Too Late to Hold Me Back novel Chapter 1025

A soldier suddenly yelled out.

On a massive display shelf, small, eerily pale female figurines were posed in various positions. They featured vivid, garish makeup and were fitted with synthetic hair.

Some were even meticulously packaged in transparent display boxes.

"Those are Human Bone Carvings. Sick ornaments sculpted out of human skeletons, polished, painted, and dressed up."

Whitlock explained, his voice grim.

"No wonder the corpses in the lobby earlier were missing their bones. So this is..."

A suffocating wave of pure dread washed over the group, making the hairs on the back of their necks stand on end.

"These animals... they really have no bottom line when it comes to a profit."

On an adjacent shelf sat toys, action figures, teacups, and even jewelry—all carved from human bone.

"What do we do with all this?"

Callum Young asked quietly.

"Once we've secured the perimeter, we'll burn it all down. Let the dead finally have some peace."

York Vance said.

Mira and the core group didn't interject. They were perfectly fine leaving the cleanup logistics to the authorities.

Afterward, the squad pivoted and advanced down the left corridor.

At the end of the passage was a shockingly luxurious living area.

"Mishka! Felicia! Mara! You're still alive!"

Whitlock's eyes widened in sheer disbelief.

"Hahaha! I am the princess of the Balkan Underworld! Did you really think I'd be killed that easily?"

Mishka sneered arrogantly.

"Then who was that yesterday?"

Mira demanded.

"The girl you saw yesterday was just one of my body doubles. And that Mara? I had a fifty-year-old AIDS patient wear a disguise.

Mira said coolly after studying the three women for a long moment.

"I'll give you Felicia. But that Mara? Total fraud.

The one we put a bullet in yesterday afternoon was the real deal."

Mira knew Mara far too well. Having dealt with her across two lifetimes, Mira had every single one of Mara's micro-expressions, sneers, and subconscious twitches memorized.

If the woman standing in front of them were the real Mara, she would have already started spewing venomous insults at Mira. Taking advantage of the upper hand to relentlessly mock her.

Why would she just sit there quietly, flashing a passive smile?

"Well, color me surprised. I didn't realize you were so intimately familiar with her. So what if you saw through it? It won't change your fate in the slightest.

I just had someone pretend to be Mara because I wanted to savor the look of pure despair on your face. But it doesn't matter if you ruined the surprise.

My only regret is that I won't get to watch you get dissected alive.

I hear you're quite the genius, completely unmatched. I really wanted to crack your skull open, carve out your brain, and keep it in a jar so I could study it.

Such a shame. What a terrible shame."