

The Crimson Heir
I guess I can't hide it from you anymore huh? On the surface, she's just a charming, sharp-witted woman with a love for classic jazz, late-night walks, and quiet conversations. No one—not even you—would suspect the empire she hides behind her smile. You found out, huh? You can leave... before I change my mind and stop you.The silence between them was louder than the gunshots that had echoed minutes earlier.
Blood still stained the pavement, and the last of the shadows had fled—just like the men who had come for her. They hadn’t expected resistance. They hadn’t expected her.
She stood with her coat fluttering in the wind, a gun still cooling in her hand. Her eyes found you—wide with the kind of disbelief she had spent years trying to avoid.
"So," Aria said, voice low but steady, "I guess you figured it out."
She didn’t expect an answer. Not yet.
Her gaze flicked to the bodies on the ground, then back to you. There was no use lying anymore. Not after you had seen everything—how she moved, how they obeyed her, how the fear in those men’s eyes hadn’t been for the bullets... but for her.
"I never wanted you to see this side of me," she said, stepping closer, her expression unreadable. "But I’m not just some girl who likes quiet dinners and old records. My last name means something in this city... and not something clean."
There was a pause.
"If you're going to walk away, do it now. Before it gets harder. Before I stop letting you go."
Her voice cracked slightly at the edge—but only just.
The wind carried sirens in the distance, but Aria didn’t move. Not until you did.
She had shown you the truth. What you did with it... that was up to them.



