Dark Revenge Of An Unwanted Wife The Twins Are Not Yours novel Chapter 532

Chapter 532: Survivors II

Athena’s voice tore through the quiet like a blade.

"What is he doing here?!"

Her finger shot toward Zane before her mind even fully processed the sight of him. Rage cloaked her words—thick, hot, unrestrained—and the force of her shout jolted everyone awake at once.

Kathleen jerked upright first, eyes wide with shock. Nathaniel gasped beside her, blinking rapidly, disoriented for a heartbeat before recognition snapped into place.

"Mom!" both children cried.

They scrambled down from the sofa and ran to her. Athena instinctively opened her arms, gathering them against her chest, breathing in their warmth, their familiar scent.

Relief nearly buckled her knees. But she didn’t stop glaring at Zane.

Even as she squeezed her children tighter, even as Kathleen sobbed against her stomach and Nathaniel clung to her arm like he feared she might vanish again—her gaze never left the male sitting stiffly in the corner.

"Ewan." Her voice shook, the syllables brittle with fury. "Explain. What is he doing here? After what he did? After he betrayed us?"

She was shouting again. The room reverberated with it.

Florence moved quickly, gently guiding Kathleen and Nathaniel aside toward her and Sandro, whispering to them softly, urging them to breathe, to let their mother speak.

Athena took one step toward Zane. Then another.

But her grandfather’s steady voice cut cleanly through her anger. "He was acting."

Athena froze like her bones had suddenly turned to stone.

She turned to him slowly. "Acting...?" Her voice was small now. Suspicious. Confused.

Her grandfather met her eyes calmly, solid as always. "Yes. He was working undercover."

She blinked, swallowing hard, and turned to Ewan for confirmation.

He was already standing, the movement slow but sure despite the bandage around his head. His eyes—still a little hollow, still rimmed with exhaustion—held hers with a gentleness that nearly undid her.

"I didn’t know either," he admitted. "Not until I woke up. They briefed me on the full situation."

He closed the distance between them, cupped the sides of her face with trembling hands, and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. "I’m so glad you are okay, my love..."

Athena inhaled sharply.

The warmth of his skin. The familiar scent of him. The simple fact that he was alive.

Without thinking, she leaned into him, letting her forehead rest against his shoulder. His arms wrapped around her instantly, strong but shaking a little, and she melted into that embrace, letting it ground her, letting it remind her that they had survived, that somehow the impossible had happened.

His lips brushed hers next—slow, reverent, almost disbelieving—and she kissed him back, clinging to his shirt, breathing him in like she’d been underwater for years.

But the fragile moment shattered when Zane finally spoke. "I’m... sorry, Athena."

Her body stiffened. The sound of his voice dragged the memories back like a violent undertow—the chamber, the ropes, Antonio’s laughter, the knife slicing into skin, Victoria’s screams.

Athena stepped out of Ewan’s embrace, eyes burning.

Zane swallowed hard and began.

"I found out about my father before the court case," he said quietly. "One night... I overheard him on a call."

Athena’s breath hitched.

He continued, "I wanted to leave. To warn someone. But... My father is powerful. Too powerful. If I tried to expose him without evidence, he would’ve covered his tracks. Probably killed me. And all of you."

His jaw clenched. "So I stayed. I pretended loyalty. I played the spy."

Athena stared at him, lips parting slightly, breath caught in her throat.

Zane’s eyes dropped to the floor, muted anger flickering across his features. "The water wasn’t hot," he said. "Not really."

"What?"

"It was fog machines," Zane explained. "The fire was real, but the heat wasn’t coming from the tub itself. I... I had agents working with me. We drained the real water before you were brought in and replaced it with ice water. I had to time it perfectly. If the timing had been off, if the backup had arrived later than we did... you two might’ve..."

His voice cracked. He looked away, fists clenching.

Athena didn’t know whether to laugh in relief or scream from the shock.

"It’s why we called him Phantom," Ewan supplied quietly from behind her. "In the gang. He was a covert specialist. Infiltration, deep cover operations. He’s done it before."

Zane nodded once. "My father trusted me. So did Antonio. I told them a little about John, about the cure... That’s how I got that close." His expression twisted in disgust. "Pretending to admire them. Pretending to agree with them. Pretending to be... like them."

His voice lowered. "Watching Antonio torture you—both of you—nearly broke me. But... I couldn’t intervene yet. Not until they confessed. Not until backup arrived."

Athena pressed a trembling hand to her mouth.

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