Aria's POV - Five Years Later
"Mama! Mama, look what I drew!"
I look up from the medical chart I'm reviewing to see my daughter running toward me, dark hair flying, silver-gray eyes sparkling with excitement.
Lily. My whole world in a four-year-old body.
"Let me see, baby." I kneel down as she shoves a piece of paper at me.
It's a drawing of three stick figures—one with long dark hair (me), one small one in the middle (her), and one with glowing red eyes and silver hair (Azrael, who she calls "Uncle Az").
"We're a family!" she announces proudly.
My heart squeezes. "It's beautiful, sweetheart."
"Dr. Russo?" My assistant pokes her head into the break room. "Your next surgery is in twenty minutes. The patient is prepped."
"Thanks, Jennifer. I'll be right there." I turn back to Lily. "Maya's waiting for you in my office, okay? Be good."
"I'm always good!" Lily kisses my cheek and runs off.
I stand, smoothing my white doctor's coat. Dr. Elena Russo—the name I took when I disappeared five years ago. Elena for my mother. Russo because it sounded strong.
In five years, I've built a new life. Got my medical degree through an accelerated program Maya helped arrange. Became a surgeon specializing in pediatric cardiology. My hands, which once trembled when Xavier touched me, now perform miracles on tiny hearts.
I don't think about the past anymore.
That's a lie. I think about it every single day.
But I've learned to channel the rage into something productive—saving children's lives.
"Dr. Russo, your patient's family wants to speak with you before surgery," Jennifer says.
I head to the consultation room and spend fifteen minutes reassuring terrified parents that their daughter's heart defect is fixable. That she'll live a normal, healthy life after this surgery.
I'm good at this. Saving people. Being the calm, confident voice in their darkest moment.
It's ironic, really. I couldn't save myself five years ago, but now I save others daily.
The surgery takes four hours. Delicate, precise work repairing a valve in a seven-year-old's heart. When I finally close and the heart monitor shows strong, steady beats, I feel the familiar rush of satisfaction.
One more life saved.
One more victory against the darkness.
"Excellent work, Dr. Russo," my supervising surgeon says. "You have the steadiest hands I've ever seen."
"Thank you, Dr. Chen." I pause. "Wait, Chen?"
"Dr. Sarah Chen. We haven't officially met—I just transferred here from New York Presbyterian last week." She extends her hand. "I've heard impressive things about you."
I shake her hand, trying to hide my reaction to that last name. Chen. Like my father Marcus Chen. Like the family that abandoned me.
But Sarah Chen isn't part of that world. She's mortal. A brilliant surgeon with kind eyes and a warm smile.
"Welcome to the team," I manage.
After surgery, I find Lily coloring in my office with Maya watching over her.
"How was it?" Maya asks.
"Successful. The girl will be fine." I pick up Lily, who immediately wraps her arms around my neck. "Ready to go home?"
"Can Uncle Az make us dinner?" Lily asks. "He makes the best pasta!"
I smile despite myself. Azrael—the terrifying Demon King—has somehow become a surprisingly domestic figure in our lives. He's bound to me, so wherever I go, he follows. Over five years, he's evolved from a weapon of revenge into... family.
He's patient with Lily. Protective. He reads her bedtime stories and teaches her to sense spirits (much to my concern). He's been more of a father figure than Xavier ever could be.
"We'll ask him," I promise.
At home—a small but comfortable apartment—Azrael is already cooking. He looks completely human now, having mastered suppressing his demonic aura. Just a handsome man with silver-white hair making spaghetti.
"How was work?" he asks as Lily runs to hug him.
"Good. Saved a heart. Met the new surgeon." I hang up my coat. "Her name is Sarah Chen."
Azrael's eyes flash briefly crimson. "Chen?"
"Mortal. No connection to the Tamer Society." I kick off my shoes. "Just a coincidence."
"I don't believe in coincidences." But he doesn't push. Over the years, we've developed an understanding—he respects my boundaries, and I trust his instincts.
After dinner, I tuck Lily into bed. She yawns, clutching her stuffed dragon.
"Mama? Do I have a daddy?"
My breath catches. She's asked before, but never this directly.
"You do," I say carefully. "But he... he couldn't be here with us."
"Is he dead?"
"No, baby. Just... far away."
"Does he know about me?"
I think about Xavier throwing money at my feet. Calling my pregnancy a lie. Threatening to destroy me.
"He knows," I whisper. "But some people aren't ready to be parents. It doesn't mean you're not loved. You have me. You have Uncle Az. You have Maya. We're your family."
Lily thinks about this, then nods. "Okay. I like our family better anyway."
She falls asleep, and I sit there watching her breathe, this perfect little person I created.
Half me, half Xavier.
She has his eyes—those sharp, intelligent gray eyes. His bone structure. But she has my heart, my kindness, my strength.
Xavier has no idea what he threw away.
