The Devil’s Cage
1077 Words
Chapter 19 — The Devil’s Cage
(Dual POV — Aria & Damian)
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Aria’s POV
The world blurred into chaos — shouts, gunfire, shadows pulling me into darkness.
I fought, kicking, screaming, clawing at rough hands, but Victor’s men were merciless.
A black cloth covered my mouth.
A chemical scent burned my throat.
And then—nothing.
---
I woke up to chains.
Cold metal bit into my wrists, my arms stretched awkwardly above my head. My body ached, my throat was dry, and my vision swam as I blinked against the dim light.
A single, naked bulb hung from the ceiling, swaying slightly, casting eerie shadows across cracked concrete walls.
I wasn’t in a room.
I was in a cell.
Footsteps echoed beyond the steel bars, slow and deliberate.
Then came the voice.
Smooth. Mocking. Deadly.
> “Welcome to my kingdom, sweetheart.”
Victor stepped into view, his suit crisp and spotless despite the damp, stinking cell. His grin was sharp, his eyes cold.
I forced my voice to steady.
“Where’s Sofia?”
He chuckled, pulling a chair close and sitting across from me like this was a casual conversation.
“Oh, don’t worry. She’s… comfortable. For now.”
Rage boiled in my chest.
“What do you want from me?”
Victor leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
“I want you to watch Damian bleed,” he whispered.
“Then I want you to help me destroy him.”
---
Damian’s POV
The docks smelled of smoke and blood.
Cole’s men carried his limp body toward the SUV, but I barely registered anything beyond the echo of Aria’s scream.
She was gone.
Victor had her.
I clenched my fists so tight my knuckles split, blood dripping onto the cold pavement.
Cole grabbed my arm, his voice weak but steady.
“Don’t… go alone,” he rasped. “Victor wants you reckless.”
I shook my head.
“I don’t have a choice.”
Cole coughed, smearing blood on his lips.
“Then… you’ll lose her.”
His warning hit harder than a bullet.
Victor wanted me desperate.
He wanted me blind.
And he knew Aria was the one thing I couldn’t lose.
I turned to the team, my voice sharp as steel.
“Track every lead. Every safe house, every contact, every goddamn rat that’s ever worked for Victor. I want his location yesterday.”
Cole caught my wrist, his grip surprisingly strong despite the blood loss.
“Damian,” he rasped, “don’t make this personal.”
But it already was.
---
Aria’s POV
Victor circled me like a predator, his voice smooth but venomous.
“You think Damian’s some kind of savior, don’t you?” he asked, crouching down until we were eye level.
“You think he’s better than me.”
I glared at him, refusing to look away.
“I don’t think about you at all.”
That earned a laugh — cold, sharp, humorless.
“Sweetheart,” he said softly, brushing a stray strand of hair from my face, “you should. Because the man you’re protecting? He killed your father.”
My chest went cold, the air sucked from my lungs.
“You’re lying.”
Victor tilted his head, studying me.
“Ask him yourself. But you’ll never get the truth… because Damian only tells the truth when it benefits him.”
I wanted to scream, to tell him he was wrong.
But his words wormed their way into my thoughts like poison.
---
Damian’s POV
“Got something,” Cole’s second-in-command, Lucas, said, slamming a laptop onto the SUV hood.
“Victor’s men were spotted on the south side. Abandoned shipyard.”
I nodded, my voice hard.
“Get the team ready.”
Lucas hesitated.
“Damian… there’s something else.”
I turned sharply.
“What.”
Lucas swallowed hard, pulling up a grainy photo on the screen.
Aria.
Tied to a chair.
Blood on her lip.
And standing behind her… Sofia.
Holding a gun.
---
Aria’s POV
Sofia stepped into the room, her face pale, her hands trembling slightly as she held the pistol.
“Sofia?” I whispered, my voice cracking.
“What are you doing?”
Her jaw clenched, but she didn’t meet my eyes.
“I’m sorry, Aria.”
Victor smirked from the corner, his voice dripping with satisfaction.
“Family first, isn’t that right, Sofia?”
I shook my head in disbelief.
“You… you’re working with him?”
Sofia finally looked at me, tears welling in her eyes.
“I didn’t have a choice.”
I searched her face, desperate for answers.
“Didn’t have a choice — or didn’t want one?”
Her lips trembled, but she said nothing.
---
Damian’s POV
I loaded my weapon, my movements sharp and controlled, but inside I was a storm.
Sofia’s betrayal cut deep.
She’d been Aria’s closest friend. My ally. The one person I trusted to guard what mattered most.
And now she was standing behind Aria with a gun in her hand.
I slammed the magazine into place and met Lucas’s gaze.
“Get me inside that compound.”
---
Aria’s POV
Victor crouched in front of me again, smiling like the devil himself.
“You see, Aria,” he said softly, “everyone has a price. Even the people you trust most.”
He leaned in closer, his breath hot against my ear.
“And Damian? His price was your father’s life.”
I jerked back, rage burning hotter than fear.
“You’re lying.”
Victor grinned wider, pulling a small flash drive from his pocket.
“Then maybe you should see the proof yourself.”
---
Damian’s POV
As the SUV sped toward the docks, my phone buzzed.
A message.
From Victor.
One photo.
Aria, blindfolded.
A gun to her head.
And a single line beneath it:
> “One hour. Alone. Or she dies.”
---
Cliffhanger Ending
I stared at the screen, my heart pounding like war drums.
Victor wanted me to walk into hell — unarmed, outnumbered, and blind.
But Aria was all that mattered.
And I would burn the world to bring her back.
I looked at Lucas, my voice sharp and final.
“Prep the team.”
Lucas frowned.
“Damian, he said alone—”
I chambered a round and met his gaze coldly.
“I’m not giving Victor what he wants.
I’m giving him what he fears.”
- Writer
