- 4 hours ago
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🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00A dull fud cracked through the air, as my head slammed hard against the stone floor.
00:07Hurry up! Before she's gone, dump her into the acidic alchemy pit!
00:12Helen snapped, her voice sharp with urgency, as she pressed a handkerchief over her nose and mouth in disgust.
00:20I forced my eyes open. A circle of black-robed warlocks had already closed in around me.
00:26I'd clawed my way through the filth of the Bronx's lowest magical districts for years.
00:32When I finally found my so-called biological parents, I thought I could leave it all behind.
00:38I thought I could escape Dominic, the twisted master of the Obsidian Order, and his suffocating obsession.
00:45I thought I'd finally have a normal life, a real family, freedom.
00:50Instead, to keep Mia alive through that cursed life-binding contract, these pure-blood elites had me abducted and handed
00:57over like a bargaining chib to the Obsidian Order.
01:00Mia stood off to the side, arms crossed, watching me with open amusement.
01:05I let out a bitter breath.
01:07Hell, right back into this damn nasty dark magic underworld.
01:13Dominic, the shadow king who ruled life and death down here.
01:18He'd chased me for nearly a decade, treated me as if I mattered more than his own life.
01:24A few months ago, all I'd done was sneak out to some run-down mortal bar for a cheap whiskey.
01:30That was enough to send him over the edge.
01:32He locked me away in the upper sanctuary like a prisoner.
01:35I still remembered that night.
01:37His fingers clamped around my jaw, his eyes burning with obsession.
01:42Chloe, listen carefully.
01:44You don't leave me.
01:45Not now, not ever.
01:47Even if this entire world falls apart, your soul stays bound to mine.
01:52I clenched my teeth and spit straight in his face.
01:55To hell with you, Dominic.
01:57I seized the moment, used an enchanted hairpin to short out the security wards,
02:02and slipped through a hidden passage out of that gilded cage.
02:04I was wrong.
02:06Completely wrong.
02:08I didn't find freedom.
02:10I dove straight into something even darker, even colder.
02:13Richard!
02:14Helen!
02:15Look at me!
02:16My voice came out raw, shaking with fear and desperation.
02:20I have your blood in my veins.
02:22The same pure blood magic as you!
02:24Are you really going to stand there and watch your own daughter get dissolved?
02:30Into a pile of slug for some black market contract?
02:36If there's even a shred of conscience left in you, stop this!
02:40Right now!
02:42These people, wrapped in the skin of high society, were nothing more than parasites.
02:48To keep the girl who stole my life breathing, they drugged me, turned me into a commodity,
02:53and sold me straight back into this nightmare.
02:57Two warlocks forced me down, my knees grinding painfully against the stone.
03:02The fumes from the acidic alchemy pit burned my eyes.
03:06But I still lifted my head, staring straight at the two people who brought me into this birth.
03:12At my plea, Richard's face tricked.
03:15For a split second, something flickered in his eyes.
03:19Hesitation.
03:20Guilt.
03:21Helen covered her mouth, her hands trembling.
03:24Richard, he said, her voice unsteady as she turned to him.
03:28She's still the child I carried for nine months!
03:32Maybe we could spend whatever it takes.
03:34Go to the Central Archic Medical Center in New York City.
03:37Find the best healer in the country.
03:39There has to be another way to save Mia.
03:41Something that doesn't involve this.
03:43Mia's expression turned icy in an instant.
03:45Then just as quickly, she slipped into a fragile, pitiful act.
03:48It's okay, Dad, Mom.
03:50She coughed weakly, tears spilling onto the ground as she staggered back, shaking her head.
03:54Chloe's right.
03:55I'm just someone who took her place.
03:58Maybe I should be the one to die.
04:00My life's already running out anyway.
04:03Being loved by you, even just for this short time is enough for me.
04:07Please, don't carry that guilt because of me.
04:11Helen rushed forward, pulling her into a tight embrace.
04:14Oh, sweetheart.
04:15Don't say something so foolish.
04:18You're the daughter I raised.
