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[Hot 2026]
(2026) - FULL ENGSUB | Reelshort Hot HD
Full Chinese Movie EngSub
Chinese Drama English Sub Full HD
#shortdrama #bestdrama #actionmovie #Drama #Film #Show #Anime #Movie #cdrama #Movies #BILLIONAIRE #shortdrama #dramashort #shortfilmdrama #minidrama #shortstorydrama #webdrama #indiedrama #shortfilmseries #shortdramaseries #dramashorts #englishmovie #cdrama #drama #movieshortfull
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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.
01:38His 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 clench 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,
02:01and slipped through a hidden passage out of that gilded cage.
02:04I was wrong.
02:06Completely wrong.
02:08I didn't find freedom.
02:09I dove straight into something even darker.
02:12Even 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,
02:27and 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,
02:51they drugged me, turned me into a commodity,
02:54and sold me straight back into this nightmare.
02:57Two warlocks forced me down,
02:59my knees grinding painfully against the stone.
03:02The fumes from the acidic alchemy pit burned my eyes.
03:06But I still lifted my head,
03:09staring 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,
03:26her 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,
03:53shaking 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.
04:16Don'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 genitally pushed her cell out of Helen's barns and made her way toward me, unsteady on her feet.
04:38Let me say goodbye to Chloe.
04:40She crouched at the edge of the Asic 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.
04:59My pupils trembling.
05:00My lifestand 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.
05:15Her manicured nails dug into my flesh.
05:17Her tone laced with vicious satisfaction.
05:19As 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.
05:54You 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.
06:07Another 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.
06:18Leo!
06:18My face hovered inches above the bubbling surface.
06:21The fumes burning my skin.
06:23I let out a piercing scream.
06:26Wait!
06:29Leo?
06:30You mean Leo Rossi?
06:32I struggled wildly, my voice breaking.
06:35I know him.
06:36I know your boss.
06:38Call him down here right now if you throw me in that pit today.
06:41I swear Leo will skin every last one of you alive with the unforgivable curse.
06:46The enforcer froze.
06:49A 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, in the rigid hierarchy of the Shadow Syndicate.
07:02People at their level weren't even allowed to speak Leo's name, let 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?
07:42Even Richard frowned now, his composure slipping.
07:47Mia, on the other hand, went pale.
07:51Panic flickered in her eyes.
07:53She knew better than anyone that if my identity were verified, that this execution were stopped.
07:59Her entire scheme, faking a 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.
09:07From 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.
09:36If 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.
09:53If 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 counselors?
10:17Leo 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.
10:29The 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.
10:58Leo 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 color.
11:09He recognized me.
11:11In the shadow syndicate, no one understood my eyes better than Leo.
11:14Years 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.
11:34If 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.
11:45He knew exactly who I was.
11:47He owed me his life.
11:48There was no way he'd let these people get away with this.
11:52Leo stared fixically 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,
12:11behind his back in the underground market,
12:14and worse, that he had stood by,
12:16while the woman Dominic valued above everything,
12:19was thrown into an acidic alchemy pit and disfigured,
12:22Dominic would carve him apart inch by inch with dark arcana,
12:27keeping 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,
12:36as just another nameless piece of trash,
12:39erased in this pit before anyone noticed.
12:42Sir, is something wrong?
12:45One of the enforcers asked, cautiously.
12:48Leo took a slow breath,
12:49his expression snapping back into cold irritation.
12:53He turned his back to me,
12:55and 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.
13:06Finish it.
13:07I want her gone completely in three minutes.
13:11No trace left behind.
13:14The 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.
13:24Even the man whose life I had saved could throw me away without a second thought just to protect himself.
13:29Mia,
13:30ever perceptive,
13:31caught on immediately to the authority radiating from Leo.
13:35To her,
13:36he 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,
13:45swaying deliberately.
13:46Mr. Rossi,
13:47the way you gave that order just now was impressive.
13:50She said softly,
13:51lowering her voice as she leaned closer.
13:53Her tone deliberately suggested,
13:55If you don't mind,
13:56I'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,
14:03rubbing his hands together with a fanning smile.
14:06Mr. Rossi,
14:07truly remarkable.
14:08If it pleases you,
14:09consider this a small gift from our family.
14:12Mia has been raised to the highest Upper East Side standards.
14:15Pure blood,
14:16well-mannered and obedient.
14:17It would be her honor to remain by your side.
14:20Helen chimed in eagerly.
14:22Of course.