My phone buzzes. A text from an unknown number.
Dr. Russo. We have a mutual acquaintance in the Tamer Society. Your real identity is about to be exposed. If you want to stay hidden, leave the city immediately. —A Friend
Ice floods my veins.
I rush to the living room where Azrael is reading.
"We have a problem," I say, showing him the text.
His expression darkens. "Someone knows who you are."
"How is that possible? I've been so careful—"
"The new surgeon. Sarah Chen." His eyes glow red. "What if it's not a coincidence?"
My stomach drops. "You think she's connected to my father?"
"I think someone is looking for you. And they just got very close."
Before I can respond, my phone rings. The hospital.
"Dr. Russo?" Jennifer sounds panicked. "I'm so sorry to call so late, but there's an emergency. A VIP patient just arrived—critical condition. They're asking specifically for you."
"Who is it?"
"The Kane family. Xavier Kane's son is in cardiac arrest."
The world stops.
Xavier's son.
Celeste's baby—the one she was pregnant with five years ago when I left.
"Dr. Russo? Are you there?"
"I'm here." My voice sounds distant. "I'll be there in twenty minutes."
I hang up.
Azrael is already standing. "You're not going."
"A child is dying."
"The child of the man who destroyed you!"
"A child who didn't choose his father." I grab my coat. "I'm a doctor. I save lives. I don't let innocent children die because of their parents' sins."
"This could be a trap. A way to expose you."
"Maybe. But I took an oath." I head for the door.
"At least let me come with you."
"No. Stay with Lily. If this goes wrong, get her somewhere safe."
His jaw clenches, but he nods. "Be careful, little Chen."
I drive to the hospital, my heart pounding the entire way.
Xavier's son is dying.
Xavier—who I haven't seen in five years. Who doesn't know I became a doctor. Who thinks I'm dead or broken or gone forever.
He's about to come face to face with the woman he destroyed.
And I'm about to save the child he actually wanted.
The irony is almost funny.
Almost.
I park and walk through the emergency entrance. Jennifer meets me immediately.
"He's in trauma bay three. Four years old. Congenital heart defect—unknown until tonight. He collapsed at a charity gala. They rushed him here because we're the closest hospital with a pediatric cardiac specialist."
Four years old.
Same age as Lily.
"Status?" I ask, shifting into doctor mode.
"Critical. He needs immediate surgery or he won't survive the night."
I push through the doors to trauma bay three.
And freeze.
Because Xavier is there.
He looks older, more tired, but still devastatingly handsome in his expensive suit. He's holding the hand of a small boy on the gurney—a boy with dark hair and Xavier's exact features.
Celeste stands beside him, crying, her makeup running.
They don't see me yet. Too focused on their dying son.
I should feel satisfaction. This is karma. Justice. They destroyed my life, and now their child is—
No.
I'm not that person anymore.
I step forward. "I'm Dr. Russo. I'll be performing the surgery."
Xavier's head snaps up.
Our eyes meet.
And I watch the color drain from his face as recognition slams into him like a truck.
"A-Aria?" he whispers.
The room goes silent.
Celeste gasps. "That's impossible. You're—"
"Alive. Yes." I look past them to their son. "And I'm the only surgeon in this hospital qualified to save your child's life."
Xavier stares at me like I'm a ghost. "You... you're a doctor?"
"Cardiothoracic surgeon. One of the best." I move to examine the boy, checking his vitals. His lips are blue. His breathing shallow. "Your son has a critical heart defect. Without immediate surgery, he has maybe two hours left."
"Then operate!" Celeste cries. "Please, save him!"
I look at her—the woman who sabotaged me, stole my fiancé, mocked my pregnancy.
Then I look at the boy. Innocent. Terrified. Dying.
"I'll prep for surgery immediately." I turn to the nurse. "Get an OR ready. We're going in now."
"Wait." Xavier grabs my arm. "Aria, we need to talk—"
I look down at his hand on my arm, then up at his face. "Your son is dying, Mr. Kane. We'll talk after I save his life."
I pull away and walk toward the OR, my head held high.
Behind me, I hear Xavier's broken whisper: "She's alive. Oh god, Aria's alive."
As I scrub in for surgery, my hands are perfectly steady.
Five years ago, Xavier threw money at me to erase his child—a child he never wanted.
Now I'm about to save the child he does want.
The universe has a twisted sense of humor.
But here's the real twist:
I'm not doing this for him.
I'm doing it because I'm Dr. Elena Russo, and I save lives.
Even when those lives belong to the families who destroyed me.
I walk into the OR where Xavier's son lies unconscious.
"Let's begin," I say.
And as I make the first incision, I smile behind my surgical mask.
Because Xavier is about to learn that the woman he threw away became someone extraordinary.
And this? This is just the beginning.
The real confrontation—the one where I make them all pay—comes after I save his son's life and he realizes exactly what he lost.
Then the real game begins.