Chapter One : The Monster Within Lia Druleo Had Been Awakened.
To restrain her, she was placed under intensive observation in an asylum for five years, until they could confidently say she had regained her sanity.
But it couldn't be helped. Her emotions had spiraled out of control. After all, what was she supposed to do after witnessing the torture and murder of her other half, her twin? Even someone considered a saint would've lost control.
Everyone has a breaking point. Hers had been pushed beyond the edge.
Consumed by rage, she did what any broken soul might do,she burned, destroyed, and killed anyone she could get her hands on. Not for justice. Just for a fleeting sense of satisfaction.
Now, she lay flat on the large, empty bed, eyes locked on the ceiling. If not for the slow rise and fall of her chest, one might've mistaken her for dead.
"I'm listening," she said calmly.
She broke her stare with the ceiling, eyes sweeping across the room. Then, like a machine suddenly switched on, she sat upright with robotic precision, legs crossed beneath her.
The man standing before her flinched, his body shivering before he snapped back to his senses.
He squinted, as if to be sure of what he was seeing and there she was. The woman who'd survived five years in confinement… still impossibly domineering.
The asylum hadn't stripped her of anything.
Although she wore no makeup and her face was bare. But yet still, there was something hauntingly beautiful about her like a fallen angel. But test her limits, and you'd quickly realize the kind of demon that lurked beneath this beauty.
He continued to stare, too captivated to be cautious, Lia moved.
In a flash, she sprang from the bed and drove her foot into his chest with all her might, sending him flying across the room with brutal force.
"Where the hell did Liam find this snail?" she growled, with eyes blazing. "You think just because I'm in here, I've lost control?"
She took a step forward, her voice sharp, laced with venom.
"Check again."
The man groaned from where he had landed, clutching his chest as he struggled to sit up. Lia didn't move. She simply watched him, like she was predator giving her prey the courtesy of crawling.
"You've got five seconds to tell me why you're here," she said flatly, tilting her head slightly to the side, with her voice eerily calm. "After that… I won't be so patient."
He coughed, spitting blood onto the floor, he raised a trembling hand as if to signal that he surrender. "Liam... Liam sent me," he finally managed to choke out. "He… he said you'd listen to me."
"Wrong," she snapped. "Liam should know by now, I don't listen. I decide."
She circled him slowly, barefoot steps silent against the cold floor. Her eyes were sharp and unreadable as ever, never left his face. He flinched again as she passed behind him, catching his breath when she paused at his back.
"You're lucky I'm bored today," she murmured near his ear. "Otherwise, I'd have buried you in that wall."
Immediately the man shut his eyes, sweat sliding down his temples.
Lia returned to the bed, sitting once more with her spine straight and her fingers folded over her lap.
"Talk," she ordered. "And make it worth my time. If Liam wants an audience, he should've come himself."
The man inhaled shakily. "He's in trouble. The council's moved against him. He said you'd want to know. He said… you owe him."
Lia's expression didn't change, but the air in the room did. It became heavier and tighter.
"Owe him?" she echoed slowly, her voice dripping with ice. "Did he forget it was his cowardice that got my sister killed?"
The man didn't respond. He knew better.
Lia leaned back slightly, exhaling through her nose she closes eyes for a moment, and for the first time in five years, something flickered behind her lashes. Not anger. Not madness.
Purpose.
When she opened her eyes again, they glinted with something dangerous. Something alive.
"Tell Liam," she said, her voice low, "the devil doesn't owe anyone."
The man froze, eyes widening. "He's your brother…" he said, almost like a plea.
Lia gave a dry, hollow laugh.
"Was that supposed to move me?" she asked, slowly lifting her gaze to him again. "Let me remind you...I watched my twin bleed to death while Liam hid behind locked doors, sobbing like a child."
She leaned forward slightly, her voice dropping to a near-whisper. "I was the one who held her hand when they tore her apart. Where was Liam?"
The man didn't speak. He knew the answer.
"Loyalty doesn't come from blood," she continued. "It comes from pain. Sacrifice. He gave neither. So no, I don't owe him a thing."
She stood, with her bare feet gliding across the cold floor as she moved toward the barred window. Outside, the clouds gathered thick and low, smothering the light. She stared for a moment, unmoving.
"He's still breathing. That alone is enough mercy from me."
The man struggled to his feet, clutching his ribs. "He said they'll come for you, Lia. That the council sees you as a threat. That they want you erased before you remember too much."
She smirked.
"Too late."
The silence that followed was deafening. Then, without warning, she turned to him again.
"Tell Liam this," she said clearly. "If he wants my help, he'll have to come here himself and kneel. Otherwise, I'll sit right here and watch his world burn just like I watched mine."
Her expression darkened, her lips curling with a ghost of a smile.
"And this time, I won't even blink."
To Be Continued.