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FULL MOVIES ENGLISH SUB (2026)
#drama #cdrama #romantic #love #movie #shortdrama #showhots #2026
FULL MOVIES ENGLISH SUB (2026)
#drama #cdrama #romantic #love #movie #shortdrama #showhots #2026
Category
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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.
02:09I 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!
02:39Right now!
02:41These people, wrapped in the skin of high society, were nothing more than parasites.
02:47To keep the girl who stole my life breathing, they drugged me, turned me into a commodity,
02:54and sold me straight back into this nightmare.
02:56Two 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!
03:31Maybe we could spend whatever it takes.
03:34Go to the Central Archic Medical Center in New York City.
03:36Find the best healer in the country.
03:38There 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.
04:17You're the daughter I raised.
04:19The one who's always been by my side.
04:22You're everything to me.
04:24Richard shot me a cold, dismissive glance and flicked his wand at the warlock's.
04:29Proceed.
04:30Ignore 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.
04:39Chloe, she crouched at the edge of the ASIC alchemy pit and lifted my mud-streaked face
04:45in her hands.
04:46Her lips brushed against my ear, and her voice dropped into a sharp whisper.
04:52Here's a secret, Chloe.
04:54I never had the bloodbond curse.
04:56My eyes flow open.
04:58My pupils trembling.
05:00My lifestand is perfectly fine.
05:02I'll live to 99.
05:03She continued softly.
05:05Those turnal diagnosis?
05:07Fake.
05:08Bought and paid for from Black Market Healer.
05:10I 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.
05:19As 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.
05:31The only way I'll ever sleep peacefully is if I watch you dissolve in this pit until there's nothing left.
05:38Have fun in hell, Chloe.
05:41The warlocks nearby have run out of patience.
05:45That's enough.
05:46Wrap up this pathetic family drama already.
05:49One of them snapped, shoving Mia aside and spitting on the ground.
05:53You Manhattan elites make me sick.
05:55Stay back.
05:56Don't contaminate the pit with your stench.
05:58Grumbling, he yanked me up off the floor and forced half my body over the edge.
06:03With the churning, green-fuming, acidic alchemy pit, another enforcer said, checking his watch.
06:09Move 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!
06:28Leo?
06:30You mean Leo Rossi?
06:32I struggled wildly, my voice breaking.
06:34I know him.
06:35I know your boss.
06:37Call 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.
06:48A flicker of shock and fear crossed his face.
06:52Did 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.
07:09If I really had some kind of connection to a man like him, someone with influence across the entire underground,
07:17they wouldn't survive the consequences.
07:19Seeing the enforcers actually hesitate, my biological parents stared in stunned silence.
07:27Richard, what is this?
07:29Helen clutched his sleeve, unease creeping into his voice.
07:33She 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.
07:50Panic flickered in her eyes.
07:52She knew better than anyone that if my identity were verified, if this execution were stopped,
07:59her entire scheme, faking a terminal illness, and hiring people to kill me, would collapse instantly.
08:06Damn it!
08:08Mia shrieked, rushing forward in her heels, and pointing straight at me.
08:14Are you all brain dead?
08:16You're actually buying this nonsense?
08:18She's nothing but a gutter rat from the slums.
08:21A compulsive liar.
08:23She'd say anything to stay alive.
08:25She even claims she's some secret heir to a dark Arkama empire.
08:30What exactly are you afraid of?
08:33My father paid you well.
08:35Now do your job and throw her in.
08:38Now!
08:40Yeah, nice try.
08:42The 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.
08:51Agony tore through me.
08:54My 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!
09:19Mia giggled, covering her mouth.
09:21Her eyes gleaming with cruel delight.
09:24She looks even more ridiculous now than she did in the Bronx.
09:27This is what happens when you try to take my place.
09:30Helen fanned away the acrid stench with her handkerchief.
09:34Her tone cold.
09:35If she had just accepted her role and quietly gave you her remaining years, she wouldn't have to suffer like
09:40this.
09:41Instead, she chose to make a spectacle of herself.
09:44She brought this on herself.
09:46Richard adjusted his sleeve.
09:48Impatience written all over his face.
09:49Stop dragging it out.
09:51Push 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.
