Bonds

Chapter Izo

-Maya’s POV-

My head felt like a hollow shell, devoid of any thoughts or memories. The very concept of death, something I’d always pushed to the back of my mind, was now a terrifying reality I couldn’t escape.

Would it be like this?

My soul leaving my body, a helpless observer as my physical form grew cold and lifeless?

The inside of my skull was a vast emptiness, yet a searing pain pulsed through my body, so intense it threatened to consume me whole.

Was this it?

Was this what death felt like?

Had I finally received the answer to a question I hadn’t dared to ask myself before?

Then, a noxious stench, sharp and acrid, invaded my senses, snapping me back to a semblance of awareness. It filled the void in my mind, forcing reality back into focus. The hospital. The drive to the airport. The sickening crunch of metal as our car collided with another. The concrete wall looming impossibly close… and then, darkness.

My eyes flew open, a scream tearing from my throat. “Ivy! Nate!

Panic surged through me as I tried to sit up, but my body wouldn’t obey. I was strapped tightly to a rickety wooden chair, my arms and legs secured with rough rope that bit into my skin. Fear, cold and primal, clawed at my throat.

Where was I?

What was happening?

I renewed my struggles, desperate to break free. But with each strained movement, a wave of weakness washed over me. My breath hitched in my throat, and I screamed again, my voice hoarse and raw. “Ivy! Nate! Someone please! Who’s there? Where are my children? Let me go!”

slowly came into focus, the source of the putrid smell becoming horrifyingly clear. I was in a cramped,dimly lit room, the air thick with the stench of sewage and decay. Rough, damp

pipes snaked along the walls, dripping with condensation that pattered onto the floor in a rhythmic

the weight of heavy shackles. The room was an absolute nightmare,

desperate for answers. Where was I? Who had taken me? Most importantly, where were the

with my mind. But the familiar presence was numb. She was there, trapped within my own head, unable to respond, just like she had been for

off the stone walls, a

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Chapter 128

for the dripping water and the frantic hammering of my

jump. “Will you please shut up? You’re giving

head snapped towards the sound, and in the flickering light and I saw Adrian standing in the shadows, his face contorted in a look

right now! Where are my children? I swear on the Moon Goddess, if you’ve laid a finger on them, I’ll

threats with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Stop the

get back at Alex, leave me and my children out of

there it is. The good old Alex finally gets a mention.

long buried by fear and desperation, flickered to life in my mind. “It was you! You sent the footage!

world. You were too busy chasing after him to see anything else. Seems you lean more towards the ‘stupid‘

voice trembling with a mixture of fear and fury.

let out a dark chuckle. “Don’t flatter yourself, Amaya. You’re not that important for me to blackmail. Alex is the one I want to see suffer and

this? Why kidnap me? Where are the twins?” My mind raced, desperately searching for an escape plan, anything

on me as if he was studying some fascinating specimen. “I

go! If you have some sick revenge plot with Alex, take

sly smile played on Adrian’s lips as he took a step back. “I didn’t bring you here, Amaya. I’m just here to enjoy the show,” he added with a theatrical flourish, “Besides I always give credit where

a mixture of terror and fury. “Screw you and screw whatever this is all about! Let me

stretched into a smile that sent shivers down my spine. It wasn’t a friendly smile, it was a smile filled with a chilling amusement, a promise of something dark and twisted. He held my gaze for a moment, a long, unsettling moment that stretched on and on until I felt like I was trapped in a