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!”

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.

unsettling. Exposed pipes snaked along the walls, dripping with condensation that pattered onto the floor in a rhythmic counterpoint to the pounding

dangling ominously empty, others bearing the weight of heavy shackles. The room was

answers. Where was I? Who had taken me? Most importantly, where were the twins? The thought of them alone, lost and frightened, sent a fresh wave of

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

voice echoing off the stone walls,

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Chapter 128

no answer, no sound except for the dripping water and the frantic

jump. “Will

the sound, and in the flickering light and I saw Adrian

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

his hand. “Stop the shouting. You’re

twisted game this is to get back at Alex, leave me

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

“It was you! You sent the footage!

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 ‘stupid‘ side than the

trembling with a mixture of fear and fury. “Were you the one

You’re not that important for me to blackmail. Alex is the one

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

as if he was studying some fascinating specimen. “I can’t believe you still

If you have some sick revenge plot

here, Amaya. I’m just here to enjoy the show,” he added

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

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