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!”

the stench of sewage and decay. Rough, damp stone formed the walls, and the floor was slick with a layer of grime. A

movements jerky and unsettling. Exposed pipes snaked along the walls, dripping with condensation that pattered onto the

hung from iron hooks embedded in the walls, some dangling ominously empty, others bearing the weight of heavy shackles. The room was an

had taken me? Most importantly, where were the twins? The thought of them alone, lost and frightened, sent a fresh wave of

get out of here, I reached out with my mind. But the familiar presence was numb. She was there,

voice echoing off the stone walls, a pathetic sound

။။

Chapter 128

for the dripping water and the frantic

sliced through the oppressive silence, making me jump. “Will you please shut up? You’re giving

I saw

eclipsing the fear that had me paralyzed. “You fucking bastard! Let me go right now! Where are my children? I

threats with a dismissive wave of his

Adrian! Whatever twisted game this is to get back at Alex, leave me and my children out

there it is. The good old Alex finally gets a mention. How’s my dear old friend doing

flickered to life in my mind. “It

world. You were too busy chasing after him to see anything else. Seems you lean

with a mixture of fear and fury. “Were you the one sending the messages?

me to blackmail. Alex is the one I want to see suffer and you should’ve joined me when

the twins?” My mind raced, desperately searching for an

studying some fascinating specimen. “I can’t believe you still

me go! If you have some sick revenge plot with

didn’t bring you here, Amaya. I’m just here

you talking about?” I snapped, my voice raw with a mixture of terror and fury. “Screw you and screw whatever this is all about! Let me go right now! I’m supposed to be at the airport with my children! Take me

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