14:23Mr. Rossi,
14:24if you agree,
14:25Mia can go straight to your penthouse tonight.
14:28Leo let out a low laugh
14:29and pulled Mia against him by the waist.
14:32Richard,
14:32you really are a calculating bastard.
14:34Since you're offering so generously,
14:36I'll accept.
14:38His gaze turned crude,
14:40right there in front of everyone.
14:41His hand slid along the line of Mia's dress,
14:44gripping her with open entitlement.
14:46Mr. Rossi,
14:46you're hurting me,
14:47Mia murmured.
14:48But she didn't pull away.
14:49Instead,
14:50she leaned into him,
14:52playing along.
14:52Cut the act.
14:53Leo muttered,
14:54cigar smoke curling from his lips,
14:56as he spoke close to her ear.
14:58Upper East Side socialette,
14:59let's see what you're really worth.
15:01If you keep me satisfied,
15:03forget 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,
15:13and the enforcers reached for the final switch,
15:16the iron door let out a tortured screech,
15:20and was blown clean off its hinges by a blasting curse.
15:23The heavy metal slab slimmed into a distant,
15:26blood-bearing wall,
15:27sending the entire structure trembling.
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,
15:37Dominic stepped into view,
15:38clad in a tailored black coat,
15:40boots crunching over debris,
15:42as 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,
15:49bodies shaking uncontrollably.
15:51My biological parents crumpled into the filthy water,
15:54not daring to breathe.
15:55Leo yanked his hand out of Mia's dress so violently,
15:59that the fabric tore with a sharp rip.
16:01All color vanished from his face.
16:03Six months ago,
16:05I had told Dominic myself,
16:06that the stick's dissolution pit was barbaric,
16:09revolting.
16:10Without hesitation,
16:11the man who showed no mercy to the world,
16:13had 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
16:21was the kind of line no one crossed in the obsidian order.
16:26And yet,
16:26Leo,
16:27driven by the massive profits of the underground life-binding contracts trade,
16:31had secretly restarted the forbidden facility.
16:34Amping caught in the act,
16:35Dominic's crimson case swept slowly across the room,
16:38finally settling on the churning pit of green fumes.
16:40I gave a direct order.
16:41He said quietly.
16:43This damn pot was supposed to be sealed in concrete,
16:45permanently.
16:46Leo's eyes flicked past Dominic's shoulder,
16:48landing at me,
16:48still half-submerged,
16:49my body destroyed beyond recognition.
16:52Boss!
16:53Mr. Dominic!
16:54He dropped to his knees with a crash and scrambled forward,
16:58clutching Dominic's polished shoes,
17:00tears streaming down his face.
17:02I was wrong.
17:03I know I was wrong.
17:04His voice broke,
17:06hoarse and desperate.
17:07Greed got the better of me.
17:08I lost my head and restarted the operation.
17:12Please,
17:12please,
17:13for everything I've done for you all these years,
17:15have 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,
17:32don't hand me over to the execution division.
17:34Please, sir!
17:35In the shadows,
17:36Richard,
17:36Helen,
17:37and Mia didn't dare make a sound.
17:39They covered their mouths,
17:41barely breathing.
17:42Dominic stood over Leo,
17:44looking down at him without a trace of emotion.
17:48Leo,
17:49the fact that you're still on your knees breathing right now
17:51is something you should thank the Bronx for every single day.
17:55Dominic slowly turned the Obsidian family signet ring on his thumb,
17:59his voice edged with frost.
18:01If Chloe hadn't shown mercy back then,
18:04if she hadn't told me herself that she never wanted to breathe that stench again,
18:09your clever little head would have been cut off and displayed in Times Square,
18:13six months ago.
18:14He 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,
18:23enduring the agony as the potion ate through me.
18:26Inch by inch,
18:27I dragged myself out of the acidic alchemy pit,
18:30thick acid mixed with my blood,
18:32leaving a smoking trail across the stone floor.
18:34I pushed forward,
18:36trembling,
18:36and reached out a mangled hand,
18:38clapping the hem of his trousers.
18:40Through shattered breath,
18:41I forced the words out.
18:44Dominic's entire body jolted.
18:46He snapped his gaze downward.
18:48At that moment,
18:48Mia panicked.
18:50She rushed in,
18:51her heel grinding hard onto my fingers,
18:54as she grabbed a fistful of my acid,
18:56burned hair,
18:57and yanked me away from Dominic's feet.