09:59As I writhed in unbearable pain, the sharp, rapid sound of dress shoes echoed from the doorway.
10:09I could hear this mess from halfway down the hall.
10:12What are you idiots doing?
10:14Trying to draw the attention of the American Arcane Counselors?
10:17Leo Rossi, the Soul Broker, strode in with a frown.
10:21He waved away the swirling green fumes, his gaze sweeping coldly across the execution chamber.
10:27The enforcers immediately straightened, lowering their heads.
10:32Sir, nothing serious.
10:34Some Upper East Side clients are carrying out an illegal lifestand extraction.
10:37This one's being difficult, so we're about to dissolve her completely.
10:40At the sound of his voice, a flicker of clarity broke through my fading vision.
10:45I forced my ruined face up from the edge of the pit.
10:49A broken sound blowing its way out of my throat.
10:55Leo, help.
10:57Leo glanced at me and froze.
11:00The cigar slipped from his lips and hit the floor.
11:03His pupils shrank sharply, his face draining of all color.
11:08He recognized me.
11:09In 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.
11:19Dominic had been seconds away from hanging him upside down and dropping him into a pit just like this one.
11:25Back then, I'd walked over with a martini in hand, pressed down Dominic's wand arm, and said lightly,
11:32Let it go.
11:33If he falls in, the acid might splash and ruin my boots.
11:36That offhand comment had pulled Leo back from the brink of death.
11:40Now I looked at him, at the sheer terror on his face.
11:44He knew exactly who I was.
11:45He owed me his life.
11:47There was no way he'd let these people get away with this.
11:51Leo stared fixically at my ruined face.
11:53The shock and fear in his eyes quickly hardened into killing intake.
11:58No one understood Dominic's obsession with me better than he did.
12:03If Dominic ever found out that Leo had been secretly running illegal lifespan trades,
12:09behind his back in the underground market and worse, that he had stood by while the woman Dominic valued above
12:17everything was thrown into an acidic alchemy pit and disfigured,
12:22Dominic would carve him apart inch by inch with dark arcana, keeping him alive through every second of it.
12:28For Leo, there was only one way to cover up a mistake like this.
12:33Make sure I disappeared completely, as just another nameless piece of trash, erased in this pit before anyone noticed.
12:41Sir, is something wrong?
12:44One of the enforcers asked cautiously.
12:47Leo took a slow breath, his expressions snapping back into cold irritation.
12:52He turned his back to me, and issued his order without hesitation.
12:56I don't tolerate this kind of noise in my territory.
12:59He adjusted his tie.
13:01Open the dissolution valve all the way.
13:04No delays.
13:05Finish it.
13:06I want her gone completely for three minutes.
13:09No trace left behind.
13:12The potion kept eating through my flesh as I stared up at the harsh light above.
13:17So this was what it felt like to be completely abandoned.
13:20No 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.
13:28Mia, ever perceptive, caught on immediately to the authority radiating from Leo.
13:33To her, he wasn't just a shield, he was a gateway into the entire underground of New York City.
13:39She smoothed out her wrinkled designer gown and stepped toward him on her heels, swaying deliberately.
13:45Mr. Rossi, the way you gave that order just now was impressive.
13:49She said softly, lowering her voice as she leaned closer, her tone deliberately suggestive.
13:54If you don't mind, I'd love to rely on your support for my future ventures in Manhattan.
13:58Her parents' eyes lit up instantly.
14:00Richard caught on at once, rubbing his hands together with a fanning smile.
14:05Mr. Rossi, truly remarkable.
14:07If it pleases you, consider this a small gift from our family.
14:11Mia has been raised to the highest Upper East Side standards.
14:14Pure blood, well-mannered and obedient.
14:16It would be her honor to remain by your side.
14:19Helen chimed in eagerly.
14:20Of course.
14:22Mr. Rosso, if you agree, Mia can go straight to your penthouse tonight.
14:27Leo let out a low laugh and pulled Mia against him by the waist.
14:30Richard, you really are a calculating bastard.
14:33Since you're offering so generously, I'll accept.
14:37His gaze turned crude, right there in front of everyone.
14:40His hand slid along the line of Mia's dress, gripping her with open entitlement.
14:44Mr. Rossi, you're hurting me, Mia murmured.
