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Veil 2

Author: Miss Amateur
last update Last Updated: 2025-01-29 20:10:08

The cold night air bites at my skin as I walk away from the hotel, my heels clicking against the pavement. My heart should be pounding from the encounter, from the way Helios looked at me like he’d seen a ghost. But it’s not. It’s steady. Controlled. This moment—this confrontation—I’ve played it over in my mind a thousand times.

He recognized me. I saw it in his eyes the second I spoke his name. The disbelief. The guilt. The panic. Helios Valenti, the man who once swore to protect me, had been left speechless. And that, in itself, was a small victory.

The city hums around me, neon lights flickering in the distance, the sound of traffic blending into the background. It’s all the same, yet everything feels different now that I’ve returned. My presence alone has already begun to stir the waters, and soon, the Moretti family will know the truth.

I pull my coat tighter around me as I weave through the streets, heading toward the safehouse I established weeks ago. The plan was set in motion long before tonight. Every step, every move was calculated. And Helios… well, he was always going to be my first target.

I reach the apartment complex, an inconspicuous building in a quieter part of the city. It’s nothing fancy, but it serves its purpose—an untraceable place to lay low while I put the rest of my plan into action.

Inside, I lock the door behind me and exhale slowly. My body may be still, but my mind is anything but. The past is creeping up on me, its claws digging into my thoughts, whispering memories I’ve tried to bury.

I drop onto the worn leather couch, staring at the ceiling. For years, I’ve pushed down the pain, the betrayal, the fear. But now, with Helios’s face fresh in my mind, the memories claw their way back.

Six Years Ago

I remember the gunfire. The sharp sting of betrayal. The burning pain tearing through my body.

I had trusted them. I had trusted him.

Helios had been my protector—at least, that’s what I had believed. But the night I was attacked, he wasn’t there. And when I needed him most, the people I had once called family turned their backs on me.

I was left for dead in a warehouse on the outskirts of the city, my body broken, my breath shallow. I should have died. By all accounts, I wasn’t meant to survive.

But I did.

Through sheer will and the help of someone who owed me a debt, I clawed my way back from the brink. I spent years recovering, rebuilding, reshaping myself into someone unrecognizable. The weak girl who had been betrayed? She no longer existed.

Now, I was back. And this time, I wasn’t the one running.

Present Day

A knock on the door snaps me out of my thoughts. My muscles tense immediately, my hand instinctively reaching for the gun tucked into my coat. No one should know where I am. No one except—

Another knock. Louder this time.

I slowly move to the door, pressing my ear against it. Silence follows. I grip my gun tighter before unlocking the door just enough to peer outside.

And there he is.

Helios.

His face is shadowed beneath the dim hallway light, his sharp jaw clenched, eyes dark and unreadable.

For a brief second, neither of us speak. The air between us is thick, heavy with something unspoken.

Then, he exhales sharply. “You’re alive.”

I tilt my head slightly. “Disappointed?”

He shakes his head, his expression unreadable. “I don’t know what I am.”

I step back, leaving the door open just enough for him to step inside if he dares. He does. Slowly, cautiously.

The door clicks shut behind him, sealing us in together for the first time in years.

He looks around the apartment, his sharp gaze taking in every detail—every exit point, every possible danger. He hasn’t changed. Still the enforcer. Still the man trained to see threats before they arise.

Finally, his gaze settles on me.

“You should be dead,” he says, voice low. “I went to your funeral, Elena.”

I smirk, though there’s no humor in it. “Clearly, someone lied to you.”

His jaw tightens, his hands clenching at his sides. “What happened to you?”

I raise an eyebrow. “Oh, now you care?”

The words hit him like a slap. He flinches, just slightly, but I see it.

“I—” He stops, exhaling. “I looked for you, Elena.”

I let out a short, bitter laugh. “Not hard enough.”

Silence stretches between us.

Then, he runs a hand down his face, looking away briefly before meeting my gaze again. “What do you want?”

Finally. The real question.

I step closer, just enough for him to feel the weight of my presence. “I want justice. I want revenge. And I want you to remember that you failed me.”

His throat bobs, his eyes darkening. “I didn’t have a choice.”

“There’s always a choice.”

I can see the guilt in his expression, the way his shoulders tense as if carrying the weight of the past. But guilt won’t change what happened. Guilt won’t erase the years I spent in the shadows, rebuilding the life they stole from me.

He sighs, running a hand through his dark hair. “You don’t understand, Elena.”

“Then make me understand.”

He hesitates. Just for a second. And that hesitation tells me everything I need to know.

There’s more to this than I thought.

I narrow my eyes. “You knew something, didn’t you?”

He doesn’t answer.

I take another step forward, my voice dropping. “You knew something, and you still let me die.”

His gaze snaps to mine, something dangerous flickering in his expression. “It wasn’t that simple.”

“It never is.”

Another long silence.

Then, he exhales, his shoulders slumping slightly. “Elena… if you’re really back, if you’re really doing this, you need to be careful.”

I let out a short, humorless laugh. “Careful?” I shake my head. “I didn’t come back to play it safe, Helios. I came back to finish what was started.”

He looks at me for a long moment, and I can see it in his eyes—the war within him. The part of him that still sees me as the woman he once knew and the part of him that knows I’m not the same anymore.

Finally, he sighs. “You won’t stop, will you?”

“No.”

He nods slowly, as if accepting something he already knew deep down. “Then I need to know one thing.”

I raise an eyebrow. “What’s that?”

His jaw tightens. “Are you here to kill them?”

The question lingers in the air, heavy between us.

I take my time before answering, stepping even closer, my gaze never leaving his. “What do you think?”

His eyes search mine, looking for something. I don’t know what.

Then, after what feels like an eternity, he exhales and nods.