04:20The one who's always been by my side.
04:23You're everything to me.
04:24Richard shot me a cold, dismissive glance and flicked his wand at the warlock's.
04:29Proceed.
04:31Ignore her.
04:32Mia genitly pushed her cell out of Helen's arms and made her way toward me.
04:36Unsteady on her feet.
04:38Let me say goodbye to Chloe.
04:40She crouched at the edge of the assic alchemy pit and lifted my mud-streaked face in her hands.
04:46Her lips brushed against my ear, and her voice dropped into a sharp whisper.
04:53Here's a secret, Chloe.
04:54I never had the blood bond curse.
04:57My eyes flow open.
04:58My pupils trembling.
05:00My life stand is perfectly fine.
05:02I'll live to 99.
05:04She continued softly.
05:05Those eternal diagnosis?
05:07Fake.
05:08Bought and paid for from Black Market Healer.
05:11I never needed your life in the first place.
05:13I just wanted you gone.
05:14Her manicured nails dug into my flesh.
05:17Her tone laced with vicious satisfaction.
05:20As long as you're alive, that ancient blood contract can't transfer to me.
05:24Even if you were digging through trash in the Bronx, you'd still be the rightful heir.
05:29I hate those pure-blood eyes of yours.
05:32The only way I'll ever sleep peacefully is if I watch you dissolve in this pit until there's nothing left.
05:39Have fun in hell, Chloe.
05:42The warlocks nearby have run out of patience.
05:46That's enough.
05:47Wrap up this pathetic family drama already.
05:50One of them snapped, shoving Mia aside and spitting on the ground.
05:53You Manhattan elites make me sick.
05:56Stay back.
05:57Don't contaminate the pit with your stench.
05:59Grumbling, he yanked me up off the floor and forced half my body over the edge.
06:03Of the churning, green-fuming, acidic alchemy pit, another enforcer said, checking his watch.
06:10Move it.
06:10Mr. Leo ordered this batch of life-binding contracts refined and bottled before midnight.
06:14If we screw this up, we're the ones getting dumped into the dead mines.
06:17Leo!
06:18My face hovered inches above the bubbling surface, the fumes burning my skin.
06:23I let out a piercing scream.
06:26Wait!
06:29Leo?
06:31You mean Leo Rossi?
06:32I struggled wildly, my voice breaking.
06:35I know him.
06:36I know your boss.
06:37Call him down here right now if you throw me in that pit today.
06:42I swear Leo will skin every last one of you alive with the unforgivable curse.
06:46The enforcer froze.
06:48A flicker of shock and fear crossed his face.
06:53Did she just say Mr. Rossi's full name?
06:57One of them muttered, swallowing hard.
06:59In the rigid hierarchy of the Shadow Syndicate, people at their level weren't even allowed to speak Leo's name.
07:05Let alone say it so casually, first and last.
07:10If I really had some kind of connection to a man like him, someone with influence across the entire underground,
07:18it wouldn't survive the consequences.
07:20Seeing the enforcers actually hesitate, my biological parents stared in stunned silence.
07:27Richard, what is this?
07:30Helen clutched his sleeve, unease creeping into his voice.
07:34She spent years in the Bronx?
07:36Could she have gotten involved with someone powerful in the underground market?
07:43Even Richard frowned now, his composure slipping.
07:47Mia, on the other hand, went pale.
07:51Panic flickered in her eyes.
07:52She knew better than anyone that if my identity were verified, if this execution were stopped, her entire scheme, faking
08:02a terminal illness, and hiring people to kill me, would collapse instantly.
08:08Damn it!
08:09Mia shrieked, rushing forward in her heels, and pointing straight at me.
08:14Are you all brain dead?
08:16You're actually buying this nonsense?
08:19She's nothing but a gutter rat from the slums!
08:22A compulsive liar!
08:23She'd say anything to stay alive!
08:26Even claim she's some secret heir to a dark Arkama empire!
08:31What exactly are you afraid of?
08:33My father paid you well!
08:36Now do your job and throw her in!
08:39Now!
