Seduced By Villain

Blood Ties

Chapter 16 — Blood Ties

(Dual POV — Damian & Aria)

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Damian’s POV

Time stopped.

The metallic clink of the gun hitting the floor echoed through the abandoned room, sharp and hollow.

One bullet.

One choice.

Victor Hale’s smirk carved through the silence like a blade. Sofia stood beside him, her face pale but resolute, her hands clasped tightly in front of her.

Aria’s wide, terrified eyes locked on mine, pleading without words.

Victor tapped the barrel of his pistol against her temple, taunting me.

“Come on, Damian,” he drawled, voice smooth as poison. “Who dies first? Me… or her?”

Cole shifted behind me, whispering, “Damian, don’t—”

I raised my hand to silence him, never taking my gaze off Victor.

Inside, every instinct screamed kill him. But my trigger finger froze. Because Sofia… Sofia wasn’t just anyone.

And Victor knew it.

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Aria’s POV

My heart slammed against my ribs, each beat louder than the last.

This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real.

Sofia — my Sofia, the girl who had held my hand through every heartbreak, every failure, every late-night breakdown — stood beside the man holding me hostage.

I searched her face for some sign, some sliver of doubt, but she refused to meet my eyes.

“Why are you doing this?” I whispered, my voice breaking.

Victor chuckled darkly, dragging his thumb lazily across the trigger.

“Oh, she’ll tell you,” he said. “She’ll tell you everything… if she’s still breathing when I’m done with him.”

Damian’s knuckles whitened around his gun.

For a moment, the entire world balanced on the edge of a single bullet.

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Damian’s POV

I forced my voice to steady, though my chest burned with rage.

“Victor,” I said coldly. “This isn’t about her. Let Aria go. You and me — we settle this one on one.”

Victor tilted his head, feigning thoughtfulness.

“Oh, Damian… you don’t get it, do you? This isn’t about you. This is about truth.”

He stepped closer, dragging Aria with him, until the distance between us was nothing but tension and hate.

“Tell her,” Victor whispered, his smirk stretching wider. “Tell her why Sofia is standing beside me.”

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Aria’s POV

My breath caught, my throat dry as sandpaper.

Damian’s eyes — usually sharp, dangerous, untouchable — flickered for the briefest second.

It was enough.

My chest tightened with dread. “Damian,” I said softly, my voice trembling. “What is he talking about?”

He didn’t answer.

Sofia did.

“You deserve to know,” she said quietly, finally meeting my gaze. Her voice cracked, but there was steel beneath it.

> “Damian Blackwood killed my brother.”

The room tilted.

My knees almost buckled.

I heard the words, but my brain refused to process them.

“No,” I whispered, shaking my head. “No, that’s not—”

“Aria—” Damian began, but Sofia cut him off sharply.

“Don’t you dare lie to her,” she spat. “I saw his blood on your hands, Damian. I buried my brother because of you.”

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Damian’s POV

I clenched my jaw, forcing myself not to break.

“I didn’t kill him,” I growled. “I gave him a way out. He didn’t take it.”

Sofia’s laugh was bitter, sharp.

“Is that what you tell yourself at night? That you’re not a murderer if you offered him options?”

Victor’s grin widened, loving every second of the chaos.

“Oh, this is beautiful,” he purred. “The perfect little lawyer finally sees the devil she’s been sleeping next to.”

Aria flinched at his words, her grip tightening around the ropes binding her wrists.

For the first time since I met her… she wouldn’t look at me.

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Aria’s POV

My lungs burned, struggling to hold air as reality splintered around me.

I wanted to scream. To deny it. To demand answers.

But instead, my voice came out small, fragile.

“Damian… is it true?”

He didn’t hesitate.

“Yes.”

The single word tore through me like glass.

But before I could speak again, Victor pressed his gun harder against my temple, forcing me back into the present.

“Time’s up,” he whispered.

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Damian’s POV

I snapped.

In one fluid motion, I grabbed the discarded gun from the floor, raising it toward Victor — but he yanked Aria closer, using her as a shield.

“Don’t,” he hissed. “One wrong move, and I paint these walls with her blood.”

Cole cursed softly behind me.

I lowered my aim, my mind racing. Every exit, every angle, every possibility burned through my thoughts.

Victor’s finger twitched on the trigger.

And then — without warning — Sofia stepped between us.

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Aria’s POV

“Enough!” Sofia shouted, shoving Victor’s arm away from me. “This isn’t what we agreed on!”

Victor grabbed her wrist, yanking her back violently.

“You think you get to set the rules now?” he snarled. “I own you, Sofia. Don’t forget why you came to me in the first place.”

Her voice trembled, but she stood her ground.

“I came to destroy Damian, not her. She’s innocent.”

Victor laughed low and dark, shaking his head.

“No one’s innocent in this game.”

And then — he pulled the trigger.

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Cliffhanger Ending

The sound exploded in the small room.

I screamed.

Damian roared.

And Sofia fell to the ground — blood blooming across her shoulder.

Victor’s voice was calm, chilling, final.

> “Next time, Damian… I won’t miss.”