Aria's POV
My lungs burn as I run through empty streets.
Rain pours down harder now, turning the sidewalks into rivers. My shoes are soaked through. My clothes cling to my skin. I don't care. All I can think about is that message.
"The truth about your father's death."
Dad died two years ago. His car went off a bridge during a storm. The police said he was driving too fast, lost control, drowned before anyone could reach him. Case closed. Tragic accident.
But what if it wasn't?
I turn down a narrow street, cutting through the warehouse district toward the pier. The buildings here are abandoned, windows broken, graffiti covering the walls. No streetlights. Just darkness and rain.
My phone battery dies. The screen goes black.
Perfect. Now I can't even call for help if this is a trap.
But I keep running anyway because I need to know. I need to understand why my father's car went off that bridge on a night when he never drove that route. Why his brakes "mysteriously failed" according to the accident report. Why Veronica fought so hard to have him cremated immediately before I could ask questions.
The pier comes into view—old wooden docks stretching out over black water. Ships used to load cargo here decades ago, but now it's just rotting wood and rust. Nobody comes here anymore.
Nobody except me.
And whoever sent that message.
"Hello?" I call out, my voice barely audible over the rain. "I'm here! Where are you?"
Silence. Just wind and water and my own rapid heartbeat.
I walk onto the dock, wood creaking under my feet. Every step feels wrong. This is exactly how people die in horror movies—alone, in the dark, chasing mysterious messages.
But I'm already destroyed. Already arrested. Already lost everything.
What more can they take?
"Aria Chen." A voice speaks from the shadows.
I spin around. A figure steps into the dim light from a distant streetlamp—a man, maybe sixty years old, wearing a maintenance uniform. He looks familiar somehow.
"Who are you?" I demand.
"Name's Eddie. I worked maintenance at Chen Technologies for thirty years. Your father was a good man." His voice is rough, sad. "He didn't deserve what happened."
"What do you mean? His accident—"
"Wasn't an accident." Eddie pulls an envelope from inside his jacket, keeping it dry. "I found this three days before your dad died. It was in his office trash, torn up. I put it back together because... well, I had a bad feeling."
He hands me the envelope. Inside are pieces of paper taped together—a letter in my father's handwriting:
"If anything happens to me, know it wasn't an accident. Veronica has been stealing from the company for months. I confronted her yesterday. She threatened me. Said I'd regret trying to expose her. I'm taking evidence to the police tomorrow morning. I'm scared, but I have to do the right thing. I'm sorry I didn't see who she really was sooner. Protect Aria from her. Please. —David Chen"
The paper shakes in my hands. "He knew. He knew she was stealing and he was going to turn her in."
"And the next night, his brakes failed on a bridge nobody can explain why he was driving over." Eddie's face is grim. "I wanted to take this to the police, but I got scared. Veronica has connections. She could make me disappear. But when I saw you arrested tonight on the news, I couldn't stay quiet anymore. That evidence she used against you? It's probably the same fake accounts she used to steal from your dad."
My mind races. "Why didn't you come forward two years ago?"
"Because I'm a coward." Eddie won't meet my eyes. "I got a wife, grandkids. Veronica's people came to my house after your dad died, told me to keep my mouth shut or they'd hurt my family. I'm sorry, kid. I should have been braver."
"It's not too late." I grab his arm. "Come with me to the police. This letter proves Veronica killed my father. It proves she framed me. We can—"
"I can't." Eddie backs away, fear in his eyes. "Just knowing I gave you this puts me at risk. Do what you want with it, but leave me out of it. I've got six months till retirement. I just need to survive that long."
"Please!" Desperation makes my voice crack. "I need someone to back up this evidence. Without you, it's just a torn letter that could be fake—"
"I'm sorry." Eddie turns and walks into the darkness. "I hope you find justice. Your dad deserved better. So do you."
And he's gone.
I stand alone on the rotting dock, holding my father's last words. Proof that Veronica murdered him. Proof that she's been destroying my family for years.
But worthless without someone to verify it's real.
My legs give out. I collapse onto the wet wood, clutching the letter to my chest. Tears mix with rain on my face. Everything hurts—my body, my heart, my soul. I'm so tired. So broken.
"Dad," I whisper to the darkness. "What do I do? How do I fight her? She took everything. She took YOU."
The wind howls in response. The water churns below the dock.
And then I hear it.
Voices. Shouting. Coming from the street behind me.
"She went this way!"
"Find her!"
I freeze. That's not Eddie's voice. Those are different men. Multiple men.
Footsteps pound toward the pier. Heavy boots. At least three people, maybe more.
I scramble to my feet, stuffing the letter inside my jacket. Run. I need to run. But there's only one way off this dock—back toward the men hunting me.
"There!" someone shouts. A flashlight beam cuts through the rain, pinning me like an insect.
Three men emerge from the shadows. They're big, wearing all black, faces hidden by masks. One carries a baseball bat. Another has brass knuckles.
"Veronica sends her regards," the biggest one says. His voice is cold, professional. "She wants to make sure you don't cause any more problems."
"Please—" I back up toward the edge of the dock. The water churns below, dark and deadly. "I didn't do anything!"
"You showed up at the gala. You survived arrest. You're still fighting." He moves closer, bat raised. "Mrs. Chen doesn't like loose ends."
They're going to kill me.
Just like they killed my father.
I look behind me—fifteen feet down to freezing water. Then forward—three killers with weapons.
"Any last words?" the man asks.
I think of my father. Of Marcus's betrayal. Of Lily's cruelty. Of Veronica's poison smile at the gala.
All the evil people who win while good people die.
"Just one," I say. My voice is steady despite the terror. "I wish I could make you all pay."
The man laughs. "Well, you can't. Welcome to the real world."
He swings the bat.
I don't think. I just jump.
The fall seems to last forever. Cold air rushing past. Rain pelting my face. The certainty that I'm about to die.
Then I hit the water.
It's like being punched by ice. The current grabs me immediately, pulling me under. My clothes are heavy, dragging me down. Salt water fills my mouth, my nose. I can't breathe. Can't see. Can't tell which way is up.
My lungs scream for air.
This is it. This is how I die. Drowned in the river like my father, taken by the same woman who destroyed my family.
My vision starts to go dark. My body stops fighting.
And then—
A hand grabs my wrist.
Not from above. From below.
Something pulls me deeper into the black water. Not rescuing me. Taking me.
I try to scream but only water comes in.
The hand is impossibly strong. And impossibly cold.
Through my fading consciousness, I see him—a figure in the water that shouldn't be there. Beautiful and terrible. Skin like midnight. Eyes that glow gold even in the depths.
His voice fills my head, not through my ears but directly into my mind:
"Aria Chen. Your rage is exquisite. Your pain is pure. Would you like to survive?"
I can't answer. Can't breathe. Dying.
"I can save you. Give you power. Make you strong enough to destroy everyone who hurt you. But it will cost you."
My lungs are burning. Seconds from death.
"Half your life for all the power you need. Justice for your father. Revenge for yourself. Say yes, Aria. Say yes or die."
The darkness closes in. I have maybe five seconds of consciousness left.
This is insane. This is impossible. This is—
My only chance.
I scream the word in my mind with everything I have left:
YES.
The golden eyes flare bright as suns, and the world explodes into pain and fire and rebirth.