Semua Bab The Devil's Vow #1: Crimson Promises: Bab 41 - Bab 50

The sound of the gunshot still rang in my ears long after the body hit the ground. The scent of blood was thick in the air, mingling with the sharp bite of the cool night breeze. I could feel it clinging to my skin, seeping into my clothes, and yet I couldn’t look away. Damian stood there, his expression unreadable, his gun still in his hand. There was no hesitation in his stance, no regret in his dark, piercing eyes. Just quiet certainty. This was justice in his world. Quick. Cold. Absolute. The men around us shifted slightly, waiting for his command. Some looked unfazed, as if this was nothing more than another routine cleanup. Others glanced in my direction, as if expecting me to flinch, to turn away in horror. But I didn’t. I wouldn’t. “Get rid of him,” Damian ordered, his voice calm. Two men stepped forward immediately, grabbing the lifeless body by the arms and dragging it away. The sound of fabric scraping against the gravel made my stomach turn, but I kept my face neutral

The safehouse had been a storm we barely survived—one filled with words we had spent too long avoiding and truths neither of us were ready to say aloud. But something had changed. Neither of us acknowledged it outright, but I felt it in the way Damian stood closer than before, in the way his eyes lingered on me longer than necessary. And in the way I no longer flinched when I realized just how much I wanted him to. When we returned to the Volkov estate, the atmosphere had shifted. The air was still thick with the tension of our world, but something between us had settled. Or perhaps, it had only begun to unravel. Damian walked ahead of me through the grand hall, his shoulders rigid as always, his presence commanding as if nothing had changed. But it had. I could feel it in the way his pace slowed ever so slightly, ensuring I was always beside him. As we approached his office, Luka was already waiting at the door, his sharp eyes flicking between us. “Good to see you both in one pie

The night air was thick with silence, the weight of everything that had happened pressing down on me. The near-death experience had shaken me, but not in the way I expected. It wasn’t the fear that lingered—it was the realization. I couldn’t walk away. Not from this world. Not from Damian. Not anymore. I stood by the window of my bedroom in the Volkov estate, staring at the moonlit grounds. My mind replayed the events over and over, the moment when that gun had been pointed at me, the way Damian had stormed in, his fury unmatched. He had been willing to burn the world for me. And I had let myself believe, even for a second, that he was just a captor, an enemy, a force of destruction I had to survive. But the truth? He had become something more. A part of me. I turned when I heard the door open. I didn’t have to look to know it was him. His presence filled the room before he even said a word. “Why aren’t you sleeping?” Damian’s voice was quieter than usual. I turned to face

The moment I stepped into the grand ballroom, I knew we were walking into a den of vipers. The chandeliers above glowed with a golden light, casting flickering reflections on the polished marble floor. Laughter and conversation swirled around us, a symphony of wealth and power disguised as civility. Every person in this room was dangerous, each smile hiding a knife, every handshake laced with betrayal. And tonight, Damian and I were here to play their game. The mask covering the upper half of my face was delicate, adorned with tiny gemstones that caught the light when I moved. A disguise, but not much of one. Anyone who truly paid attention would see past it. Damian, standing tall beside me, was unreadable. His black mask blended seamlessly with his tailored suit, his presence commanding even in a room full of criminals and killers. He didn’t need to speak to be noticed. He was the kind of man whose mere existence demanded attention. “This is your chance to prove yourself,”

I had always known that trust was a fragile thing in this world. Loyalty could shift with the promise of power or money, and the people closest to you could be the ones holding the knife to your throat. But even knowing that, nothing prepared me for the weight of betrayal when it came from within. I sat in Damian’s office, watching as he paced back and forth, his jaw clenched so tightly I thought it might shatter. His hands were balled into fists, his entire body radiating tension. The documents on his desk told us everything we needed to know—someone within our ranks had been leaking information to our enemies. And not just anyone. A trusted ally. Someone who had been by Damian’s side long before I ever entered this world. I swallowed hard, glancing at the files in front of me. Conversations, coded messages, discreet transactions—whoever was feeding intel to the enemy had been doing it for months. Maybe even longer. “They were careful,” I said, my voice quiet but steady. “Whoe