14:47But she didn't pull away.
14:48Instead, she leaned into him, playing along.
14:51Cut the act.
14:52Leo muttered, cigar smoke curling from his lips as he spoke close to her ear.
14:56Upper East Side socialette, let's see what you're really worth.
15:00If you keep me satisfied, forget ten years of a life-binding contract.
15:04I'll make sure no one in New York City's magical world dares touch you.
15:08Just as the sickening sounds echoed through the empty execution chamber
15:12and the enforcers reached for the final switch,
15:15the iron door let out a torched screech
15:18and was blown clean off its hinges by a blasting curse.
15:22The heavy metal slab slammed into a distant, blood-bearing wall,
15:26sending the entire structure trembling.
15:28Leo's hand froze inside Mia's dress.
15:31The lewd grain on his face drained into lifeless gray.
15:34Through the swirling dust, Dominic stepped into view,
15:37clad in a tailored black coat, boots crunching over debris
15:40as he appeared in the shattered doorway.
15:43What the hell is going on here?
15:44The two enforcers collapsed to their knees with a heavy thud,
15:47bodies shaking uncontrollably.
15:50My biological parents crumpled into the filthy water,
15:53not daring to breathe.
15:54Leo yanked his hand out of Mia's dress so violently
15:57that the fabric tore with a sharp rip.
15:59All color vanished from his face.
16:02Six months ago, I had told Dominic myself
16:05that the Styx dissolution pit was barbaric, revolting.
16:08Without hesitation, the man who showed no mercy to the world
16:11had made me a promise.
16:13He swore he would shut it down permanently,
16:15that his fumes would never touch me again.
16:18Breaking a vow Dominic made to Chloe
16:20was the kind of line no one crossed in the obsidian order.
16:24And yet, Leo, driven by the massive profits
16:27of the underground life-binding contracts trade,
16:29had secretly restarted the forbidden facility.
16:32Amping caught in the act,
16:34Dominic's crimson case swept slowly across the room,
16:36finally settling on the churning pit of green fumes.
16:39I gave a direct order.
16:40He said quietly.
16:41This damn pot was supposed to be sealed in concrete, permanently.
16:44Leo's eyes flicked past Dominic's shoulder,
16:46landing at me, still half-submerged,
16:48my body destroyed beyond recognition.
16:50Boss!
16:52Mr. Dominic!
16:53He dropped to his knees with a crash and scrambled forward,
16:56clutching Dominic's polished shoes,
16:58tears streaming down his face.
17:00I was wrong.
17:01I know I was wrong.
17:03His voice broke, hoarse and desperate.
17:06Greed got the better of me.
17:07I lost my head and restarted the operation.
17:10Please, please, for everything I've done for you all these years,
17:14have mercy.
17:15I'm begging you.
17:16He slammed his forehead against the ground again and again,
17:20splitting the skin open
17:21as blood smeared across the floor.
17:24I swear this is the last time.
17:25I'll take care of these Upper Insight idiots immediately.
17:27I'll shut everything down,
17:29fill the pit myself.
17:30Just please,
17:30don't hand me over to the execution division.
17:32Please, sir!
17:33In the shadows,
17:34Richard, Helen,
17:35and Mia didn't dare make a sound.
17:37They covered their mouths,
17:39barely breathing.
17:41Dominic stood over Leo,
17:43looking down at him without a trace of emotion.
17:46Leo,
17:47the fact that you're still on your knees breathing right now
17:50is something you should thank the Bronx for every single day.
17:53Dominic slowly turned the Obsidian family signet ring on his thumb,
17:58his voice edged with frost.
18:00If Chloe hadn't shown mercy back then,
18:02if she hadn't told me herself
18:04that she never wanted to breathe that stench again,
18:07your clever little head would have been cut off
18:09and displayed in Times Square six months ago.
18:13He still cared.
18:14He remembered what I had said.
18:16This was my last chance to crawl all out of hell.
18:19I forced myself to move,
18:21enduring the agony as the potion ate through me.
18:24Inch by inch,
18:25I dragged myself out of the acidic alchemy pit,
18:28thick acid mixed with my blood,
18:30leaving a smoking trail across the stone floor.
