A Deal with the Devil.
The next day, Eric called Damien again for breakfast. The food was just as rich, just as delicious. Damien said nothing, but he ate everything again.
On the third day, Damien's curiosity was burning. He pretended to be asleep, and after a while, snuck quietly to the kitchen.
And there she was.
His breath caught in his throat.
Eva.
She stood at the counter in his oversized kitchen, wearing loose sweatpants and a soft, fitted home top. Her hair was up, and she moved with ease, almost humming to herself as she stirred the pot. From behind, she looked so much like Ana, it twisted something deep inside him.
He had only ever seen her in corporate armor, office attire, tight buns, sharp heels. But here she was, barefoot, gentle, almost glowing in the morning light.
Eva paused, sensing something, and turned slightly,
But Damien had already ducked behind the doorframe, breath held.
When she didn't spot anyone, she resumed cooking, softly humming again.
Her voice, sweet, airy, melodic, was like a secret lullaby.
She could sing.
Damien didn't move.
He just stood there, listening to her hum, watching her small frame float around the kitchen like it was hers.
And for a fleeting moment, it felt like he was watching a dream.
One he'd been chasing for years.
After a while, he quietly returned to his bedroom.
Pretending, once again, that he hadn't seen anything.
Victor
Eva stormed out of the building, her heels clicking sharply against the pavement, anger radiating off her like heat from the sun. Victor wasn't far behind, his voice rising with frustration as he chased after her.
"Ana! Ana, I'm talking to you, are you even listening to me?" he barked, grabbing her arm lightly, but she yanked it free, spinning around to face him.
"Don't touch me! And stop calling me Ana! My name is Eva now!"
"Eva is just a name I gave to you. If the world sees Eva, I very much see Ana! And forgive me if I can't help but call you Ana, because no matter this whole facade, you are and will always remain Ana to me.
"I don't care. I just want you to leave me alone. Stop getting involved with anything that has to do with me, I can manage on my own, so stop interfering!"
"You don't get it, do you?" he said, breathless. "I'm doing all this for your own good. If Dexter finds out you're anywhere near the Lopez family, he'll kill you, Ana! You know what he's capable of. This_ this whole thing you're doing, it doesn't even make sense!"
"I already told you!" she shot back, voice trembling with barely contained emotion. "He doesn't recognize me, Victor! I'm Eva now. The surgery changed everything. What more do you want from me?"
"I want you safe!" Victor exploded. "I want you to come with me and leave this place behind! Stop pretending you're someone else. You're still Ana, no matter what name you go by, that truth doesn't change. And when he eventually finds out, because I am very much certain he will, what then?"
His voice cracked with desperation. "I've been working non-stop to keep your trail cold, blocking every lead he might find. And now you just... walk straight into his world? Are you saying all my efforts meant nothing to you? That I wasted all this time, risked everything for nothing?"
Eva looked away, jaw clenched, fighting the burning in her throat.
"I told you before," he continued more softly now. "I'll take care of you and your family. Money's not the issue. Just come with me, to Singapore. Let's start over. Please Ana, I am begging you. We could have a beautiful life and an opportunity to start again on a clean slate away from Dexter, all the criminal activities, away from the Lopez and the drama, because believe me or not Ana, you stole from him, and if he recognizes you, no matter what he feels for you, he will haunt you down!
All I am offering you is an opportunity for a new start over Ana. No Dexter. No Lopez empire. No criminal activities. Just peace. You and I"
Ana weavers just a little as she shut her eyes while thinking of the situation.
"Listen to me this once okay. Let's go back to Singapore, please Ana, come on".
She blinked hard, her voice breaking as she replied, "I don't want to marry you, Victor. I don't love you. I can't even pretend to. Every time I look at you, all I see is that horrible nightmare that landed me into this whole mess."
He flinched, the words hitting deeper than a blade.
"If I have to leave this place Victor," she added, "I'll do it without you."
"Ana..." His voice was barely a whisper now. "Why are you like this with me? Why won't you just forgive me? I made a mistake, but I've changed. Can't you see that? Let me in. Let me help you carry this burden. Let me be your shelter for once."
"I don't need your help," she said coldly, hugging herself as if to hold everything in.
Victor stepped closer, eyes pleading. "I know you're strong. You've always been strong. But even the strongest people break sometimes. You don't have to carry all this alone."
She shook her head slowly, tears brimming at the edge of her lashes.
"No thanks." Her voice was soft, final. "I'll handle it on my own. I am totally sure I don't need your help okay!"
"And I don't dispute that. I totally believe you can. But haven't you gone through so much turbulence? Haven't you been through enough? You might just need a little help Ana.""
