the archive will revoke one identity permanently.”“Permanently how?”“The system will delete the biological authentication record, destroy its associated access credentials, and flag the person as an unauthorized subject.”Eliana pulled her hand free.“That doesn't answer my question.”Eleanor looked at her.“If the council gets control of the system before we stop it, the person marked unauthorized becomes a target.”A chill traveled down Eliana's spine.

“I'm not Adrian's brother.”Daniel's words hung in the air.Eliana stood frozen beside the old wooden desk, the photograph trembling between her fingers. Adrian moved in front of her instinctively, his shoulders tense, his eyes fixed on the gun in Daniel's hand.“Put it down,” Adrian ordered.Daniel gave a humorless laugh. “Still giving orders. Some things never change.”“Daniel, what are you talking about?”“That's not my name.”Adrian's expression hardened. “You disappeared for seven years. You came back with information about Project Seven. You knew things no stranger could know.”“Because I was there.”“Where?”Daniel raised the gun slightly.“Don't take another step.”Adrian stopped, but his gaze never left the young man's face.Eliana looked between them. “If you're not Daniel, then who are you?”For a moment, the man seemed almost reluctant to answer.Then he looked directly at her.“My name is Elias Reyes.”Eliana's heart slammed against her ribs.“Reyes?”“Your father's surna

00:09:42.The countdown continued.Eliana stared at the name written across the envelope.ELENA REYES.Not Eliana.Not Eleanor.Elena.Three names. Two identical faces. One identity that the system wanted to erase.And somewhere behind a screen, the real Daniel Vale was waiting for someone to save him.“Don't open it,” Richard whispered.Eliana turned toward him. “Daniel said the same thing.”“Then listen to him.”“Why? What are you hiding?”Richard tried to sit upright, but pain forced him back against the wall. Eleanor pressed the cloth harder against his wound.“You need to get him medical attention,” Eleanor said.“Later,” Eliana replied.“No. Now.” Eleanor's voice sharpened. “If he dies before telling us what he knows, we'll lose another piece of the truth.”Richard let out a bitter laugh.“You think the truth is going to save you?”Eleanor stared at him. “I think lies have done enough damage.”For a moment, neither spoke.Then Adrian moved between them and the console.“We have