Aria's POV
Time stops.
Veronica. My stepmother. The woman who murdered my father, stole my inheritance, destroyed my life—has devil powers too.
"That's impossible," I whisper.
"Is it?" Veronica steps over a dead body like it's a piece of trash. "Ezekiel has been making deals for centuries, darling. You're not special. You're just his latest project."
Damien moves in front of me slightly, protective. "How long?"
"Three years." Veronica examines her manicured nails—there's blood under them. "I made my deal shortly after my dear husband started getting suspicious about my business ventures. Ezekiel offered me power in exchange for fifteen years. Best investment I ever made."
Three years. She's had these powers longer than I've been conscious. She knows how to use them. She's dangerous.
"You killed my father," I say. My voice shakes—not with fear, with rage. "You had devil powers and you used them to murder him."
"I used them to survive." Veronica's eyes flash red—the same as mine, but brighter, stronger. "Your father was going to expose my trafficking network. Send me to prison. Destroy everything I built. So I fixed his brakes, watched him drive off that bridge, and collected his fortune. Simple business."
"Business?" I take a step forward. "You SOLD PEOPLE. You killed my father because he tried to stop you!"
"And now you're here to avenge him. How predictable." Veronica sighs dramatically. "The problem is, darling, you're three days old in devil years. I'm three YEARS old. Do you really think you can beat me?"
Damien's hand shoots out, stopping me from charging. "Aria, don't. She's baiting you."
"Listen to your boyfriend, sweetie." Veronica smirks. "Though I'm surprised at you, Damien. The great CEO of Thorne Security, partnering with a wanted criminal? How the mighty have fallen."
"Why are you here?" Damien demands. "This is Derek Morrison's operation. What's your connection?"
"Derek worked for me, obviously." Veronica gestures at the corpses around us. "But he got greedy. Started skimming profits. Thinking he could betray me because I'm 'just a woman.'" Her laugh is cold. "I needed to send a message to my other associates. Nobody betrays Veronica Chen and lives."
I look at the dead men. The destroyed office. The chains on the wall where victims were held.
"Where are the people?" I ask suddenly. "The victims. Where are they?"
"Released." Veronica sounds bored. "I'm not a monster, Aria. I run a business. When operations get compromised, I cut my losses and relocate. The merchandise was moved to a different facility yesterday."
"They're not merchandise!" I scream. "They're PEOPLE!"
"They're assets." Veronica's eyes narrow. "Something you'll understand when you've had your powers longer. The devil's gift strips away sentiment. Makes you practical. In a few months, you'll see humans the way I do—resources to be used or eliminated."
"No." I shake my head violently. "I won't become like you."
"You already are." Veronica walks closer, and I see it—the coldness in her eyes that matches the coldness growing in mine. "That ice in your chest? The dulling emotions? That's not a side effect, darling. That's the transformation. We're becoming like Ezekiel. Perfect. Efficient. Emotionless."
Damien's hand tightens on my arm. "She's lying. You can fight it. I have."
"Have you?" Veronica turns her smile on him. "Five years, Damien. Five years of powers, and you're more machine than man now. Everyone says so. 'Damien Thorne, the cold CEO who never smiles, never feels, never connects.' That's what the devil's gift does. It perfects you by removing your humanity."
"Shut up," Damien growls.
"Why? Because the truth hurts?" Veronica laughs. "We're all the same, the three of us. Broken humans who traded our souls for power. The only difference is I've accepted what I am. You two are still pretending you're heroes."
I want to argue. Want to scream that I'm nothing like her.
But the ice in my chest spreads. And I remember—I barely felt anything when I threatened the pawn shop owner. Barely felt guilty about stealing. The emotions are there, but distant. Fading.
"Why tell us this?" Damien asks. "You could have killed us while we're shocked. You have three years of experience. Why talk?"
"Because Ezekiel sent me here." Veronica's smile widens. "He wanted the three of us to meet. His trinity of devils. He thinks it's funny—the stepmother and stepdaughter who hate each other, plus the CEO who's supposed to be catching the vigilante. He's making us all dance for his amusement."
As if summoned, the temperature drops.
Ezekiel materializes from shadows, his obsidian skin gleaming in the dim warehouse light. "Guilty as charged."
All three of us turn to face him.
"Why?" I demand. "Why give her powers? Why make my enemy stronger?"
"Because conflict breeds excellence." Ezekiel spreads his hands. "Aria, you needed motivation. What better motivation than a superpowered villain who destroyed your family? Veronica, you needed competition to keep you sharp. And Damien?" His golden eyes fix on the CEO. "You needed to remember why you made your deal in the first place. To stop people like Veronica."