"It's not weakness to lean on someone, Ana. Especially someone who's willing to do anything for you. I mean it, I'll give you whatever you need. A new life. A safe one. A beautiful one."
"Thanks Victor, but I am okay". She said firmly.
Victor exhaled, his expression twisting in pain. "Are you really sure, Ana? That you're okay? That you can keep going like this?"
"What are you implying?"
"I spoke to Bob," he said gently. "He told me about your mother's condition. I know she needs urgent surgery. And you can't raise the funds, can you?"
Eva's expression faltered.
"I can fix that, Ana," he continued. "I can give you any amount you want. I'll give you the world if that's what it takes. I'd lay my life down for you, gladly. Just stop shutting me out."
Eva turned away, the weight of his offer pressing heavily on her chest. Her jaw tightened as she blinked away tears. But she said nothing.
Victor watched her in silence, as Ana walked away his heart shattering all over again.
Victor's POV
The truth was, Victor was scared, terrified, even. Not of death or danger, but of losing Ana... of watching her slip away into someone else's arms, especially Damien's.
From the first moment he saw her, something inside him shifted. Ana was breathtaking, beautiful in a delicate, almost ethereal way. But beneath that fragile exterior burned a fire, fierce and wild. She was brave. Unshakably brave.
Victor had been in Paris, enjoying a rare moment of peace, when the call came through_ Rodriguez Clarkson had stolen from Dexter. Not just pocket change, but his entire life savings. Victor's stomach twisted when he heard it. He didn't know the man, but he pitied the family already.
Because Dexter was a monster. Not metaphorically, a real monster, cold-blooded and void of empathy. There was no telling how far he'd go to erase the Clarkson name for an offense this big.
Victor was ordered back immediately. Dexter was already plotting the execution of Rodriguez entire family. But when he arrived at the grim scene, what he saw stunned him.
There she was_ Ana. Chained, beaten, yet unyielding. Her brother sobbed beside her, whispering, "Is this our end?" But Ana... Ana raised her head and said firmly, "Not today. We're not dying here."
Victor would never forget that moment.
She fought with every ounce of strength left in her bruised body, lifting her head to glare into the eyes of the devil himself. Ana looked Dexter straight in the face and, without flinching, called him what no one had ever dared; Coward.
"A coward for killing powerless people," she spat, her voice trembling, not from fear, but from fury.
Victor stood there, stunned. He could see it then, what she was doing. She was stalling. Buying time. Risking everything with every breath. And though he couldn't imagine how such defiance could save her, somehow... it did.
Dexter, in all his madness, hesitated.
He didn't kill them that night.
The next day, Dexter summoned a meeting, his tone dark, his mind obsessed. He wanted that new code, the one the Lopez family was preparing to unleash. A code that would rewrite power. He paced like a predator, plotting ways to break through their impenetrable empire.
Then, out of nowhere, a voice rang out, clear, bold, from the shadows.
"I know the Lopez!"
Everyone froze.
"We were neighbors. I can get the job done!"
It was Ana.
Chained. Locked away. Yet somehow, she had heard everything, and she dared to interrupt.
Victor couldn't believe it. How had she even heard their secret conversation from that distance? She must've been born with ears sharp as knives, or maybe her will was just too strong.
But Dexter? He didn't question it. The moment he heard the word Lopez, something in his eyes lit up, dark and unholy. His obsession with that family ran so deep that when Ana spoke those words, it was as if fate itself had answered him.
Without hesitation, he ordered her release.
Victor watched, heart pounding, as that battered, fragile girl stood tall and struck a deal with the devil himself. She promised him what no one else could deliver, Damien Lopez. Her former classmate. The prodigy. The gatekeeper to the most coveted code in the digital world.
All she asked for in return... was the safety of her family.
In that moment, Victor saw something different, not just bravery, but a kind of fearless brilliance that could outwit kings and monsters alike.
And he knew then...
She was no ordinary girl. She was a storm in disguise.
They all laughed at her.
How could they not?
Countless trained mercenaries had tried, and failed, to infiltrate the Lopez empire. Tech geniuses, professional hackers, ex-military spies... none had succeeded. The Lopez were like a fortress carved into the bones of the earth, immovable, unshakable. A steel bridge suspended in eternity.
And now, here stood this fragile, half-starved girl, claiming she could do what no one else could.
No one believed her. No one dared to.
But Victor... he saw it.
He saw something burn behind her eyes, a desperation so raw it could melt through walls. She wasn't doing this for glory. She wasn't chasing some payday. She was driven by something far more dangerous, the love of her family. The kind of love that claws through fire to save the ones you can't afford to lose.
Victor had stepped forward that day, against everyone's judgment. He looked Dexter in the eye and said,
"Give her a chance. She just might shock us all."
And so Ana was set free.