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Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Rain had begun to fall lightly as Aliana stepped out of the upscale restaurant where she had just dined with Charlotte Delacroix. The night air felt colder than usual–not just from the weather, but from the lingering chill of the stares exchanged at the dinner table.
Charlotte’s smile–sharp and political–still lingered in Aliana’s mind, like a blade that had yet to pierce the skin.
Before she could reach her private car, someone was already waiting across the street. Rafe stood beneath the shadow of a tree, wearing a long coat and a black hat that concealed most of his face.
He gave a single nod. Aliana returned it and crossed the street toward him without saying a word.
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A black, unmarked car picked them up at the dim corner of the street. Without a greeting, Aliana slipped into the back seat while Rafe took the front beside the hired driver.
As soon as the doors shut and the engine growled to life, Rafe broke the silence.
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“I’ve confirmed Julian Crane’s location. He’s in the next city, hiding out at a rundown bar called Red Hook. The place is a rat’s nest–full of hired thugs and dark market brokers.”
Aliana only nodded. Her expression was grim–not out of anger, but because her mind had already entered combat mode.
“I know he’ll try to run the moment he senses he’s being watched,” Rafe continued. “But he’s gotten overconfident. After disappearing from the radar these past two weeks, he thinks no one’s looking for him anymore.”
Aliana opened a small black leather case on her lap and took something out: a long velvet box. Inside, nestled in dark fabric, lay a pair of short daggers with dark silver hilts and Latin inscriptions etched into the metal. Beneath them sat a thin kevlar forearm guard and a face mask that covered the lower half of her face.
Rafe glanced at her through the rearview mirror. “You’re going to handle this personally?”
Aliana stared back at him, her gaze ice–cold.
“I’m not going after Julian Cráne as Aliana Zavier,” she said quietly, each word laced with death.
“I’m going as who I really am–the Goddess of Death.”
སྐད་ཀར་ཤན་སྐད་ནི། ས་དང་ཚན་ད་ གས་ ོན་པ་དང་
Rafe swallowed hard. He had known this side of Aliana for a long time–the one that surfaced only in extreme circumstances, where justice could only be carved in blood and silence.
Her secret identity as an elite executioner in the criminal underworld was no myth. Within international dark networks, she was known by the codename Nyx–Goddess of the Night, Goddess of Death–the cold–handed woman who moved in the shadows.
Inside the car, Aliana transformed. She removed her evening gown and changed into a tactical black outfit fitted to her form, equipped with belts for concealed weapons and tracking tools. A thin black mask veiled her face, revealing only her eyes–piercing, unreadable eyes that seemed capable of seeing through souls.
Next City, Red Hook Bar – 11:42 PM
Flickering neon lights hung above the entrance of the dilapidated bar, its peeling paint and dust–coated windows steeped in cigarette ash. Loud music boomed from inside–a gritty mix of metal rock and drunken laughter.
Rafe waited in the car, monitoring movements through a tiny surveillance cam synced to his phone.
Aliana had disappeared from sight fifteen minutes ago. It was as if the night itself had swallowed her whole.
On the rooftop of the building across the street, a feminine silhouette crept through the shadows, moving between concrete and water
pipes.
Silver eyes scanned through a gap in the window. Inside the bar, Julian Crane sat in a corner booth flanked by two hulking bodyguards. He was playing cards, a half–filled whiskey glass in one hand, his relaxed posture betraying no sense of danger
Aliana rappelled down the side of the building using a silent friction line. The moment she touched ground, she slipped through the bar’s back kitchen entrance.
The room reeked of stale beer and rotting fast food.
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She moved in utter silence, plunging the kitchen into darkness with a small ultraviolet torch.
The moment Aliana reached the back of the bar’s main room, she slipped behind an old curtain. From her hiding spot, she scanned the
area.
Target locked.
Aliana moved. Fast.
With two long strides and a light leap, she darted toward Julian and pressed her dagger against the back of his neck.
“Don’t move,” Aliana whispered.
Julian froze. His two bodyguards had just stood up, but before they could reach for their weapons, two small steel stars sliced through the air–embedding into one guard’s right hand and neck. He dropped instantly, writhing and gasping.
The second guard raised his pistol, but Aliana was quicker. She kicked the table hard, sending cards and glasses flying, smashing into the guard’s face. He collapsed, but managed to press a small button on his belt.
Instantly, emergency lights flashed. The back door alarm blared. The rumble from upstairs signaled that reinforcements were coming.
He called for backup,” Rafe’s voice came through Aliana’s earpiece. “You have to leave now, Miss. We can regroup and capture him later!”
“No,” Aliana replied calmly, eyes never leaving Julian’s nape. “I’ve almost got him.”
Julian stayed still, chuckling under his breath without turning around.
“Who are you?” he murmured coolly. “Another hired gun? Undercover cop?”
