3. Taken

Aria's ambition grew limitless as she made connections in the underworld. She plotted new ways to grow her reach. Then, she found her next perfect prey. She set her sights on Cain, Dante's brother.

Cain was the type Aria disliked. Kind, good hearted and trustworthy. But that only made him an easier target. She approached him acting all sweet and vulnerable to gain his trust. Cain, a man known for his loyalty and kindness, had no reason to suspect her. Just when he let his guard down, she betrayed him, tipping off Dante's enemies to seal his fate.

Something worse than death.

A blood-stained box arrived on Dante's doorstep, heavy and silent. Inside was Cain's severed head. Eyes dull. Mouth slightly parted. A final, gruesome message from his killers.

Dante's hands shook as he lifted his brother's lifeless face, fury erupting within him like a blaze. His brother had trusted too easily, loved too blindly. And now he was gone. Because Dante had let it happen. He had failed. The only way to make it right was with blood.

Meanwhile, Aria celebrated her success. Her deal with Dante's rivals had gone perfectly, but she didn’t realize her fatal mistake:

She had crossed the wrong man. And her moment of happiness was about to crash.

Dante was fuming like a volcano. Cain's death had been more than just personal. It was a loss he couldn't bear in any way. With each passing hour, his men combed the city, searching for answers.

Reports flooded in, but none provided the clarity he sought. The only thing they knew for sure was that the girl Cain had fallen for had betrayed him to his rivals. Cain had often mentioned his mysterious girlfriend. But every time Dante tried to meet her, Aria cleverly blocked it.

Dante soon learned that Aria was the daughter of August Reeves. A powerful man he had past conflicts with. Aria had played both sides, making deals that undermined him. Or so he thought.

A new purpose started driving him. He pledged to destroy the woman who got his brother killed, to make her pay for her betrayal in the most horrendous way possible. He dreamed of the day he'd hear her screams. But before anything, he needed to know. Who did she work for?

In a dark corner of the city, Aria sat with her mother. The news of Dante's hunt for their heads had struck fear even in their stone-cold hearts. They knew all along that what they had was a dangerous plan, but they didn't exactly account for Dante's fury as a consequence.

“What do we do?” Marcella whispered, fear evident in her shaky voice. Desperation churned within Marcella and Aria as they searched for a way out. Then, suddenly, Marcella's gaze landed on Nora, who was wiping dust off the paintings, deliberately shutting herself out of their conversation. The unwanted, expendable stepdaughter.

She loomed over Nora. Marcella started threading her fingers through Nora's hair gently, but Nora flinched. She knew better.

“I know this is hard, darling,” she cooed with her honey sweet voice.

“But family will always help each other out, right?”

Nora swiftly inhaled as Marcella pulled her hair just a little. A silent reminder of who held the power.

“Your father needs you, love.” The sweetness of her words started thinning. “Be a good daughter, won’t you?”

Nora’s heart pounded. What was she saying? What did she want?

Marcella’s grip tightened, her next words slicing through the haze of confusion.

“Pretend to be Aria.” All warmth vanished. “You have to act like her, or your father’s treatment ends. We won’t pay for him anymore. We’ll just let him rot there.”

She got closer to whisper in Nora's ear.

“Or... do you want him to die?”

They very well knew that she had no other choice. Nora's helplessness made her put up with whatever demands they placed on her. Nora stood like a statue while horror and confusion swallowed her whole. How could she, a soft-hearted girl, pretend to be anything like Aria? They were like Day and Night.

Nora realized she had no choice. She couldn't even imagine losing her father.

“I’ll do it." Even while saying it, she hadn’t fully known what she was signing up for. A decision she would soon come to regret.

Aria transformed her without a second thought. Sliced off her long, beautiful hair that Nora dearly cherished. Locks of dark hair slid down to the floor like fallen petals. With each strand lost, another piece of Nora was disappearing.

Aria dyed her hair and dressed her in fancy clothes. She reshaped her until Nora almost looked like a mirror image of her. Though Aria hated Nora for all sorts of reasons, she couldn’t deny the bitterness of jealousy. After getting stripped of her natural innocence, Nora looked strikingly beautiful. Almost too much for Aria to take pride in her own work.

When the mirror finally reflected her new face, Nora felt nothing. The girl staring back didn't feel like her.

Aria had killed Cain.

And now, she had killed Nora too.

The announcement spread like wildfire: Aria, the daughter of the infamous Marcella Reeves, was finally stepping into the limelight. For years, August had kept his daughters hidden, their faces unknown to the world. But now, that secrecy was unraveling. Aria had orchestrated it perfectly. After tonight, everyone would believe Nora was her.

Nora swallowed hard as Aria’s plan unfolded in the public eye. The auction would be the perfect stage. Her first official appearance as Aria Reeves.

The car rolled forward, but something felt wrong. The streets were too empty. The silence too thick. Then, a screech. Headlights flooded the interior as another car cut across their path. Dante's men intercepted her vehicle, swiftly capturing her.

Nora's world darkened as she was pulled into the chaos, the weight of Aria's sins thrust upon her shoulders.

Nora Reeves had been captured.

But in Dante’s eyes, she wasn’t Nora. She was Aria.

And Aria was about to wish she had never been born.