18:59What the hell is this,
19:00this disgusting thing?
19:01How dare it touch your clothes?
19:03She shrieked.
19:04Get away from him,
19:05you filthy piece of trash!
19:08Dominic's brow twitched.
19:09A heavy blow echoed
19:10as a surge of wondrous dark arcana
19:12slammed into her,
19:14sending her flying across the room.
19:16She crashed into a metal wall
19:17and crumpled to the floor,
19:19coughing 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,
19:28staring up into his dark eyes.
19:31Dominic,
19:31you lunatic.
19:33I told you,
19:35I hate that smell.
19:37His body went rigid.
19:39Chloe?
19:40He whispered the name,
19:41disbelief laced with fear.
19:43With a sharp crash,
19:44the man who ruled the Shadow Syndicate
19:46dropped to his knees in the blood,
19:48soaked stone.
19:49His hands trembled violently,
19:50hovering in the air.
19:51He wanted to touch me,
19:53but he was afraid of hurting me further.
19:56God.
19:57Chloe,
19:58is it really you?
19:59When it finally sank in
20:01that the ruined,
20:02barely human figure in front of him
20:03was the one he had been searching for,
20:05to the point of madness.
20:07A raw roar tore out of him.
20:09The red in his eyes burned,
20:11like it might spill over.
20:14Those bastards,
20:16they did this to you?
20:17He gathered me into his arms
20:19with impossible care.
20:20The man known for his cruelty
20:21held me like something fragile,
20:23his voice breaking with fear.
20:25In his embrace,
20:27staring at his twisted,
20:28anguished face,
20:29I finally let go of everything.
20:31The pain swallowed me,
20:32and darkness followed me.
20:34When I opened my eyes again,
20:36the suffocating stench was gone.
20:39In its place,
20:39was a familiar,
20:41calming scent.
20:42I lay in a wide bed,
20:44sunlight spilling across the carpet
20:46through floor-to-ceiling windows.
20:47My hand rose instinctively
20:49to my face,
20:50my throat.
20:51Smooth,
20:51warm,
20:52whole.
20:53Dominic had used powerful,
20:54ancient,
20:55dark arcana
20:55to piece me back together,
20:57body and soul.
20:59Don't move,
21:00sweetheart.
21:01Your soul is still stabilizing.
21:03The voice came from the shadows,
21:05rough with exhaustion.
21:07Dominic sat on the couch
21:08beside the bed,
21:09his shirt collar hung open.
21:10Stubble shadowed his jaw,
21:12and his eyes were bloodshot,
21:13locked on me without blinking.
21:15He stood and came closer,
21:16carefully wrapping my hand in his,
21:18pressing his forehead
21:19against my fingertips.
21:20His voice trembled.
21:21I've never been this scared
21:22in my life, Chloe.
21:24When I heard your voice,
21:25I almost put a bullet
21:26in my own head.
21:26If I'd been even a second later,
21:29God,
21:31I won't let anyone hurt you again.
21:33Not even death itself.
21:35I tightened my grip on his hand,
21:37my voice still hoarse.
21:38I'm not dead yet, Dominic.
21:40But the people who thought
21:41they could decide that,
21:42I don't want them getting off easy.
21:44He lifted his head
21:45and brushed a soft kiss
21:46across the back of my hand.
21:48A chilling smile curved his lips.
21:51As you wish, my queen.
21:54Once you've fully recovered,
21:55I'll personally guide you
21:57through this little VIP tour of hell.
21:59Half a month later,
22:00I slipped into a black coat.
22:02Dominic took my hand
22:03and led me into a private elevator,
22:05one only the highest authority
22:07could access.
22:09It didn't stop at the ninth floor.
22:11It descended deeper,
22:13into something heavier,
22:15suffocating.
22:16The tenth level.
22:18The black cells.
22:19The metal doors slid open.
22:21We stepped into a circular gallery.
22:24Under a focused besom of light
22:26stood two life-sized gold statues.
22:29I walked closer
22:30and immediately recognized the faces.
22:32Richard.
22:33Helen.
22:34Their expressions were frozen
22:35in absolute terror.
22:36Mouths stretched open
22:37in silent screams.
22:39Their bodies were solid gold,
22:40gleaming under the lights.
22:42Only their eyes remained human,
22:43dirting wildly in their sockets.
22:45They loved money, status,
22:46all that Upper East Seat vanity.
22:48Dominic said from behind me,
22:49lighting a cigarette
22:50and placing it between my fingers.
