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!”

surroundings 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 stone formed the walls, and the floor was slick with a layer of grime. A single, flickering bulb

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

hooks embedded in the walls, some dangling ominously empty, others bearing the weight of heavy shackles. The room

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

presence was numb.

off the stone walls, a pathetic sound swallowed by the oppressive silence that

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Chapter 128

the dripping water and the frantic

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

flickering light and I saw Adrian standing in

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

of his hand. “Stop the

Adrian! Whatever twisted game this is to get back at Alex, leave

finally gets a mention. How’s my dear

“It was you! You sent the footage! You told them

aren’t we?” he mocked. “I told you I’d expose Alex to the world. You were too busy chasing after him to see anything else. Seems you lean more towards the

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

Amaya. You’re not that important for me to blackmail. Alex is the one I want to see suffer and

Where are the twins?” My mind raced, desperately searching for an escape plan, anything to

some fascinating specimen. “I can’t believe

and let me go! If you have some sick revenge plot with Alex, take it up with

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

a mixture of terror and fury. “Screw you and screw whatever this is all

promise of something