08:41Yeah, nice try.
08:43The enforcer snapped, humiliated at having hesitated.
08:46His arm jerked forward with brutal force, shoving most of my body straight into the acidic alchemy pit.
08:53Agony tore through me.
08:55My body corrosive violently against the edge as the corrosive brew devoured my skin.
09:00In seconds, my face was unrecognizable, reduced to a horrifying mass of blood and ruined flesh.
09:08From beyond the safety line, Richard, Helen, and Mia watched with relieved, satisfied smiles.
09:17God, look at her!
09:20Mia giggled, covering her mouth, her eyes gleaming with cruel delight.
09:25She looks even more ridiculous now than she did in the Bronx.
09:28This is what happens when you try to take my place.
09:31Helen found away the acrid stench with her handkerchief, her tone cold.
09:35If she had just accepted her role and quietly gave you her remaining years, she wouldn't have to suffer like
09:41this.
09:42Instead, she chose to make a spectacle of herself.
09:45She brought this on herself.
09:47Richard adjusted his sleeve, impatience written all over his face.
09:51Stop dragging it out! Push her all the way in!
09:54If we miss the optimal extraction window for the life-binding contract, you'll be the ones paying for it.
10:00As I writhed in unbearable pain, the sharp, rapid sound of dress shoes echoed from the doorway.
10:10I could hear this mess from halfway down the hall.
10:13What are you idiots doing?
10:15Trying to draw the attention of the American arcane counsellors?
10:18Leo Rossi, the Soul Broker, strode in with a frown.
10:22He waved away the swirling green fumes, his gaze sweeping coldly across the execution chamber.
10:28The enforcers immediately straightened, lowering their heads.
10:33Sir, nothing serious.
10:35Some Upper East Side clients are carrying out an illegal lifestand extraction.
10:38This one's being difficult, so we're about to dissolve her completely.
10:41At the sound of his voice, a flicker of clarity broke through my fading vision.
10:46I forced my ruined face up from the edge of the pit.
10:50A broken sound blowing its way out of my throat.
10:56Leo, help.
10:57Leo glanced at me and froze.
11:01The cigar slipped from his lips and hit the floor.
11:04His pupils shrank sharply, his face draining of all colour.
11:09He recognised me.
11:11In the shadow syndicate, no one understood my eyes better than Leo.
11:15Years ago, he'd made a catastrophic mistake while handling a gang conflict for Dominic.
11:20Dominic had been seconds away from hanging him upside down and dropping him into a pit just like this one.
11:26Back then, I'd walked over with a martini in hand, pressed down Dominic's wand arm, and said lightly,
11:32Let it go. If he falls in, the acid might splash and ruin my boots.
11:37That offhand comment had pulled Leo back from the brink of death.
11:41Now I looked at him, at the sheer terror on his face.
11:44He knew exactly who I was. He owed me his life. There was no way he'd let these people get
11:50away with this.
11:51Leo stared fixedly at my ruined face.
11:54The shock and fear in his eyes quickly hardened into killing intake.
11:59No one understood Dominic's obsession with me better than he did.
12:04If Dominic ever found out that Leo had been secretly running illegal lifespan trades,
12:10Behind his back in the underground market, and worse, that he had stood by while the woman Dominic valued above
12:18everything was thrown into an acidic alchemy pit and disfigured,
12:23Dominic would carve him apart inch by inch with dark arcana, keeping him alive through every second of it.
12:29For Leo, there was only one way to cover up a mistake like this.
12:34Make sure I disappeared completely, as just another nameless piece of trash, erased in this pit before anyone noticed.
12:42Sir, is something wrong?
12:45One of the enforcers asked cautiously.
12:48Leo took a slow breath, his expressions snapping back into cold irritation.
12:53He turned his back to me, and issued his order without hesitation.
12:57I don't tolerate this kind of noise in my territory.
13:00He adjusted his tie.
13:02Open the dissolution valve all the way.
13:05No delays. Finish it.
13:07I want her gone completely in three minutes.
13:10No trace left behind.