22:53His tone was almost casual.
22:54So I had molten gold
22:55enhanced with magic
22:56poured straight down their throats.
22:58It filled them from the inside out,
22:59organs, bones, everything.
23:01Turned them into the most expensive
23:02art pieces in the world.
23:04He exhaled slowly,
23:05his gaze cold.
23:06Their souls are sealed
23:07inside those shells.
23:08They can't breathe,
23:09can't speak,
23:10can't move.
23:10But they feel every second of it.
23:12The confinement.
23:13The suffocation.
23:14They'll stand here
23:15for tens of thousands of years,
23:16part of my private collection.
23:18I looked at them,
23:19at the parents
23:19who had sold me out
23:20without hesitation.
23:22I felt nothing.
23:23Impressive taste.
23:24I said,
23:25flicking ash from the cigarette.
23:27But don't polish them.
23:28The shine is annoying.
23:30Dominic let out a low chuckle,
23:32wrapping an arm around my waist
23:34as he led me into the next room.
23:36It was a soundproof cube.
23:38No instruments.
23:40No chains.
23:41Just walls lined with mirrors.
23:44Mia was inside.
23:45When we first looked in,
23:47she appeared as she should.
23:49Young.
23:50Beautiful.
23:51Twenty.
23:52Then it began.
23:53Her skin yellowed
23:55and shriveled in seconds.
23:56Wrinkles carved across her face.
23:59Her hair fell out,
24:00turning grey as it thinned.
24:02One after another,
24:03fatal diseases erupted
24:05through her body.
24:06Organs failed.
24:07Tumors swelled grotesquely.
24:09Her skin split and rotted.
24:10In less than thirty seconds,
24:12she became a frailed,
24:14decaying old woman.
24:15Then,
24:15with a final,
24:16agonized scream,
24:18she collapsed
24:18into a pile of bones.
24:20The moment the bones
24:21hit the floor,
24:22everything snapped back.
24:24Time reversed.
24:25She was twenty again.
24:29And then the cycle
24:31started over.
24:33Didn't she dream
24:34of stealing your lifestand?
24:36Of living forever?
24:37I had my shadow
24:38maces as re-rate
24:40the temporary
24:40exit in her cell.
24:42In this chrono
24:43decay chamber,
24:44every sixty seconds
24:45she lives an entire
24:46lifetime.
24:48Youth to death.
24:49Crushed under a hundred
24:50different terminal illnesses.
24:52She can never
24:53truly die.
24:54Every minute,
24:55she watches herself
24:56rot in those mirrors.
24:57She got the endless
24:58life she wanted.
25:00I looked away,
25:01disgusted.
25:02That ending
25:03fits her perfectly.
25:04But,
25:05I'm more interested
25:06in the one who thought
25:07he ran this place.
25:08Dominic snapped
25:09his fingers
25:10and led me to the
25:11final chamber
25:12at the end
25:12of the corridor.
25:14Inside,
25:15Leo Rossi,
25:16once immaculate,
25:17untouchable,
25:18hung suspended
25:18in mid-air,
25:19pinned by hundreds
25:20of thick metal probes.
25:22They pierced
25:23deep into his spine,
25:24his brain,
25:25his limbs.
25:26There wasn't an inch
25:27of him left intact,
25:29dark,
25:29red streams
25:30of soul energy
25:31flowed through
25:32the conduits,
25:33siphoned out
25:34without pause.
25:35At the sound
25:36of our steps,
25:37he forced his head up.
25:38His face was gaunt,
25:40his eyes hollow
25:40with pain.
25:41Chloe,
25:42Miss Chloe.
25:43His voice
25:44barely held together.
25:46Kill me,
25:47please.
25:47Just shoot me.
25:49I can't take this anymore.
25:51Dominic walked
25:51to the control castle
25:52and tapped the glass.
25:54Leo,
25:55my former chief operator.
25:56He liked dealing
25:57in Lifestand contracts
25:59behind my back,
26:00so I repurposed him.
26:01He's now the primary server
26:03for the entire underground market
26:05in New York City.
26:06He turned,
26:07a cold smile on his lips.
26:09You're connected
26:10to the pain network
26:11of every condemned soul
26:12down here.
26:13Every ounce of suffering
26:15they feel
26:15is converted into data.
26:16It runs through
26:17your brilliant brain,
26:18multiplied a thousand times,
26:20and powers the city's
26:21magical barrier.
26:22I stepped closer,
26:24looking straight at him.
