The woman in red poured herself a drink like she wasn't sheltering fugitives in a house Vale once burned down.
She was stunning in a terrifying way—like a fire that smiles as it swallows a home.
Satin slip. Sharp collarbones. A gaze that could cut glass and a voice that felt like it had already outlived three wars.
Damien stood beside Emilia, silent but stiff, like a blade sheathed in skin.
"Her name is Calla," he said. "Calla Vale."
Emilia turned fast. "Vale?"
Calla arched one thin brow. "I dropped the name. Still scars me every time I say it."
---
There was no resemblance between her and the man Emilia had only seen in shadows—Darian Vale, the syndicate ghost. But her eyes... there was something familiar in the way they saw too much.
"He's your brother?" Emilia asked.
Calla didn't answer. She just raised her glass in mock salute and drank.
"Annabelle used to visit me here," Calla said softly. "Before she vanished."
That name again. Annabelle.
Damien flinched. Just slightly. But Emilia saw it.
Calla noticed too.
"She was the first to run from him. Just like you want to do."
Emilia felt the heat rise in her throat. "I didn't run. Damien brought me here."
"Oh, darling." Calla smiled cruelly. "He only ran because she mattered. That should tell you everything."
---
Calla turned and pulled open a drawer from a black lacquered chest. From it, she drew a small bracelet—gold, delicate, deceptively lovely.
"This is what he used on Annabelle. A micro tracker sewn into the clasp. Undetectable unless you're looking for it with military-grade equipment."
She held it out to Emilia.
"Touch it."
Emilia hesitated, then obeyed. The moment her fingers brushed it, a faint blue light flickered on.
Damien swore under his breath.
"He plants these in everything," Calla said. "Necklaces. Buttons. Even makeup cases."
"I've never even met him after the party, it was just a few minutes and I was far away from him," Emilia said, voice barely a whisper. "He couldn't have planted anything."
Calla tilted her head. "Sweetheart, he doesn't need to stay near you to tag you. He knew you signed the contract. That you were close to Damien. He's had eyes on you from the moment your name showed up in the syndicate's cloud logs."
"He watched me?" she asked.
Calla gave a dry laugh. "He watches everyone. He watched Annabelle, too. Right until she vanished."
---
Silence fell between them. Heavy. Suffocating.
Then Calla handed Emilia a small device. Square. Matte black. No logo.
"Scan everything you own. Hair clips. Credit cards. Even your underwear. If something beeps, destroy it. Burn it."
Damien stepped closer. "You said the penthouse was secure."
"I said we swept it," he growled.
"That doesn't mean he didn't slip something through someone." Emilia whispered.
Calla nodded. "The staff. The delivery guy. The damn elevator. You never know with Vale. He likes to feel like a god."
---
That night, Emilia sat on the edge of a narrow bed, scanning her belongings.
The second the device chirped, her heart jumped.
It was a tiny button on the inside of her favorite coat. One she hadn't even packed—it had been brought to her by Damien's assistant.
A chill rolled down her spine.
She burned it in the fireplace.
And watched the flames like they owed her something.
---
When she finally lay down, her heart still wouldn't slow.
Calla's words echoed in her skull.
"You can't run. You'll have to seduce the devil and bury him with a kiss."
But it was the second thing she said—quieter, like a secret—that struck harder.
"And try not to fall for the wrong devil while you're at it."
---
Outside the door, Damien stood in the hall.
Listening. Not moving.
Watching her like a man standing at the edge of a cliff, one step from disaster.
Because she wasn't just a contract anymore.
She was the only woman Vale hadn't broken—yet.
And Damien... he'd started to want her alive.
Not just for revenge.
But for himself.
---
At 3:17 a.m., her new phone buzzed.
Blocked number.
One message.
I see you've found the witch.
Tell her I kept the bones.
And tell Damien: your debts are due.
No signature.
Just a single red emoji.
🩸
---
To be continued…