13:13The potion kept eating through my flesh as I stared up at the harsh light above.
13:18So this was what it felt like to be completely abandoned.
13:21No one cared whether I lived or died.
13:23Even the man whose life I had saved could throw me away without a second thought just to protect himself.
13:29Mia, ever perceptive, caught on immediately to the authority radiating from Leo.
13:35To her, he wasn't just a shield.
13:37He was a gateway into the entire underground of New York City.
13:40She smoothed out her wrinkled designer gown and stepped toward him on her heels, swaying deliberately.
13:46Mr. Rossi, the way you gave that order just now was impressive.
13:50She said softly, lowering her voice as she leaned closer.
13:53Her tone deliberately suggested,
13:55If you don't mind, I'd love to rely on your support for my future ventures in Manhattan.
13:59Her parents' eyes lit up instantly.
14:02Richard caught on at once, rubbing his hands together with a fanning smile.
14:06Mr. Rossi, truly remarkable.
14:08If it pleases you, consider this a small gift from our family.
14:12Mia has been raised to the highest Upper East Side standards.
14:14Pure blood, well-mannered and obedient.
14:17It would be her honor to remain by your side.
14:20Helen chimed in eagerly.
14:22Of course.
14:23Mr. Rosso, if you agree, Mia can go straight to your penthouse tonight.
14:28Leo let out a low laugh and pulled Mia against him by the waist.
14:31Richard, you really are a calculating bastard.
14:34Since you're offering so generously, I'll accept.
14:38His gaze turned crude, right there in front of everyone.
14:41His hand slid along the line of Mia's dress, gripping her with open entitlement.
14:46Mr. Rossi, you're hurting me, Mia murmured.
14:48But she didn't pull away.
14:49Instead, she leaned into him, playing along.
14:52Cut the act.
14:53Leo muttered, cigar smoke curling from his lips as he spoke close to her ear.
14:58Upper East Side socialette, let's see what you're really worth.
15:01If you keep me satisfied, forget ten years of a life-binding contract.
15:05I'll make sure no one in New York City's magical world dares touch you.
15:09Just as the sickening sounds echoed through the empty execution chamber and the enforcers
15:14reached for the final switch, the iron door let out a tortured screech and was blown clean
15:21off its hinges by a blasting curse.
15:23The heavy metal slab slimmed into a distant, blood-bearing wall, sending the entire structure
15:28trembling.
15:29Leo's hand froze inside Mia's dress.
15:32The lewd grain on his face drained into lifeless gray.
15:35Through the swirling dust, Dominic stepped into view, clad in a tailored black coat, boots
15:40crunching over debris as he appeared in the shattered doorway.
15:44What the hell is going on here?
15:45The two enforcers collapsed to their knees with a heavy thud, bodies shaking uncontrollably.
15:51My biological parents crumpled into the filthy water, not daring to breathe.
15:55Leo yanked his hand out of Mia's dress so violently that the fabric tore with a sharp
16:00grip, all color banished from his face.
16:03Six months ago, I had told Dominic myself that the Styx dissolution pit was barbaric,
16:09revolting.
16:10Without hesitation, the man who showed no mercy to the world had made me a promise.
16:14He swore he would shut it down permanently.
16:16That his fumes would never touch me again.
16:19Breaking a vow Dominic made to Chloe was the kind of line no one crossed in the obsidian order.
16:25And yet, Leo, driven by the massive profits of the underground life-finding contracts trade,
16:31had secretly restarted the forbidden facility.
16:34Amping caught in the act, Dominic's crimson case swept slowly across the room, finally
16:38settling on the churning pit of green flumes.
16:40I gave a direct order.
16:41He said quietly.
16:43This damn pot was supposed to be sealed in concrete, permanently.
16:46Leo's eyes flicked past Dominic's shoulder, landing at me, still half submerged, my body
16:50destroyed beyond recognition.
16:51Boss, Mr. Dominic.
16:54He dropped to his knees with a crash and scrambled forward, clutching Dominic's polished shoes,
17:00tears streaming down his face.
17:02I was wrong.