26:25Congratulations, Leo.
26:27You finally found
26:28your true purpose.
26:29His mouth opened,
26:31trying to scream,
26:32but another surge
26:32of pain flooded in.
26:34His body convulsed,
26:35the sound breaking
26:36into a strangled twitch.
26:39I turned away
26:40without another glance
26:41and slipped my arm
26:42through Dominic's.
26:43Let's go, Dominic.
26:44I took a slow breath
26:45of the cold air
26:46of the underground.
26:47You were right.
26:48The rules down here
26:49were rotten long
26:50before this.
26:50Maybe it's time I stay
26:52and re-rate them myself.
26:54He froze for a heartbeat.
26:55Then something fierce
26:57and bright
26:57broke across his face.
26:59He pulled me
27:00into his arms.
27:01My honor, boss.
27:03Five years later,
27:04a blizzard wrapped
27:05the city,
27:06but inside the obscene
27:08order's top floor duplex.
27:10The air was warm enough
27:11to make you forget
27:12the world outside.
27:15I stood by the window,
27:17swirling a crystal glass.
27:18The neon lights
27:19of New York City
27:20stretching out beneath me.
27:22What's caught
27:23your attention,
27:24my queen?
27:25Arms slipped around
27:26my waist from behind.
27:27His jacket lay tossed
27:28on the couch.
27:30Tie loosened.
27:31His presence relaxed
27:33in a way
27:33only I ever saw.
27:35Our empire,
27:37I said,
27:39turning to him
27:40with a faint smile,
27:41straightening his collar.
27:42In the past five years,
27:44I kept my word.
27:45I was no longer
27:46the girl clawing
27:47her way out of the Bronx,
27:48hiding under his protection.
27:50I took my place
27:51at the head
27:51of the highest council,
27:52and I rewrote the rules
27:54of the entire shadow world.
27:55I personally destroyed
27:57every illegal
27:57life-binding contract,
27:59and had every broker
28:00who tried to keep
28:01siphoning life-simes
28:02on the black market
28:03thrown into the Hudson River.
28:04Through all of it,
28:06Dominic didn't interfere once.
28:08If anything,
28:09he became my most
28:10devoted supporter,
28:11and the most ruthless
28:12enforcer of my will.
28:13Any elder who dared question
28:15even a single clause
28:16of my new code
28:17would be found
28:18the next morning
28:19at the bottom
28:20of the East River.
28:21At today's board meeting,
28:22were those centuries-old
28:23Sicilian war laws
28:24behaving themselves?
28:26I asked,
28:27raising an eyebrow.
28:29With your laws
28:30hanging over their heads,
28:31they wouldn't dare
28:31step out of line.
28:33Dominic said
28:34with a low chuckle,
28:35he leaned in
28:36and brushed a kiss
28:37against my lips.
28:38Everyone in the underground
28:39knows this.
28:40Cross the Godfather,
28:41and you might take
28:42a cursed bullet.
28:43Cross his wife,
28:45and your fate
28:46will make Hell
28:46look merciful.
28:48I let out a soft laugh,
28:49and leaned into his chest,
28:51warm and steady.
28:53Time is a strange
28:54kind of magic.
28:55Or maybe it's power,
28:56absolute and undeniable,
28:57paired with a love
28:58that never wavers.
28:59Either way,
29:00it heals.
29:01The memories
29:01that once haunted me,
29:03the burning acid,
29:04the disgust
29:05in my parents' eyes,
29:06Nia's venom,
29:07Leo's betrayal,
29:08had faded into
29:09something distant
29:10and indistinct.
29:11Those who hurt me
29:12were still down there,
29:13trapped in endless cycles
29:15of punishment.
29:16I no longer spared them
29:17a second thought.
29:18They had become dust
29:19in the machinery.
29:21And I had become
29:22the one who wrote
29:23its rules.
29:25Still thinking about
29:26the past?
29:27Dominic's voice
29:28softened
29:29as he felt
29:29the shift in me,
29:30his arms tightening slightly.
29:33No.
29:34I lifted my gaze
29:35to meet his,
29:36then drained the whiskey
29:37in my glass.
29:38Leaning close,
29:39I murmured
29:39against his ear,
29:40my voice low enough
29:41for only him to hear.
29:43I was thinking,
29:44now that New York's
29:44underground is finally
29:45running the way
29:46I want it to,
29:47maybe it's time
29:47we took a vacation,
29:49a Marley coast,
29:50a proper honeymoon.
