sealed with a lie

💨Episode 9: The Man in the Mask💨

Rain fell steadily against the high windows of their Paris hideout, a steady rhythm that matched Aria's unease. Damon stood by the fire, his shirt unbuttoned, chest rising and falling like a ticking bomb. The night's attack had left bruises not just on his skin—but on their fragile trust.

"I need to know everything," Aria said, breaking the silence.

Damon didn't turn. "You already know what matters."

"No, Damon," she snapped. "You're protecting me with half-truths. I'm not a liability. I'm in this with you, or I'm not in it at all."

He turned slowly, eyes dark. "You want the truth? Fine."

---

He told her about the Brotherhood.

A secret network of power brokers—politicians, CEOs, arms dealers—who once used Victor Vale as their front. Damon had been recruited young, his brilliance noticed and groomed. But Victor betrayed the Brotherhood to build his own empire, and when Damon tried to stop him, the empire turned against them both.

"Victor faked his death," Damon said, voice low. "I thought I was finally free. But Leo's reappearance? It means Victor's rebuilding."

Aria sat in stunned silence.

"And Leo?" she asked finally.

"He was supposed to be dead. But if he's alive, we're out of time."

---

Three days passed. They didn't leave the safe house. News of a bank bombing in Marseille flickered across the TV, along with a photo.

It was Leo.

He stood in the background of the scene, disguised as a bystander—but Damon spotted him instantly.

"This is his warning," Damon muttered.

Aria touched his arm. "We can't hide anymore."

He looked at her, something unreadable in his eyes. "We're not hiding. We're striking back."

---

That night, they held each other with more intensity than ever before. Their lovemaking wasn't soft—it was desperate. A silent vow made with every kiss, every bruise, every whispered name.

"I don't care what happens," Aria breathed. "Just promise me one thing."

"Anything."

"Don't die on me."

He held her face between his hands. "Not until I've put him in the ground."

---

Two days later, they flew to Prague under new identities. The old city was Victor's last known base, buried beneath layers of fake companies and secret vaults.

Luca met them at a safe house near the river.

"There's chatter," he told Damon. "Leo's setting up something big. And this time, he's not just targeting you."

Damon's brows furrowed. "Who else?"

Luca looked at Aria.

"He's using her as bait."

---

That night, Aria opened her laptop and accessed her old university database. She traced Leo's academic records—fake identities, false transcripts—all carefully hidden. But she found one clue: a single journal entry logged under his alias three years ago.

The location: Mikulov, Czech Republic.

A castle.

"This is where he's hiding," she told Damon.

He stared at the screen. "Or it's where he wants us to go."

"Then let's make it count," she said.

---

The drive to Mikulov was long and winding. Aria stared out at endless forests and gray sky as they approached the ancient structure nestled on a cliff.

The castle loomed like something from a nightmare—high towers, iron gates, no visible guards. But the danger was thick in the air.

Inside, they were met with silence.

Room after room, empty.

Until a door slammed behind them.

---

A masked man stood in the center of a ballroom.

Tall, lean, dressed in all black. His voice was calm.

"You came sooner than I expected."

Damon stepped forward, weapon raised. "Leo."

The man removed the mask slowly.

It wasn't Leo.

It was Victor.

Alive.

Older, scarred, but unmistakable.

"You should've finished the job," Victor said. "But I'm glad you didn't. Because now I get to show you how true power works."

He snapped his fingers.

A trap door opened.

Aria fell through.

---

Damon screamed her name, but guards flooded the room, dragging him back.

Undergrou

nd, Aria landed hard, coughing through dust. She was in a cell. And across from her—

Leo Vale.

Smiling.

"Welcome back, Princess."

💨Episode 10: Chains and Choices💨

The cell was cold—too cold for Aria's trembling limbs. The walls wept with moisture, and the only light came from the dim bulb swinging overhead.

Across from her, Leo Vale leaned against the metal bars of his own cell, eyes burning with an amused cruelty.

"I thought I killed you," Aria said hoarsely.

Leo smirked. "You nearly did. Left a beautiful scar. Want to see it?"

"Where is Damon?"

Leo's smile faltered. "Alive. For now. Victor has plans for him. And for you… well, that depends on how well you play."

---

Meanwhile, Damon was shackled in what once must've been a wine cellar turned torture chamber. Victor stood in front of him, impeccably dressed, swirling a glass of red.

"You disappointed me," Victor said, his voice smooth. "You had potential. I gave you power. Loyalty. Family."

"You built a kingdom on blood and lies," Damon spat.

Victor's smile didn't waver. "And yet, you ran off with my bride."

"She was never yours."

Victor chuckled. "No. But she was meant to die with me."

He stepped forward, the smile dropping. "Tell me, how much do you think she knows about what you really did to protect her?"

Damon's eyes hardened. "Enough."

Victor leaned in. "Then she'll hate you soon enough."

---

In the cell below, Leo unlocked the bars and stepped inside Aria's space. She braced, ready to strike.

He raised a hand. "Relax. I'm not here to hurt you. Yet."

He threw a file at her feet. "Want to know who Damon really is?"

Aria opened it slowly. Inside were photos—Damon shaking hands with men in suits, reports of silent takeovers, anonymous tips about bodies buried under fake identities.

It was a dossier of power, control—and violence.

"You think you're the victim," Leo said softly. "But you're just a pawn in a very old war."

"And you're what? The hero?"

"No," he whispered. "I'm the reckoning."

---

That night, Aria was pulled from her cell and dragged into a hall made of stone and flame.

Victor sat at the end of a long table like a king of shadows.

"You've caused quite a stir," he said. "I haven't had a challenge like this in years."

"I'm not playing your games."

Victor rose. "You already are. And I'd like to propose a deal."

Her jaw clenched. "What kind of deal?"

"A life for a life. Give me Damon's location, or I'll give him yours."

Aria stepped forward, fire in her voice. "He came for me. I'll burn your empire to the ground for him."

Victor nodded solemnly. "Then I suppose we begin."

He clapped twice.

Leo entered—with a gun.

---

But before the shot was fired, the walls shook.

Explosions.

Smoke.

A voice over the intercom: "Initiate blackout. Level Five breach."

Luca.

He'd found them.

Chaos erupted. Lights blinked out. Screams rang down the halls. Aria broke from her guards, flipping a blade she'd hidden in her boot. Leo lunged, but she slashed through his arm, escaping into the smoke.

In the cellar, Damon broke his restraints using the blast's shock. He climbed through the smoke-choked halls, vision blurry.

And then—

He saw her.

Aria. Bloodied. Breathing. Alive.

They ran toward each other.

But a shot split the air.

---

Damon dropped to the floor, arms around Aria, shielding her.

Victor stood at the end of the corridor, gun raised. "No more games."

But behind him—Luca. Silent. Steady.

Bang.

Victor fell.

---

"It's not over," Leo growled from the shadows. "You have no idea what you've started."

And then he disappeared into the smoke.

Aria collapsed into Damon

's arms.

He held her tightly. "It's over."

But they both knew better.

This was just the beginning of war.

[To Be Continued...]