17:03I know I was wrong.
17:04His voice broke, hoarse and desperate.
17:07Greed got the better of me.
17:09I lost my head and restarted the operation.
17:12Please, please, for everything I've done for you all these years, have mercy.
17:16I'm begging you.
17:17He slammed his forehead against the ground again and again.
17:21Splitting the skin open, as blood smeared across the floor.
17:25I swear this is the last time.
17:26I'll take care of these Upper East Side idiots immediately.
17:29I'll shut everything down.
17:30Fill the pit myself.
17:31Just please, don't hand me over to the execution division.
17:34Please, sir.
17:35In the shadows, Richard, Helen, and Mia didn't dare make a sound.
17:39They covered their mouths, barely breathing.
17:42Dominic stood over Leo, looking down at him without a trace of emotion.
17:47Leo, the fact that you're still on your knees breathing right now is something you should
17:52thank the Bronx for every single day.
17:55Dominic slowly turned the Obsidian family signet ring on his thumb, his voice edged with frost.
18:01If Chloe hadn't shown mercy back then, if she hadn't told me herself that she never wanted
18:07to breathe that stench again, your clever little head would have been cut off and displayed
18:12in Times Square, six months ago.
18:15He still cared.
18:16He remembered what I had said.
18:18This was my last chance to crawl all out of hell.
18:21I forced myself to move, enduring the agony as the potion ate through me.
18:26Inch by inch, I dragged myself out of the acidic alchemy pit.
18:30Thick acid mixed with my blood, leaving a smoking trail across the stone floor.
18:34I pushed forward, trembling, and reached out a mangled hand, clapping the hem of his trousers.
18:40Through shattered breath, I forced the words out.
18:43Dominic.
18:44Dominic's entire body jolted.
18:46He snapped his gaze downward.
18:47At that moment, Mia panicked.
18:50She rushed in, her heel grinding hard onto my fingers, as she grabbed a fistful of my acid,
18:56burned hair and yanked me away from Dominic's feet.
18:58What the hell is this, this disgusting thing?
19:01How dare it touch your clothes?
19:03She shrieked.
19:04Get away from him, you filthy piece of trash!
19:08Dominic's brow twitched.
19:09A heavy blow echoed as a surge of roundless dark arcana slammed into her, sending her flying across the room.
19:16She crashed into a metal wall and crumpled to the floor, coughing up blood.
19:20Be quiet.
19:22Don't touch her.
19:23Dominic's gaze locked back onto me.
19:25I lay in a pool of blood and filth, staring up into his dark eyes.
19:31Dominic, you lunatic.
19:33I told you.
19:35I hate that smell.
19:37His body went rigid.
19:39Chloe?
19:40He whispered the name, disbelief laced with fear.
19:43With a sharp crash, the man who ruled the Shadow Syndicate dropped to his knees in the blood, soaked stone.
19:49His hands trembled violently, hovering in the air.
19:51He wanted to touch me, but he was afraid of hurting me further.
19:56God.
19:57Chloe?
19:58Is it really you?
19:59When it finally sank in that the ruined, barely human figure in front of him was the one he had
20:04been searching for, to the point of madness.
20:07A raw roar tore out of him.
20:09The red in his eyes burned like it might spill over.
20:14Those bastards, they did this to you?
20:17He gathered me into his arms with impossible care.
20:20The man known for his cruelty held me like something fragile, his voice breaking with fear.
20:25In his embrace, staring at his twisted, anguished face, I finally let go of everything.
20:31The pain swallowed me, and darkness followed me.
20:34When I opened my eyes again, the suffocating stench was gone.
20:39In its place was a familiar, calming scent.
20:42I lay in a wide bed, sunlight spilling across the carpet through floor-to-ceiling windows.
20:47My hand rose instinctively to my face, my throat.
20:51Smooth, warm, whole.
20:53Dominic had used powerful ancient dark arcana to piece me back together, body and soul.
20:59Don't move, sweetheart.
21:01Your soul is still stabilizing.
21:03The voice came from the shadows, rough with exhaustion.