18:33I pushed forward, trembling,
18:35and reached out a mangled hand,
18:36clapping the hem of his trousers.
18:38Through shattered breath,
18:39I forced the words out.
18:41Dominic.
18:42Dominic's entire body jolted.
18:44He snapped his gaze downward.
18:46At that moment, Mia panicked.
18:48She rushed in,
18:50her heel grinding hard onto my fingers
18:52as she grabbed a fistful of my acid,
18:54burned hair,
18:55and yanked me away from Dominic's feet.
18:57What the hell is this, this disgusting thing?
18:59How dare it touch your clothes?
19:01She shrieked.
19:02Get away from him,
19:04you filthy piece of trash!
19:06Dominic's brow twitched.
19:07A heavy blow echoed
19:09as a surge of wondrous dark arcana
19:11slammed into her,
19:12sending her flying across the room.
19:14She crashed into a metal wall
19:16and crumpled to the floor,
19:17coughing up blood.
19:18Be quiet.
19:20Don't touch her.
19:21Dominic's gaze locked back onto me.
19:24I lay in a pool of blood and filth,
19:26staring up into his dark eyes.
19:29Dominic,
19:30you lunatic.
19:31I told you.
19:33I hate that smell.
19:35His body went rigid.
19:37Chloe?
19:38He whispered the name,
19:39disbelief laced with fear.
19:41With a sharp crash,
19:43the man who ruled the Shadow Syndicate
19:44dropped to his knees in the blood,
19:46soaked stone.
19:47His hands trembled violently,
19:49hovering in the air.
19:50He wanted to touch me,
19:51but he was afraid of hurting me further.
19:54God.
19:55Chloe?
19:56Is it really you?
19:57When it finally sank in
19:59that the ruined,
20:00barely human figure in front of him
20:02was the one he had been searching for,
20:04to the point of madness.
20:05A raw roar tore out of him.
20:07The red in his eyes burned
20:09like it might spill over.
20:12Those bastards.
20:14They did this to you?
20:15He gathered me into his arms
20:17with impossible care.
20:18The man known for his cruelty
20:20held me like something fragile,
20:22his voice breaking with fear.
20:23In his embrace,
20:25staring at his twisted,
20:27anguished face,
20:28I finally let go of everything.
20:30The pain swallowed me,
20:31and darkness followed me.
20:32When I opened my eyes again,
20:34the suffocating stench was gone.
20:37In its place
20:38was a familiar,
20:39calming scent.
20:40I lay in a wide bed,
20:42sunlight spilling across the carpet
20:44through floor-to-ceiling windows.
20:45My hand rose instinctively to my face,
20:48my throat.
20:49Smooth,
20:49warm,
20:50whole.
20:51Dominic had used powerful,
20:52ancient,
20:53dark arcana
20:54to piece me back together,
20:55body and soul.
20:57Don't move,
20:58sweetheart.
20:59Your soul is still stabilizing.
21:01The voice came from the shadows,
21:03rough with exhaustion.
21:05Dominic sat on the couch
21:06beside the bed.
21:07His shirt collar hung open.
21:08Stubble shadowed his jaw,
21:10and his eyes were bloodshot,
21:11locked on me without blinking.
21:13He stood and came closer,
21:14carefully wrapping my hand in his,
21:16pressing his forehead
21:17against my fingertips.
21:18His voice trembled.
21:19I've never been this scared
21:20in my life,
21:21Chloe.
21:22When I heard your voice,
21:23I almost put a bullet
21:24in my own head.
21:25If I'd been even a second later,
21:27God,
21:29I won't let anyone hurt you again.
21:31Not even death itself.
21:33I tightened my grip on his hand,
21:35my voice still hoarse.
21:37I'm not dead yet,
21:38Dominic,
21:38but the people who thought
21:39they could decide that,
21:40I don't want them getting off easy.
21:42He lifted his head
21:43and brushed a soft kiss
21:44across the back of my hand.
21:46A chilling smile curved his lips.
21:49As you wish, my queen.
21:52Once you've fully recovered,
21:53I'll personally guide you
21:55through this little VIP tour of hell.
21:57Half a month later,
21:58I slipped into a black coat.
22:00Dominic took my hand
22:01and led me into a private elevator,
22:03one only the highest authority
22:05could access.