29:51He paused,
29:52just for a second,
29:53then something bright
29:54and unmistakable
29:55lit up his eyes.
29:56Without another word,
29:57he swept me into his arms
29:59and carried me
29:59toward the bedroom,
30:00his voice rough
30:01with affection and surrender.
30:03As you wish,
30:04my queen.
30:04Amalfi,
30:05the edge of the world,
30:06anywhere.
30:07As long as you're there,
30:08I'm all in.
30:09He was supposed to fly
30:10straight to the Amalfi coast.
30:12Instead,
30:13halfway through the flight,
30:14the route changed.
30:15I swear,
30:16if this is the American
30:17arcane countless
30:18poking around
30:19New York's books again,
30:21I'm turning their
30:22headquarters in the
30:22Wulford building
30:23into the largest
30:24public restroom
30:25in Manhattan.
30:26I said,
30:27swirling the whiskey
30:28in my glass.
30:29Dominic laughed,
30:30quietly,
30:31and draped a coat
30:32over my shoulders.
30:33Not Congress.
30:34Voodoo circles
30:35out of New Orleans
30:36and a West Coast
30:37illusionist syndicate.
30:38They think your ban
30:39on lifespan contracts
30:41crossed a line,
30:42cut off a major
30:42revenue stream,
30:43so they teamed up
30:44and blocked Route 66,
30:46the main artery
30:47for magical smuggling.
30:49Hmph.
30:49Predictable.
30:50I said coolly.
30:52I'd spent too many years
30:54surviving in places
30:55like the Bronx,
30:56not to understand
30:57how people like that think.
30:59Show them even a hint
31:00of mercy
31:01and they'll take it
31:02as weakness.
31:04Listen carefully,
31:05I said,
31:06bracing both hands
31:07on the table
31:07as I looked down
31:08at the local bosses
31:08in front of me.
31:09The life-binding contracts
31:11in New York
31:11are gone,
31:12completely.
31:13And starting today,
31:14every transaction
31:15in the underground
31:16magical world
31:17across the United States,
31:19whether it's
31:20voodoo dolls
31:21in New Orleans
31:22or hallucinogenic
31:23brews in Vegas,
31:24runs under my new code.
31:26Who do you think you are?
31:27One of the voodoo enforcers
31:29snapped,
31:30bound tightly
31:31in my chains.
31:32The reason you're still
31:33standing there breathing
31:34is because I'm
31:35in a good mood
31:35today.
31:36I tapped his cheek
31:37lightly with my nails.
31:39And because,
31:39in this shadow syndicate,
31:41Dominic is the godfather,
31:43and I'm the one
31:44even he answers to.
31:46I tightened the chains
31:47until they were seconds
31:48from suffocation,
31:49then released them
31:50at the last moment,
31:52tossing them into the corner
31:53like discarded trash.
31:54You've got three days
31:55to reopen Route 66,
31:57and from now on,
31:5930% of West Coast profits
32:01get wired to the Obsidian Order's
32:03offshore accounts.
32:04Miss a payment,
32:05and I'll personally show you
32:07what a VIP version of hell
32:09really looks like.
32:11I picked up the glass of whiskey
32:13on the table
32:13and splashed it across Sam's face,
32:16then turned,
32:17slipping my arm through Dominic's
32:19as we walked out,
32:20back under the bright lights
32:21of the Las Vegas Strip.
32:23Dominic opened the car door for me.
32:25That familiar intensity
32:26burned in his eyes,
32:28undisguised.
32:29This is what you call negotiation?
32:31He murmured,
32:32leaning in to kiss the curve
32:33of my neck,
32:34his voice low with amusement.
32:37Bronx survival rules,
32:38I said,
32:39looping my arms around his neck
32:41and returning the kiss.
32:42Combined with Manhattan-level
32:44Monopoly power,
32:45I pulled back slightly,
32:47a faint smile on my lips.
32:49Now have the pilot
32:50reset our course to Europe.
32:52After dealing with
32:53Avoncha bees who think
32:54revolvers make them dangerous,
32:56I need a proper Italian apparato.
32:58As you wish, my queen.
32:59Dominic said with a quiet laugh,
33:01the engine roared to life.
33:03And as the city of sin
33:04fell away beneath us,
33:05we sped towards something
33:07far greater,
33:08an empire,
33:08a future,
33:09and a celebration
33:10that would never truly end.
33:12Have a great job.
33:12Have a great job.
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