21:07Dominic sat on the couch beside the bed.
21:09His shirt collar hung open.
21:10Stubble shadowed his jaw, and his eyes were bloodshot, locked on me without blinking.
21:15He stood and came closer, carefully wrapping my hand in his, pressing his forehead against my fingertips.
21:20His voice trembled.
21:21I've never been this scared in my life, Chloe.
21:24When I heard your voice, I almost put a bullet in my own head.
21:26If I'd been even a second later, God.
21:31I won't let anyone hurt you again.
21:33Not even death itself.
21:35I tightened my grip on his hand, my voice still hoarse.
21:38I'm not dead yet, Dominic.
21:40But the people who thought they could decide that, I don't want them getting off easy.
21:44He lifted his head and brushed a soft kiss across the back of my hand.
21:48A chilling smile curved his lips.
21:51As you wish, my queen.
21:53Once you've fully recovered, I'll personally guide you through this little VIP tour of hell.
21:59Half a month later, I slipped into a black coat.
22:02Dominic took my hand and led me into a private elevator, one only the highest authority could access.
22:09It didn't stop at the ninth floor.
22:11It descended deeper, into something heavier, suffocating.
22:16The tenth level.
22:18The black cells.
22:19The metal doors slid open.
22:22We stepped into a circular gallery.
22:24Under a focused besom of light stood two life-sized gold statues.
22:29I walked closer and immediately recognized the faces.
22:32Richard.
22:33Helen.
22:34Their expressions were frozen in absolute terror.
22:36Mouths stretched open in silent screams.
22:39Their bodies were solid gold, gleaming under the lights.
22:42Only their eyes remained human, dirting wildly in their sockets.
22:45They loved money, status, all that Upper East Sea vanity.
22:47Dominic said from behind me, lighting a cigarette and placing it between my fingers.
22:53His tone was almost casual.
22:54So I had molten gold enhanced with magic poured straight down their throats.
22:58It filled them from the inside out, organs, bones, everything.
23:01Turned them into the most expensive art pieces in the world.
23:04He exhaled slowly, his gaze cold.
23:06Their souls are sealed inside those shells.
23:08They can't breathe, can't speak, can't move.
23:10But they feel every second of it.
23:12The confinement.
23:13The suffocation.
23:14They'll stand here for tens of thousands of years, part of my private collection.
23:18I looked at them.
23:19At the parents who had sold me out without hesitation.
23:22I felt nothing.
23:23Impressive taste.
23:24I said, flicking ash from the cigarette.
23:27But don't polish them.
23:28The shine is annoying.
23:30Dominic let out a low chuckle, wrapping an arm around my waist as he led me into the next room.
23:35It was a soundproof cube.
23:39No instruments.
23:40No chains.
23:41Just walls lined with mirrors.
23:44Mia was inside.
23:46When we first looked in, she appeared as she should.
23:49Young.
23:50Beautiful.
23:51Twenty.
23:52Then it began.
23:53Her skin yellowed and shriveled in seconds.
23:56Wrinkles carved across her face.
23:59Her hair fell out, turning grey as it thinned.
24:02One after another, fatal diseases erupted through her body.
24:06Organs failed.
24:07Tumors swelled grotesquely.
24:09Her skin split and rotted.
24:11In less than thirty seconds, she became a frailed, decaying old woman.
24:15Then, with a final, agonized scream, she collapsed into a pile of bones.
24:20The moment the bones hit the floor, everything snapped back.
24:24Time reversed.
24:25She was twenty again.
24:29And then the cycle started over.
24:33Didn't she dream of stealing your lifestand?
24:36Of living forever?
24:37I had my shadow maces as re-rate the temporary accident in her cell.
24:42In this chrono decay chamber, every sixty seconds she lives an entire lifetime.
24:47Youth to death.
24:49Crushed under a hundred different terminal illnesses.
24:52She can never truly die.
24:53Every minute, she watches herself rot in those mirrors.
24:57She got the endless life she wanted.
25:00I looked away, disgusted.