22:07It didn't stop at the ninth floor.
22:09It descended deeper,
22:11into something heavier,
22:13suffocating.
22:14The tenth level.
22:15The black cells.
22:17The metal doors slid open.
22:19We stepped into a circular gallery.
22:22Under a focused besom of light
22:24stood two life-sized gold statues.
22:27I walked closer
22:28and immediately recognized the faces.
22:30Richard.
22:31Helen.
22:32Their expressions were frozen
22:33in absolute terror.
22:34Mouths stretched open
22:35in silent screams.
22:37Their bodies were solid gold,
22:38gleaming under the lights.
22:39Only their eyes remained human,
22:41dirting wildly in their sockets.
22:42They loved money, status,
22:44all that Upper East Seat vanity.
22:46Dominic said from behind me,
22:47lighting a cigarette
22:48and placing it between my fingers.
22:51His tone was almost casual.
22:52So I had molten gold
22:53enhanced with magic
22:54poured straight down their throats.
22:56It filled them from the inside out,
22:57organs, bones, everything.
22:59Turned them into the most expensive
23:00art pieces in the world.
23:01He exhaled slowly,
23:03his gaze cold.
23:04Their souls are sealed
23:05inside those shells.
23:06They can't breathe,
23:07can't speak,
23:08can't move.
23:08But they feel every second of it.
23:10The confinement,
23:11the suffocation.
23:12They'll stand here for tens of thousands of years,
23:14part of my private collection.
23:16I looked at them,
23:17at the parents who had sold me out
23:18without hesitation.
23:19I felt nothing.
23:21Impressive taste,
23:22I said,
23:23flicking ash from the cigarette.
23:25But don't polish them.
23:26The shine is annoying.
23:28Dominic let out a low chuckle,
23:30wrapping an arm around my waist
23:31as he led me into the next room.
23:33It was a soundproof cube.
23:36No instruments.
23:38No chains.
23:39Just walls lined with mirrors.
23:42Mia was inside.
23:43When we first looked in,
23:45she appeared as she should.
23:47Young.
23:47Beautiful.
23:49Twenty.
23:50Then it began.
23:51Her skin yellowed and shriveled in seconds.
23:54Wrinkles carved across her face.
23:56Her hair fell out,
23:58turning gray as it thinned.
24:00One after another,
24:01fatal diseases erupted through her body.
24:03Organs failed.
24:05Tumors swelled grotesquely.
24:06Her skin split and rotted.
24:08In less than thirty seconds,
24:10she became a frailed,
24:12decaying old woman.
24:13Then,
24:13with a final,
24:14agonized scream,
24:15she collapsed into a pile of bones.
24:18The moment the bones hit the floor,
24:20everything snapped back.
24:22Time reversed.
24:23She was twenty again.
24:27And then the cycle started over.
24:31Didn't she dream of stealing your lifestand?
24:33Of living forever?
24:35I had my shadow maces as re-rate the temporary accident in her cell.
24:40In this chrono decay chamber,
24:42every sixty seconds she lives an entire lifetime.
24:45Youth to death.
24:47Crushed under a hundred different terminal illnesses.
24:50She can never truly die.
24:52Every minute,
24:52she watches herself rot in those mirrors.
24:55She got the endless life she wanted.
24:58I looked away,
24:59disgusted.
25:00That ending fits her perfectly.
25:02But,
25:02I'm more interested in the one who thought he ran this place.
25:06Dominic snapped his fingers
25:08and led me to the final chamber at the end of the corridor.
25:12Inside,
25:12Leo Rossi,
25:13once immaculate,
25:14untouchable,
25:15hung suspended in midair,
25:17pinned by hundreds of thick metal probes.
25:19They pierced deep into his spine,
25:22his brain,
25:23his limbs.
25:24There wasn't an inch of him left intact.
25:26Dark red streams of soul energy
25:28flowed through the conduits,
25:31siphoned out without pause.
25:33At the sound of our steps,
25:34he forced his head up.
25:36His face was gaunt,
25:37his eyes hollow with pain.
25:39Chloe,
25:40Miss Chloe.
25:41His voice barely held together.
25:43Kill me,
25:44please.
25:45Just shoot me.