Aliana pressed the blade deeper. “Answer me. Do you know Alicia Zavier?”
Julian tensed, then tilted his head slightly, as if trying to glimpse her face.
“Alicia?” he muttered. “Of course I knew her. Beautiful woman. Soft. A little too naïve.”
Aliana’s eyes narrowed behind her black mask. She pressed the blade hard–nearly breaking skin.
“Who hired you to hurt Alicia?”
Julian chuckled. “I was paid handsomely to forget who hired me.”
“But I can make you remember,” Aliana said, her voice like ice.
Julian gave a crooked smile. “Were you her lover? Or… her sister?”
He gave a sharp laugh. “Too bad. I got to enjoy her body before she died.”
Aliana froze for a split second. Her eyes blazed. With one swift motion, she slashed Julian’s arm–deep enough to draw blood and a
scream
“AARRGHH! Damn it! Julian recoiled, but Aliana didn’t let him escape.
She kicked the table down hard, sending Julian sprawling. Blood ran from his arm,
He tried to stand, but the silver eyes behind the mask pinned him down.
“Who… who are you really?” Julian gasped, his breath ragged with fear.
Aliana stepped forward slowly, her dagger gleaming, gaze cold as a winter grave.
“You should’ve known before you touched Alicia,” she said quietly. “But I guess you’re too stupid to sense danger.”
Julian stared at her in panic–until the pieces finally clicked.
The half–covered face. The silver eyes. The way she fought.
“No way…” Julian whispered. “The the Goddess of Death?”
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Aliana didn’t answer. She only leaned closer and whispered her codename.
“Nyx.”
Julian stumbled back, shaking. “You… you’re supposed to be a myth… They said you never took personal jobs.”
“This isn’t personal,” Aliana whispered. “This is judgment.”
Before she could do more, chaos erupted behind them.
Six armed men burst in from the back, and two more appeared from the stairs above. Red emergency lights flashed blindingly.
Julian seized the chaos–he knocked away Aliana’s dagger and leapt behind the overturned table, blood pouring from his arm.
“You have to get out, Miss!” Rafe shouted in her ear. “His backup has arrived!”
Aliana restrained herself from chasing Julian right away. She assessed the area-
too many enemies, too exposed.
“Rafe. Exit route,” she ordered.
“Kitchen hallway, right door. I’m unlocking the
Julian had already escaped into a waiting black car.
She spun and dashed into the kitchen, weaving through smoke and gunfire, slipping into the back
Hergency exit–now!
Aliana blocked a strike from one of the guards, twisted his arm, broke his shoulder, and hurled him into two others.
A
corridor.
SA
“He’s gone!” Rafe’s voice echoed.
Aliana nearly gave chase, but a hail of bullets forced her into cover. With one turn, she vanished into the shadows of the emergency corridor.
One bullet grazed her arm.
A black car waited at the alley’s end. The door swung open. Aliana climbed in, breath heavy, blood dripping from her arm—not just from injury, but from unresolved fury.
“Damn it! I should’ve had him!”
Rafe didn’t respond. He focused on speeding them away from the scene, evading pursuit.
One Hour Later – An Old Warehouse, Temporary Safehouse
Aliana sat on the edge of a metal table, pulling off her mask and wiping her face.
She now looked like Aliana Zavier again, but her eyes were still Nyx’s–cold, sharp, and hungry for truth.
“We failed,” Rafe said, head bowed. “I didn’t plan enough for his reinforcements… I’m sorry.”
“No,” Aliana replied. “We only lost him tonight. But I got enough,”
Rafe looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”
“Julian said he was paid to ‘forget‘ who hired him. That means there’s a middleman. It’s not just Bianca, Someone much stronger… and far more careful.”
Rafe exhaled. “So we’re back to square one?”
Aliana nodded. “But I know one thing–he’s scared. And when someone like Julian is scared, he’ll eventually slip up.”
Rafe grabbed his coat, preparing to contact his intel network again
But Aliana stood first, pulling on her long black coat to hide the arm wound Rafe hadn’t even noticed.
“I’m going back to the mansion. The charade isn’t over yet. But once he drops his guard… I’ll return.“
Rafe looked at her closely. “Are you going to kill him?”
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Aliana turned to the window, staring at the wet night sky.
“If he’s truly responsible for Alicia’s death… I won’t give him the chance to regret it.”
Velor Mansion – Early Dawn
The sky was still dark when Aliana’s car arrived. The night air was biting, but her steps were steady.
The small pavilion where she lived stood silent. Elena was fast asleep.
Aliana opened the door soundlessly and stepped inside, shedding her damp black coat. A thin cut on her right arm still bled faintly— remnants of the brutal fight at Red Hook. But pain was nothing new. She let it be, walking toward her room with a mind empty of everything except one thought–Julian Crane escaped.