25:02That ending fits her perfectly.
25:04But, I'm more interested in the one who thought he ran this place.
25:08Dominic snapped his fingers and led me to the final chamber at the end of the corridor.
25:14Inside, Leo Rossi, once immaculate, untouchable, hung suspended in mid-air,
25:19pinned by hundreds of thick metal probes.
25:22They pierced deep into his spine, his brain, his limbs.
25:26There wasn't an inch of him left intact.
25:29Dark red streams of soul energy flowed through the conduits,
25:33siphoned out without pause.
25:35At the sound of our steps, he forced his head up.
25:38His face was gaunt, his eyes hollow with pain.
25:41Chloe.
25:42Miss Chloe.
25:43His voice barely held together.
25:46Kill me, please.
25:47Just shoot me.
25:49I can't take this anymore.
25:50Dominic walked to the control castle and tapped the glass.
25:54Leo.
25:54My former chief operator.
25:56He liked dealing in lifespan contracts behind my back.
26:00So I repurposed him.
26:01He's now the primary server for the entire underground market in New York City.
26:06He turned.
26:07A cold smile on his lips.
26:09You're connected to the pain network of every condemned soul down here.
26:13Every ounce of suffering they feel is converted into data.
26:16It runs through your brilliant brain, multiplied a thousand times,
26:20and powers the city's magical barrier.
26:22I stepped closer, looking straight at him.
26:25Congratulations, Leo.
26:26You finally found your true purpose.
26:29His mouth opened, trying to scream, but another surge of pain flooded in.
26:34His body convulsed, the sound breaking into a strangled twitch.
26:39I turned away without another glance, and slipped my arm through Dominic's.
26:43Let's go, Dominic.
26:44I took a slow breath of the cold air of the underground.
26:47You were right.
26:48The rules down here were rotten long before this.
26:51Maybe it's time I stay, and re-rate them myself.
26:54He froze for a heartbeat.
26:56Then something fierce and bright broke across his face.
26:59He pulled me into his arms.
27:01My honor, boss.
27:02Five years later, a blizzard wrapped the city, but inside the obscene order's top floor duplex.
27:10The air was warm enough to make you forget the world outside.
27:15I stood by the window, swirling a crystal glass.
27:18The neon lights of New York City stretching out beneath me.
27:22What's caught your attention, my queen?
27:24Arms slipped around my waist from behind.
27:27His jacket lay tossed on the couch.
27:30Tie loosened.
27:31His presence relaxed in a way only I ever saw.
27:35Our empire.
27:37I said.
27:39Turning to him with a faint smile, straightening his collar.
27:42In the past five years, I kept my word.
27:45I was no longer the girl clawing her way out of the Bronx, hiding under his protection.
27:50I took my place at the head of the highest council, and I rewrote the rules of the entire shadow
27:55world.
27:55I personally destroyed every illegal life-binding contract, and had every broker who tried to keep siphoning life signs on
28:02the black market thrown into the Hudson River.
28:04Through all of it, Dominic didn't interfere once.
28:08If anything, he became my most devoted supporter, and the most ruthless enforcer of my will.
28:13Any elder who dared question even a single clause of my new code would be found the next morning at
28:19the bottom of the East River.
28:21At today's board meeting, were those centuries-old Sicilian war laws behaving themselves?
28:26I asked, raising an eyebrow.
28:28With your laws hanging over their heads, they wouldn't dare step out of line.
28:33Dominic said with a low chuckle, he leaned in and brushed a kiss against my lips.
28:38Everyone in the underground knows this.
28:40Cross the godfather, and you might take a cursed bullet.
28:43Cross his wife, and your fate will make hell look merciful.
28:48I let out a soft laugh, and leaned into his chest.
28:51Warm and steady.
28:53Time is a strange kind of magic.
28:54Or maybe it's power, absolute and undeniable.
28:57Paired with a love that never wavers.
28:59Either way, it heals.
29:01The memories that once haunted me.
29:03The burning acid.
29:04The disgust in my parents' eyes.
29:06Mia's venom.