25:47I can't take this anymore.
25:48Dominic walked to the control castle
25:50and tapped the glass.
25:52Leo,
25:52my former chief operator.
25:54He liked dealing in lifestand contracts behind my back,
25:57so I repurposed him.
25:59He's now the primary server
26:01for the entire underground market in New York City.
26:04He turned,
26:05a cold smile on his lips.
26:07You're connected to the pain network
26:09of every condemned soul down here.
26:11Every ounce of suffering they feel is converted into data.
26:14It runs through your brilliant brain,
26:15multiplied a thousand times,
26:17and powers the city's magical barrier.
26:20I stepped closer,
26:21looking straight at him.
26:23Congratulations, Leo.
26:24You finally found your true purpose.
26:27His mouth opened,
26:28trying to scream,
26:29but another surge of pain flooded in.
26:31His body convulsed,
26:33the sound breaking into a strangled twitch.
26:36I turned away without another glance
26:38and slipped my arm through Dominic's.
26:41Let's go, Dominic.
26:42I took a slow breath of the cold air of the underground.
26:45You were right.
26:45The rules down here were rotten long before this.
26:48Maybe it's time I stay
26:49and re-rate them myself.
26:51He froze for a heartbeat.
26:53Then something fierce and bright broke across his face.
26:57He pulled me into his arms.
26:59My honor, boss.
27:00Five years later,
27:02a blizzard wrapped the city,
27:04but inside the obscene order's top floor duplex,
27:07the air was warm enough
27:09to make you forget the world outside.
27:12I stood by the window,
27:14spiraling a crystal glass,
27:15the neon lights of New York City
27:17stretching out beneath me.
27:19What's caught your attention, my queen?
27:22Arms slipped around my waist from behind.
27:24His jacket lay tossed on the couch.
27:27Tie loosened.
27:29His presence relaxed in a way only I ever saw.
27:33Our empire, I said,
27:36turning to him with a faint smile,
27:38straightening his collar.
27:39In the past five years,
27:41I kept my word.
27:42I was no longer the girl
27:44clawing her way out of the Bronx,
27:46hiding under his protection.
27:47I took my place at the head of the highest council,
27:50and I rewrote the rules of the entire shadow world.
27:53I personally destroyed
27:54every illegal life-binding contract
27:56and had every broker
27:57who tried to keep siphoning life-simes
27:59on the black market
28:00thrown into the Hudson River.
28:02Through all of it,
28:03Dominic didn't interfere once.
28:05If anything,
28:06he became my most devoted supporter
28:08and the most ruthless enforcer of my will.
28:11Any elder who dared question
28:12even a single clause of my new code
28:14would be found the next morning
28:17at the bottom of the East River.
28:18At today's board meeting,
28:20were those centuries-old Sicilian war laws
28:22behaving themselves?
28:23I asked,
28:24raising an eyebrow.
28:26With your laws hanging over their heads,
28:28they wouldn't dare step out of line.
28:30Dominic said with a low chuckle,
28:32he leaned in and brushed a kiss against my lips.
28:35Everyone in the underground knows this.
28:37Cross the Godfather,
28:38and you might take a cursed bullet.
28:40Cross his wife,
28:42and your fate will make hell look merciful.
28:44I let out a soft laugh
28:46and leaned into his chest,
28:48warm and steady.
28:50Time is a strange kind of magic.
28:52Or maybe it's power,
28:53absolute and undeniable,
28:55paired with a love that never wavers.
28:56Either way,
28:57it heals.
28:58The memories that once haunted me,
29:00the burning acid,
29:01the disgust in my parents' eyes.
29:03Mia's venom,
29:04Leo's betrayal,
29:05had faded into something distant
29:07and indistinct.
29:08Those who hurt me were still down there,
29:11trapped in endless cycles of punishment.
29:12I no longer spared them a second thought.
29:15They had become dust in the machinery.
29:18And I had become the one who wrote its rules.
29:22Still thinking about the past?
29:24Dominic's voice softened
29:26as he felt the shift in me,
29:28his arms tightening slightly.
29:30No.
29:31I lifted my gaze to meet his,
29:33then drained the whiskey in my glass.
29:35Leaning close,
29:36I murmured against his ear,
29:37my voice low enough for only him to hear.
