Chapter 168: Antonia

"Please, don't lie to the children," Alexei said, looking at Melina.

"I am not lying!" Melina retorted.

"You were Dreykov's architect," Alexei said.

"And what were you? If I was his architect, you were his partner! You were his business associate!" Melina fired back at Alexei.

"No, no, no, I was just a scapegoat!" Alexei shouted.

"Shut up! You're nothing but an idiot!" Natasha couldn't bear to watch any longer and yelled at Alexei.

"And you're a coward! Our family was never real, so there are no genuine feelings to hold on to," Natasha yelled at Melina next.

"Never a family? Really? In my heart, you are my family," Alexei said.

"Who cares? It wasn't real!" Natasha said, looking at both of them.

"What? Don't say that. It was real, it was real to me. She was my mother, the closest thing I ever had! The best part of my life was a sham, and none of you ever told me! And all those agents—you conquered the entire globe using chemistry? I am the one who was conquered!" Yelena said, tears welling in her eyes.

Melina was moved when she heard Yelena say she was one of the conquered agents.

"And you, you ran away. Dreykov made sure no one could escape. Do you have anything to say? Nothing!" Yelena glared at Natasha, then got up, walked into the bedroom, and slammed the door shut.

"I didn't know!" Melina said to Alexei.

"It's okay, it's okay, I'll go talk to her," Alexei stood up and walked toward the room to comfort Yelena.

Arthur sat down in the seat beside Natasha and said to her, "You are our family! That will never change."

"Thank you," Natasha lowered her head, struggling to keep her emotions in check.

"Now, it's time for a serious conversation, Madame Melina. You were stalling, weren't you? I'm guessing you already notified the Red Room before we got here. Am I right?" Arthur asked, fixing his gaze on Melina.

Melina fell silent. Indeed, the moment Natasha and the others arrived, she had sent word to Dreykov.

"But I can sense that you still hold deep feelings for Natasha and Yelena. The question now is: whose side are you on? Enemy or friend? I'm giving you a choice," Arthur said earnestly. He could clearly see that Melina mattered deeply to Natasha.

"Can you defeat the Red Room and kill Dreykov?" Melina countered.

"A piece of cake," Arthur replied indifferently.

"I can help you destroy the Red Room and eliminate Dreykov!" Melina told Natasha.

"You want me to choose to trust you? You aren't the first person who chose to abandon my mother," Natasha said to Melina.

"No, you weren't abandoned! You were simply chosen by a program, an algorithm that evaluates an infant's potential," Melina interrupted Natasha to explain.

"I was taken away?" Natasha asked, staring at Melina in shock.

"I believe your family received compensation once the transaction was complete, but your mother—she never stopped looking for you. In that way, she was a lot like you. She was persistent!" Melina said.

"What happened to her in the end?" Natasha asked.

"Dreykov killed her. She posed a threat by trying to expose the Red Room. Normally, the actions of a curious civilian wouldn't warrant execution. But as I said, she was persistent!" Melina answered.

"Every day of my life, I thought about her. Whether I admitted it to myself or not, I always knew," Natasha said, her eyes red.

Just then, the lights outside flared to life. Four Quinjets surrounded the cabin, and all four craft simultaneously launched eight missiles straight at it.

"They finally arrived!" Arthur smiled, looking at Melina and Natasha.

BOOM!

The cabin was struck by eight missiles at once, instantly blown to smithereens amidst soaring flames and billowing smoke.

The four fighter jets descended from the sky. Then, the mysterious figure who had previously attacked Natasha and the others led a dozen Red Room operatives toward the smoking ruins of the cabin.

A gust of wind blew by, scattering the heavy smoke, and the Red Room agents finally got a clear view of the wreckage. What they saw left them utterly dumbfounded.

Right in the center of the ruins stood an intact dining table, around which Arthur, Natasha, Yelena, Melina, and Alexei sat unscathed.

It was as if the massive explosion had nothing to do with them at all. Recovering from their shock, the agents immediately raised their weapons. Rat-tat-tat-tat! Over a dozen tongues of fire erupted from the barrels as the agents opened fire on the five of them together.

Yet an unacceptable sight unfolded before their eyes: a translucent red energy shield enveloped the group. Countless bullets struck the barrier, creating only faint ripples without breaking through or harming anyone inside.

"It seems they had no intention of sparing you either. To Dreykov, you're just a disposable pawn after all," Arthur told Melina.

Arthur raised his right hand, unleashing a beam of blue energy that blasted all dozen-plus firing agents away.

"So noisy!" Arthur remarked casually, as if he had just done something utterly trivial.

Melina stared at Arthur in sheer disbelief. She knew the Avengers were powerful, but she had never imagined this level of might. Was this even human?

Yelena and Alexei, having witnessed Arthur's terrifying strength during the prison break, remained completely unfazed.

"Let's go. Time to meet this Dreykov!" Arthur stood up and walked toward the fallen agents.

Natasha and Yelena stood up to follow. Melina cast one last glance at Alexei before getting up to join them.

More than a dozen female agents had died on the spot; only the mysterious assailant survived, saved by a heavily reinforced combat suit.

"That's the one who chased me and Yelena in Budapest," Natasha said, looking at the figure lying on the ground.

Natasha stepped forward and removed the mysterious person's helmet. Seeing the face beneath left everyone startled.

It was a woman in her thirties, her entire face marked by the horrifying scars of severe burns.

Natasha stared blankly at the woman, lost in thought.

"Who are you?" Arthur asked the woman.

Instantly controlled by Arthur, the scarred woman's eyes went vacant. "I am Antonia."

"What!" Hearing that name, Natasha covered her mouth, staring in horror at the scarred woman.

"What is it?" Yelena rushed to support Natasha's arm, asking with concern.

"She is Dreykov's daughter... She didn't die after all," Natasha said, looking at Antonia with deep remorse as tears spilled down her cheeks.

Arthur stepped forward and placed a hand on Antonia's head, enveloping her in a yellow glow. A minute later, Antonia's eyes rolled back, and she collapsed unconscious.

"What did you do to her!" Natasha demanded, glaring at Arthur as Antonia fell.

"That Dreykov truly isn't human—he actually turned his own daughter into a weapon. I just read her memories and removed the control agent from her brain. She's only passed out," Arthur shrugged and said.