"This is a game to you," Damien says coldly.
"Everything is a game." Ezekiel smiles. "But I'm not heartless. I gave you all the tools you need to succeed. How you use them determines who wins. Will Aria become strong enough to defeat her stepmother? Will Veronica's experience triumph over Aria's rage? Will Damien choose sides or stay neutral?" He claps once. "I can't wait to find out!"
"What happens if I kill her right now?" I point at Veronica. "What if I end this tonight?"
"Then you prove you're just like her." Ezekiel's voice is soft. "A killer who uses power to eliminate problems. Is that who you want to be, Aria? Or do you want to be better?"
The question hangs in the air.
Veronica watches me with amused eyes. "Go ahead, stepdaughter. Try. Let's see what three days of power can do against three years."
Damien's hand is still on my arm. "Aria. Don't. Not like this."
But I'm so angry. So tired. So broken.
My eyes flash red.
Veronica's flash brighter.
We're about to find out who's stronger when—
An explosion rocks the warehouse.
The back wall disintegrates. Armed men pour through—at least twenty of them, wearing tactical gear, carrying military-grade weapons.
"NYPD! Everyone on the ground!"
Detective Morrison leads them, his face grim. Behind him, I see Marcus. And Lily. Both smiling.
"There!" Marcus points at me. "That's Aria Chen! The fugitive!"
"And that's the vigilante Lady Justice," Lily adds, delighted. "We followed her here!"
Damien curses under his breath. "This is a setup."
Veronica simply vanishes—moving so fast she's a blur, disappearing through a side door before anyone can react.
Ezekiel laughs and fades into shadows. "Good luck, children!"
And I'm left standing in a warehouse full of corpses with Damien beside me and twenty guns pointed at our faces.
Detective Morrison's eyes widen when he sees me. "Miss Chen? What the hell are you doing here?"
"I can explain—"
"Save it." He raises his weapon. "You're under arrest. Again. Both of you. Don't move."
Marcus steps forward, grinning. "Looks like your little adventure ends here, Aria. Though I'm impressed you lasted three days as a fugitive. That's three days longer than I expected."
Lily snaps photos with her phone. "Mom will love this. The criminal stepdaughter caught at a crime scene. Perfect."
Red rage floods my vision.
They're working with Veronica. Of course they are. This whole thing was a trap to catch me with evidence everywhere—the bodies, the trafficking operation, the warehouse.
I'll be blamed for all of it.
"Aria." Damien's voice is low, urgent. "On three, run. I'll hold them off."
"I'm not leaving you."
"You have to." His blue eyes meet mine. "You're new to this. You don't know how to fight twenty trained officers without killing them. I do. Run. Find proof of Veronica's real crimes. Survive. That's an order."
"Since when do you give me orders?"
"Since I'm the one with five years of experience." He tenses, preparing to move. "One."
Detective Morrison's finger moves to his trigger. "I said don't move!"
"Two."
Marcus's smile grows. "This is better than I imagined."
"Three!"
Damien explodes into motion—a blur of superhuman speed, disarming the closest officers, creating chaos.
"RUN!" he shouts at me.
I run.
Behind me, gunfire erupts. Shouting. Damien fighting twenty men alone to buy me escape time.
I burst through a window, glass shattering around me. Land in an alley. Keep running.
My phone—the burner—rings as I sprint through back streets.
Unknown number.
I answer while running. "What?"
"Aria Chen." A woman's smooth voice. "This is Special Agent Sarah Winters, FBI. We've been investigating Veronica Chen's trafficking network for six months. We know you're innocent. We know she framed you. And we know you just discovered you're not the only devil-deal maker in New York."
I stop running. "How—"
"Because we've been tracking Ezekiel's contracts for two years. There are more of you than you know. And Veronica is just the beginning." A pause. "Meet me in one hour. Washington Square Park. Come alone. I have information about your father's real murder. And about who Ezekiel really is. Trust me—you're going to want to hear this."
The call ends.
I stand in the alley, breathing hard, mind racing.
Damien is captured or dead. Veronica escaped. Marcus and Lily are working with her. The police think I'm a murderer.
And now the FBI says there are MORE devil-deal makers?
My phone buzzes with a text. Unknown number. A photo attachment.
I open it.
It's a picture of Ezekiel. But he's not alone.
He's standing with five other people—all with glowing eyes. Red, gold, green, purple, silver.
And in the corner of the photo, barely visible, is my father.
My father. Standing with Ezekiel. His eyes glowing blue.
The date stamp on the photo: Three years before he died.