Before she could reach the first step up to the second floor, footsteps sounded from the main door.
She turned.
Andrian stood in the doorway, his expression dark.
“Just got back?” he asked flatly.
Aljana looked at the man for a moment. “Yes.”
Andrian closed the door behind him and walked in uninvited.
“I didn’t come to ask where you’ve been sneaking off to at night. I want to know about your dinner with Charlotte Delacroix.”
Aliana didn’t respond. She stared at Andrian without expression.
Andrian narrowed his eyes. “You know who she is. Charlotte doesn’t invite people to dinner for the sake of small talk. She’s one of the most stubborn board members. And coincidentally, the one who
most wants to see me fall from the CEO’s chair.
Aliana turned and walked to the small table, pouring herself a glass of mineral water.
“So?”
Andrian stepped closer, his voice rising.
“Don’t play dumb, Aliana. I know Charlotte contacted you because she wants you to influence Zavier Corporation into pulling support from my new project.”
Aliana placed her glass down gently.
“Unfortunately, you’re wrong.”
Andrian frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I have no business with Zavier Corporation. I’m not a director, not a shareholder, not anyone of importance there. So if Charlotte wants to discuss the company’s stance toward Titan Group’s project, she should be speaking to my father–not me.”
Andrian laughed coldly.
“That’s funny. You’re the one who said you could hand over Zavier Corporation to me. And now you’re saying you have no involvement? Do you think I’m stupid?”
Aliana looked at him sharply.
“I never said you were stupid. I said I’m not interested”
Andrian sneered
“Not interested? Yet you came to my office, made a dramatic statement, and now you’re meeting someone who’s clearly my rival in the company. You think that’s not involvement?”
“I have my own goal,” Aliana replied calmly. “It’s not about Titan Group. Not about your CEO position. I don’t care who sits at the top. I want something else. And if I have to offer up Zavier Corporation as bait to get it, I will.”
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Andrian stared at the woman before him. There was something in Aliana’s words he couldn’t quite decipher. A mystery. She wasn’t like the other women he’d encountered–easy to read, full of agendas, or frailty.
“Your goal?” Andrian asked with a mocking tone. “What could be so important that you’d trade your family’s company for it?”
Aliana met his gaze without flinching.
“That’s none of your business.”
With that, she turned to head up the stairs. But her steps faltered slightly as pain surged from the wound in her arm. She paused, holding her breath for a moment, then continued walking.
But Andrian saw it. That subtle, unnatural movement.
Without thinking, he caught up and touched her arm–right where the wound was.
Aliana stiffened. Pain surged under his fingers, reopening the barely clotted blood beneath the fabric.
Andrian pulled back in surprise.
“You’re hurt?”
Aliana turned slowly, her eyes cold.
“Let go of me.”
But Andrian had already noticed the faint stain of blood on the sleeve of her black outfit.
“You fought someone?”
Aliana didn’t answer. She studied Andrian’s face instead, trying to read his expression.
Andrian’s eyes were sharp, suspicion growing quickly. A moment later, his eyes widened slightly–realizing something.
A woman with arms like hers couldn’t possibly get into a fight… unless…
“Were you attacked? Is someone trying to hurt you?” he asked again.
“Stay out of it,” Aliana said softly.
Andrian narrowed his eyes.
“What the hell is going on, Aliana? Tonight, you had dinner with Charlotte. Now you come home with a wound like this. What are you hiding?”
“None of your concern!”
Aliana let out a quiet breath. She didn’t like the direction this conversation was heading. She didn’t want to tell the truth, but couldn’t deflect it entirely either. So she chose to respond with cold detachment.
“I don’t owe you an explanation, Andrian. We’re just married on paper, aren’t we?”
Andrian clenched his jaw but said nothing
Aliana turned to walk away again, but his voice stopped her.
“Your safety is my business. Because right now, you’re my wife.
Aliana froze. She turned to look at him, puzzled. She didn’t understand why he suddenly sounded concerned.
“You are now part of the Velor family. I’m responsible for your safety. Even if you married me for personal gain or to destroy me, I still have to ensure your protection while you’re living here.”
Alana responded flatly.
“Relax. I can take care of myself. Besides, if I wanted to destroy you, you’d have fallen yesterday.”
Without waiting for a reply, Aliana ascended the stairs, leaving Andrian standing in the living room, staring after her with a complicated
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expression.
In Andrian’s mind, his view of Aliana was beginning to shift. He was starting to realize that she wasn’t just a woman arranged to marry him by his late father.
She wasn’t merely a representative of the Zavier family or a replacement for the lost Alicia.
There was something else in her–something deeper, darker, and far more dangerous.
And tonight, with that wound clearly visible beneath her composure, for the first time, Andrian found himself truly wanting to know-
Who exactly is the woman who is now his wife?
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