29:40I was thinking.
29:41Now that New York's underground
29:42is finally running the way I want it to.
29:44Maybe it's time we took a vacation.
29:46Amali coast.
29:47A proper honeymoon.
29:48He paused,
29:49just for a second.
29:50Then something bright and unmistakable
29:52lit up his eyes.
29:53Without another word,
29:54he swept me into his arms
29:56and carried me toward the bedroom,
29:58his voice rough with affection and surrender.
30:00As you wish, my queen.
30:02Amalfi,
30:02the edge of the world,
30:03anywhere.
30:04As long as you're there,
30:05I'm all in.
30:06We were supposed to fly straight
30:07to the Amalfi coast.
30:09Instead,
30:10halfway through the flight,
30:11the route changed.
30:12I swear,
30:13if this is the American arcane countless
30:15poking around New York's books again,
30:17I'm turning their headquarters
30:19in the Walford building
30:20into the largest public restroom
30:22in Manhattan.
30:23I said,
30:24swirling the whiskey in my glass.
30:26Dominic laughed,
30:27quietly,
30:28and draped a coat over my shoulders.
30:30Not Congress.
30:31Voodoo circles out of New Orleans,
30:33and a West Coast illusionist syndicate.
30:35They think your ban on lifespan contracts
30:38crossed a line,
30:39cut off a major revenue stream,
30:40so they teamed up
30:41and blocked Route 66,
30:43the main artery for magical smuggling.
30:46Predictable.
30:47I said coolly.
30:49I'd spent too many years
30:51surviving in places like the Bronx,
30:53not to understand
30:54how people like that think.
30:56Show them even a hint of mercy,
30:58and they'll take it as weakness.
31:01Listen carefully,
31:02I said,
31:03bracing both hands on the table
31:04as I looked down
31:05at the local bosses in front of me.
31:06The life-binding contracts
31:08in New York are gone,
31:09completely.
31:10And starting today,
31:11every transaction
31:12in the underground magical world
31:14across the United States,
31:16whether it's voodoo dolls
31:18in New Orleans
31:18or hallucinogenic brews in Vegas,
31:21runs under my new code.
31:22Who do you think you are?
31:24One of the voodoo enforcers snapped,
31:27bound tightly in my chains.
31:29The reason you're still standing there
31:30breathing is because I'm in a good mood today.
31:33I tapped his cheek lightly with my nails.
31:35And because in this shadow syndicate,
31:38Dominic is the godfather,
31:40and I'm the one even he answers to.
31:43I tightened the chains
31:44until they were seconds from suffocation,
31:46then released them at the last moment,
31:48tossing them into the corner
31:50like discarded trash.
31:51You've got three days to reopen Route 66.
31:54And from now on,
31:5630% of West Coast profits
31:58get wired to the Obsidian Order's
31:59offshore accounts.
32:01Miss a payment,
32:02and I'll personally show you
32:04what a VIP version of hell
32:06really looks like.
32:08I picked up the glass of whiskey on the table
32:10and splashed it across Sam's face,
32:13then turned,
32:14slipping my arm through Dominic's
32:15as we walked out.
32:17Back under the bright lights
32:18of the Las Vegas Strip,
32:19Dominic opened the car door for me.
32:22That familiar intensity
32:23burned in his eyes,
32:25undisguised.
32:26This is what you call negotiation?
32:28He murmured,
32:28leaning in to kiss the curve of my neck,
32:30his voice low with amusement.
32:33Bronx survival rules.
32:35I said,
32:36looping my arms around his neck
32:38and returning the kiss.
32:39Combined with Manhattan-level
32:41Monopoly power,
32:42I pulled back slightly,
32:44a faint smile on my lips.
32:46Now have the pilot
32:47reset our course to Europe.
32:49After dealing with
32:50Avoncha bees who think
32:51revolvers make them dangerous,
32:53I need a proper Italian apparato.
32:55As you wish, my queen.
32:56Dominic said with a quiet laugh,
32:58the engine roared to life.
33:00And as the city of sin
33:01fell away beneath us,
33:02we sped towards something
33:03far greater,
33:04an empire,
33:05a future,
33:06and a celebration
33:07that would never truly end.
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