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!”

lit room, the air thick with the stench of sewage and decay. Rough, damp stone formed the walls, and the floor was

low ceiling, and fat, moisture–laden spiders scuttled across them, their movements jerky and unsettling. Exposed pipes snaked along the walls, dripping with condensation that pattered

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

constricting my airways. My mind raced, desperate for answers. Where was I? Who had taken me? Most importantly, where were the twins?

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

the stone walls,

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Chapter 128

the dripping

voice sliced through the oppressive silence, making me jump.

light and I saw Adrian

Let me go right now! Where are my children? I swear on the Moon Goddess,

dismissed my threats with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Stop the shouting. You’re getting on my

go, Adrian! Whatever twisted game this is to get

it is. The good old Alex finally gets a mention. How’s my dear old friend doing these days? Public enemy number one,

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

I’d expose Alex to the world. You were too busy chasing after him to see anything else. Seems you

with a mixture of fear and fury. “Were

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 you should’ve joined me

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

as if he was studying some fascinating specimen. “I can’t believe you still love him. After everything he did to you,

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

on Adrian’s lips as he took a step back. “I didn’t bring you here, Amaya. I’m just here

my voice raw with a mixture of terror and fury. “Screw you and screw whatever this is

a promise of something dark and twisted. He held my gaze