29:07Leo's betrayal.
29:08Had faded into something distant and indistinct.
29:11Those who hurt me were still down there, trapped in endless cycles of punishment.
29:15I no longer spared them a second thought.
29:18They had become dust in the machinery.
29:21And I had become the one who wrote its rules.
29:25Still thinking about the past?
29:27Dominic's voice softened as he felt the shift in me.
29:30His arms tightening slightly.
29:33No.
29:34I lifted my gaze to meet his.
29:36Then drained the whiskey in my glass.
29:38Leaning close, I murmured against his ear.
29:40My voice low enough for only him to hear.
29:42I was thinking.
29:43Now that New York's underground is finally running the way I want it to.
29:47Maybe it's time we took a vacation.
29:49A Marley coast.
29:50A proper honeymoon.
29:51He paused.
29:52Just for a second.
29:53Then something bright and unmistakable lit up his eyes.
29:56Without another word, he swept me into his arms and carried me toward the bedroom.
30:00His voice rough with affection and surrender.
30:03As you wish, my queen.
30:04Amalfi, the edge of the world, anywhere.
30:07As long as you're there, I'm all in.
30:09We were supposed to fly straight to the Amalfi coast.
30:12Instead, halfway through the flight, the route changed.
30:15I swear, if this is the American arcane countless poking around New York's books again,
30:20I'm turning their headquarters in the Walford building into the largest public restroom in Manhattan.
30:26I said, swirling the whiskey in my glass.
30:29Dominic laughed, quietly, and draped a coat over my shoulders.
30:33Not Congress.
30:34Voodoo circles out of New Orleans, and a West Coast illusionist syndicate.
30:38They think your ban on lifespan contracts crossed a line, cut off a major revenue stream,
30:43so they teamed up and blocked Route 66, the main artery for magical smuggling.
30:49Predictable.
30:50I said coolly.
30:52I'd spent too many years surviving in places like the Bronx,
30:56not to understand how people like that think.
30:59Show them even a hint of mercy, and they'll take it as weakness.
31:04Listen carefully, I said, bracing both hands on the table as I looked down at the local bosses in front
31:09of me.
31:09The life-binding contracts in New York are gone, completely.
31:13And starting today, every transaction in the underground magical world across the United States,
31:20whether it's voodoo dolls in New Orleans, or hallucinogenic brews in Vegas, runs under my new code.
31:26Who do you think you are?
31:27One of the voodoo enforcers snapped, bound tightly in my chains.
31:31The reason you're still standing there breathing is because I'm in a good mood today.
31:36I tapped his cheek lightly with my nails.
31:39And because, in this shadow syndicate, Dominic is the godfather?
31:43And I'm the one even he answers to.
31:46I tightened the chains until they were seconds from suffocation,
31:49then released them at the last moment, tossing them into the corner like discarded trash.
31:54You've got three days to reopen Route 66, and from now on, 30% of West Coast profits get wired
32:01to the Obsidian Order's offshore accounts.
32:04Miss a payment, and I'll personally show you what a VIP version of hell really looks like.
32:11I picked up the glass of whiskey on the table and splashed it across Sam's face, then turned, slipping my
32:18arm through Dominic's as we walked out.
32:20Back under the bright lights of the Las Vegas Strip, Dominic opened the car door for me.
32:25That familiar intensity burned in his eyes, undisguised.
32:29This is what you call negotiation?
32:31He murmured, leaning in to kiss the curve of my neck, his voice low with amusement.
32:37Bronx survival rules.
32:38I said, looping my arms around his neck and returning the kiss.
32:42Combined with Manhattan-level Monopoly power, I pulled back slightly, a faint smile on my lips.
32:49Now have the pilot reset our course to Europe.
32:52After dealing with of Wancher bees who think revolvers make them dangerous, I need a proper Italian apparato.
32:58As you wish, my queen.
32:59Dominic said with a quiet laugh, the engine roared to life.
33:03And as the city of sin fell away beneath us, we sped towards something far greater.
33:07An empire, a future, and a celebration that would never truly end.
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