Chapter 62 When dawn slid through the tangled emerald canopy of the Ourea jungle, it didn’t arrive gently. It cut through the dark like a blade, thin shafts of gold slicing into the second-floor room where Amante stood motionless. The jungle outside hummed—thick, alive, unforgiving. Inside, the air felt heavier.
Chapter 61 The silence on the other side felt unnatural—like the air had been sucked out of the room. His hand slipped into his coat pocket. The spare key felt colder than it should have. He hesitated only a second before sliding it into the lock. The click echoed louder
Chapter 60 Lara climbed the tree like someone who had learned the cost of falling. The bark scraped her palms. The wind cut across the canopy. She moved carefully, calculating every shift of weight. One wrong sound, one snapped branch, and the entire stronghold would wake. She was grateful Sandro
Chapter 59 Agila towered over her. His shoulders were broad, and his muscles were thick under his shirt. Alcohol didn’t cause him to wobble; it fueled him. He grabbed Lara’s waist and pulled her toward the staircase carved into the stone. She didn’t resist. The second floor opened into a
Chapter 58 Shay cried for her father. Lara sang lullabies, and her sobs finally faded into soft, hiccupping breaths long before the night went still. Lara’s songs—low, steady, threaded with a melody from a world that no longer existed—wrapped around the child like a promise. Sandro fought sleep like it
Chapter 57 After their dinner of dry sweet potato and lukewarm water, the hut fell into a silence so thin it felt like it could tear. The oil lamp in the corner burned low, stubborn but struggling. Its flame threw a honey-colored glow across the bamboo walls, softening their roughness,
Chapter 56 The forest was already swallowed by darkness when they reached the rebels’ stronghold. Not dark like a city blackout or drawn heavy curtains. This was a different kind of darkness—the kind that erased streets, names, and the idea that anyone would come looking. The trees arched high above
Chapter 55 It was him. That soldier. For a second, the jungle disappeared. Not the trees. Not the fire. Not the blood. Just him, broken and scarred. On the brink of death. Lara dropped to her knees beside him and ripped open her pack. She searched for cloth. Anything that
Chapter 54 The trek into the heart of Ourea’s jungle chewed them up and spat them out. The air was thick enough to drown in, heavy with moisture and the sour stink of rot. Every breath tasted like wet leaves and old decay. Vines clawed at their ankles. Roots coiled
Chapter 53 They traveled all night. No one talked. Just the catamaran’s engine noise and the rattle of metal every time the boat hit a boulder. Shay slept against Lara’s chest, sweaty and restless. Sandro tried to stay awake the whole time, pretending not to be scared. Of course, he
Chapter 52 Lara edged toward the sound of the kids’ voices, every step slow, careful, like the floor might snitch on her. Her heart hammered so loud she swore they could hear it. Then she caught it. That baby-powder, milky scent that belonged only to Shay. But then, she also
Chapter 51 Ares had been locked in a closed-door meeting for one hour. Exactly sixty minutes. The same hour Shay disappeared. The timing was too precise to be a coincidence. Too clean. Too deliberate. It felt engineered. As if an unseen hand had moved the pieces across a chessboard… or
Chapter 50 Lara came back ten minutes later, sneakers crunching over gravel and grass, eyes already sweeping the park before she fully stopped moving. That section of the Treasure Island buzzed—kids laughing, while they looked for treasures behind rockeries. Some even dug on certain mound while the nannies and teachers
Chapter 49 Monday Morning at Obsidian Peak The city was already awake. Traffic snarled sixty floors below like a metal river. Horns barked. Delivery trucks hissed. Somewhere, a jackhammer rattled concrete into dust. The air beyond the glass shimmered with heat and smog and sunlight fighting for space. Inside Obsidian
Chapter 48 Lara returned to the living room and said her goodbyes. Madeline, Logan, and Lucas walked her out, with reluctant steps. Liam, on the other hand, had disappeared toward the guesthouse, chasing after Layla’s storm. The warmth from earlier had thinned out, replaced by that polite, careful quiet people
Chapter 47 “Layla, don’t be willful p> Liam’s voice cut through the room, sharp as a blade against glass. “You still haven’t explained the video from earlier. Who did you think you were humiliating—Lara? Amelia?” His jaw tightened. “It was Dad. It was all of us p> The air went
Chapter 46 Lara felt the faintest tremor in her eyelids, a tiny betrayal her body couldn’t quite suppress. Her face, however, stayed perfectly composed. For one suspended second, their eyes locked. Then she looked away first. Her gaze shifted to the older man standing beside him. His silver hair had
Chapter 45 Artemio intercepted Rocky before he could rejoin the crowd. “Walk with me p> They slipped away from the music and laughter, cutting across the lawn to a darker corner near the hedges. Out here, the fairy lights didn’t quite reach. The party noise dulled to a distant hum.
Chapter 44 Lara stood at the edge of the lawn. Beyond it, the orchard glowed. Thousands of tiny lights hung between the branches, scattered like fallen stars. They flickered in the dark, alive and restless, like a swarm of fireflies caught mid-flight. She couldn’t look away. A sound stirred the
Chapter 43 Layla had just lifted a slice of steak to her mouth when the words reached her. She stopped mid-bite. The fork hovered in the air. Slowly, her hand lowered. Something dark flickered across her face. Then heat rushed up her spine…hot, sudden, and ugly. The metal fork clattered