“Then I guess we’re on opposite sides now.”

I tilt my head, smirking slightly. “Are we?”

He doesn’t answer.

Because he doesn’t know.

And for the first time since I walked away from that hotel, I feel like I’m exactly where I’m meant to be.

This is just the beginning.

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  • The Devil's Vow #2: The Viel of Vengeance   Veil 28

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  • The Devil's Vow #2: The Viel of Vengeance   Veil 27

    The aftermath of the battle left a hollow silence in its wake. The Moretti estate, though still standing, bore the scars of the chaos that had unfolded just days before. The Volkovs had retreated, the syndicate had been dismantled, and the traitor had met his end. Yet, despite the hard-won victory, a sense of unease settled over me like a storm cloud waiting to break. Helios was recovering, but his wounds were deep. He had barely made it through the fight, and watching him slip in and out of consciousness in those first few nights had been unbearable. Now, as he sat on the edge of his bed, bandages wrapped around his torso and his face still bruised, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were standing at the edge of something far worse than anything we had faced before. I stood by the window, arms crossed, watching the city lights flicker in the distance. The Moretti family had avoided war, but at what cost? Power vacuums never remained empty for long, and I knew better than anyone t

  • The Devil's Vow #2: The Viel of Vengeance   Veil 26

    With the syndicate’s plan exposed and the traitor dealt with, the war between the Morettis and Volkovs is narrowly avoided. However, nothing is the same. Helios, recovering from his injuries, must decide if his loyalty still lies with the Moretti family or if his future is with Elena. As for Elena, she finally allows herself to acknowledge her feelings for Helios, but with everything they’ve been through, is love enough? I sat beside Helios’s hospital bed, watching the slow rise and fall of his chest. The beeping of the machines was steady, rhythmic, but it did nothing to calm the storm brewing inside me. The battle was over, the enemy had been defeated, but at what cost? Helios was barely alive when we got him here, and the sight of him bleeding out in my arms was something I’d never be able to erase from my mind. Isabella had left just moments ago, giving me space, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to be alone with my thoughts. Because my thoughts led me to questions I didn’t have answer

  • The Devil's Vow #2: The Viel of Vengeance   Veil 25

    The air was thick with smoke and the acrid scent of gunpowder burned my nostrils as Helios and I pressed our backs against the cold, bullet-riddled wall. We had run out of places to retreat, and the enemy closed in around us like a tightening noose. My heart pounded, each beat hammering against my ribs like a war drum. Helios wiped blood from a cut on his forehead, his eyes scanning the room for any advantage. "We need to move, now," he said, voice tight with urgency. His body, coiled with tension, was ready for battle, even as exhaustion weighed him down. "Move where? We're boxed in," I shot back, gripping my pistol so hard my fingers ached. The magazine was nearly empty, and my muscles screamed from the relentless fight. "They've got us pinned." A dark chuckle echoed from the shadows, and Matteo stepped forward, the real traitor who had orchestrated this entire ambush. His smirk was infuriating, his confidence unwavering. "You should've stayed gone, Elena," Matteo sneered, his g

  • The Devil's Vow #2: The Viel of Vengeance   Veil 24

    Darkness clung to the corners of the lavishly decorated room, the dim glow of a chandelier casting eerie shadows along the walls. The scent of expensive cigars and aged whiskey filled the air, a stark contrast to the stench of blood drying on my skin. My wrists ached from the tight restraints binding them behind my back, but I refused to show weakness. Across from me, lounging behind a grand mahogany desk, was the man I assumed to be the mastermind behind everything. He was older, perhaps in his late fifties, dressed in a perfectly tailored suit that barely wrinkled as he sipped his whiskey. His silver hair was slicked back, his dark eyes sharp and assessing. “Elena Carter,” he mused, swirling the amber liquid in his glass. “You are as stubborn as I was told.” I lifted my chin, despite the dull throbbing in my skull. “If you went through all the trouble of kidnapping me, I assume you already know that.” He chuckled, leaning forward. “Indeed. But I had to see it for myself. Aft

  • The Devil's Vow #2: The Viel of Vengeance   Veil 23

    The dim light from the single overhead bulb flickered as Helios and I hunched over the worn wooden table, our fingers tracing the numbers and names sprawled across the yellowed pages of the ledger. The air in our hideout was thick with dust and tension, every breath heavy with the weight of discovery. “Look at this,” I murmured, tapping a name that had appeared too many times for it to be coincidence. “Payments funneled through offshore accounts, connections in both the Moretti and Volkov families…” My voice trailed off as the realization settled in. Helios ran a hand through his disheveled dark hair, his jaw tightening. “It’s bigger than we thought,” he muttered. “This isn’t just a power play between two families. Someone else is pulling the strings.” I exhaled slowly, my mind racing. “An international syndicate. They have people inside both families. They’ve been orchestrating the chaos, pitting them against each other while they move in the shadows.” Helios cursed under his bre

  • The Devil's Vow #2: The Viel of Vengeance   Veil 22

    The safe house had become our temporary sanctuary. Helios was healing, though not as fast as I would have liked. He was restless, caged by his own body, the wound in his side keeping him from moving the way he was used to. I knew it frustrated him, but there was nothing he could do except wait. While he recovered, I kept myself busy. The attack at the stronghold hadn’t been random. Someone had known we were coming, and I needed to find out who. The deeper I dug, the clearer it became that there was something rotten within the Moretti family. I had always assumed their enemies came from the outside, rival families, old grudges—but this was different. Someone inside was working with an unknown force, feeding them information, pulling strings behind the scenes. And if I was right, they weren’t just looking for power. They wanted to take control. I pieced the evidence together slowly, through old contacts and whispered conversations. Bank transfers that didn’t make sense. Orders given

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