🖤 Bound to the Devil’s Heir

🖤 Bound to the Devil’s Heir, EPISODE 3

Episode 3: The Locked Truth

The study door closed behind her with a soft click.

But to Aria Bennett, it sounded like a chain snapping shut.

Her hands still trembled around the file.

SURVEILLANCE FILE — ACTIVE

The words burned into her mind.

“No…” she whispered, stepping backwards. “This can’t be real.”

Every photo inside told a different story—one she never agreed to live.

Her life… watched like she was already owned.

Then—

A slow clap echoed from behind her.

Aria froze.

“I told you not to go in there.”

Damian Blackwood’s voice was calm.

Too calm.

She turned sharply.

He was leaning against the doorframe, sleeves slightly rolled up now, like he had been working—like this was all normal.

Like she wasn’t standing in the middle of her own nightmare.

“You’ve been spying on me,” she said, voice shaking with anger.

Damian stepped inside the room.

One step.

Then another.

“I prefer the word protecting,” he corrected.

Her laugh came out bitter. “Protecting? You call this protection?”

She lifted the file. “You’ve been watching me like an animal!”

His eyes dropped to the papers in her hand.

Then, back to her face.

“Yes,” he said simply.

The honesty made her stomach drop.

For a second, she couldn’t even respond.

Then her voice cracked. “Why me?”

That question again.

But this time, something changed in the air.

Damian’s expression darkened—not with anger… but something heavier.

Memory.

“You really want to know?” he asked quietly.

Aria swallowed. “Yes.”

A long silence filled the room.

Then he walked toward the desk, picking up one of the scattered photos.

It showed her outside the hospital.

“You think your father was just a debtor,” he said.

Aria tensed. “He was.”

Damian looked at her.

“No,” he said firmly. “He wasn’t.”

Her breath caught.

He placed the photo down carefully.

“Your father worked for people you’ve never heard of. People who don’t forgive mistakes.”

Aria shook her head. “That’s a lie.”

But her voice wasn’t strong anymore.

Damian stepped closer, lowering his voice.

“When he stole from them… he didn’t just take money.”

A pause.

“He took information that got my family killed.”

Silence shattered the room.

Aria felt her legs weaken slightly.

“No…” she whispered. “My father wouldn’t—”

“He did,” Damian cut in sharply.

For the first time, something flickered in his eyes.

Not cruelty.

Grief.

That confused her more than anger ever could.

“Then why am I here?” she asked again, softer now.

Damian studied her face for a long moment.

Then he said:

“Because they think you have what he hid.”

Her heart stopped.

“What?”

“There’s something your father left behind,” he continued. “And you are the only link to it.”

Aria shook her head again, panic rising. “I don’t know anything about this.”

Damian’s gaze held hers.

“That’s what they all say.”

A loud knock suddenly echoed from downstairs.

Once.

Twice.

Then silence.

Damian’s entire expression changed instantly.

Cold again. Sharp again.

He moved fast, grabbing Aria’s wrist.

“Stay here,” he ordered.

“Wait—what’s happening?” she asked, fear returning.

But he was already opening the door.

Before leaving, he paused.

Without turning back, he said quietly:

“They found you faster than I expected.”

Her blood ran cold.

“Who?” she whispered.

Damian finally looked over his shoulder.

And what he said next made her stomach drop completely—

“People who will burn this mansion to the ground just to get you.”

Then he left.

The door locked behind him.

Click.

Aria stood frozen.

The silence didn’t last long.

Because from downstairs…

She heard gunshots.

🔥 END OF EPISODE 3 (CLIFFHANGER)