The Devil's obsession with the Heiress

Spain

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Karden was a marvel, a beautiful city of limestone structures nestled beside a deep blue sea. It was the kind of place where life moved at a leisurely pace, a sharp contrast to the bustling, high-tech cities of the modern world.

People rose with the sun and retired early after a relaxed day of work. Because of its preserved, old-world aesthetic, it drew tourists from every corner of the globe, making tourism the heart of the local economy.

It was nearly midnight, and the citizens were already tucked into the warmth of their beds while golden streetlights illuminated the empty cobblestones. The city was silent, save for the rhythmic roar of strong waves crashing against the rocky shores.

But while most of Karden slept, there were those who remained wide awake, and they were up to no good.

In one of the decently sized chateau, nestled a little away from the main city, a pot-bellied man sat naked on an armchair.

He was gulping down red wine from his glass while keeping his hungry gaze fixed on a young woman in her early twenties standing before him in white lingerie, trembling under the weight of the middle-aged man’s stare.

The man smacked his lips after a large gulp and smiled lasciviously at the trembling woman before him.

"Mateo, I believe she is a virgin. Did you have her checked?" the man asked.

A younger man, standing with an expressionless face, nodded. "Yes, Mister Javier, she is."

"Good," Javier said, nodding in satisfaction.

He waved a hand to dismiss him, and Mateo turned to open the door and exit the room without another word.

Javier tilted his head, relishing the raw fear etched into the pale girl’s face.

He was a man who had suddenly come into a massive fortune, seemingly overnight, and used it to establish a sprawling wine business.

No one knew how a man with nothing had climbed to such power, and since then, he had indulged in a sick, twisted pleasure: bedding young virgins while revelling in their terror.

He was a man who lacked even a shred of decency. Despite the vast wealth to his name, he continued to extort others, proving himself corrupt to the very core.

Tonight was no different from any other, and yet another innocent woman was about to be sacrificed to his cruelty. With the door locked from the outside and nowhere left to run, Javier finally stood. He beckoned her with a slow curl of his fingers.

"Come here," he said, his voice slick with malice. "Don’t be shy."

The girl trembled, on the verge of tears. "P-please let me go..." she begged in a quivering voice.

"Let you go? And how can I, when I need to collect my debt?" Javier replied. He began taking heavy steps towards the trembling girl, causing her to retreat. Tears spilled freely from her eyes as the man’s gaze continued to rake over her. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

She swallowed, her voice barely above a whisper. "P-please forgive my father. H-he said he returned all the money."

Javier’s twisted smile widened at the girl’s words. "He did return the money," he replied smoothly. "But what about the interest? Didn’t I tell him that if he was even a day late, I would come to collect it?"

His hand shot out, grabbing her chin with a rough, bruising grip. "And you... you are that interest."

His stale, pungent breath hit her nose, making her stomach churn with nausea, but she was trembling with too much terror to pull away. With no way to defend herself and nowhere left to run, she began to sob, her voice breaking.

"P-please, Mister. I-I wanted to finish college and get a job. I-I promise to pay you the interest back once I start working. Just please let me go. I beg you!"

But her sobs only fueled his twisted desire.

With a vicious, booming laugh, Javier hauled the girl against him until she was pressed against his bloated frame.

His other hand reached out and grabbed her butt, his voice a low growl. "Ah... I love it when they cry. Go on. Scream to your God, because even He cannot save you from your fate tonight."

"No! No! Oh God, please! Someone help!" The girl began to struggle against the old man’s hold, and her scream pierced the room as his hand reached for her bra strap.

But just as he moved to strip her bare, the clock struck midnight, and the air came to a sudden, absolute standstill.

Javier, who had a grin like that of a hungry wolf plastered across his face, reached out to tug at the helpless girl’s strap.

But as he did, the girl stilled unnaturally.

The air grew thick with a suffocating darkness, and the clock that had been ticking rhythmically until that moment came to a dead standstill.

The curtains, which had been fluttering in the night breeze, stilled mid-air. Even the tears streaming down the girl’s cheeks froze in place, suspended against her skin.

In the pin-drop silence that followed, Javier’s smile curdled into a scowl. His eyes slowly darted around the room, taking in the unnatural stillness, and a cold dread began to crawl through his veins.

He inched back from the girl and shouted toward the hallway, "Mateo! Come here right now!"

Suddenly, the door to his room burst open, and sharp, purposeful footsteps echoed against the dark marble floor, making Javier’s frown deepen.

His eyes snapped towards the door just as all the lights in the chateau flickered once before plunging the room into complete darkness. The only light left was the pale glow of the moon filtering through the large windows, casting long shadows across the room.

Javier stumbled back, his pulse quickening as a tall figure stepped out of the gloom.

"M-Mateo?" Javier called out, his voice tight with nerves, yet there was no answer.

The footsteps continued toward him before stopping just a few feet away.

Javier’s heart hammered against his chest as he tried to identify the stranger. "W-who are you?"

"Javier Garcia," a deep, commanding voice replied, the sound cutting clearly through the silence.

The man took another step forward, and startled, Javier scrambled backwards until he hit his armchair, falling back into the seat he had occupied earlier.

"Your time has come," the cold, sinful voice filled the space.

Gripping the armchair until his knuckles turned white, Javier stammered, "W-wh-what do you mean?"

The man merely tilted his head ever so slightly, watching him crumble under the weight of his presence, before letting out a quiet sigh. "I didn’t think you’d forget about our deal so easily," he clicked his tongue and took another step forward.

Just as he did, the moonlight finally illuminated the mysterious man’s face, and Javier’s eyes bulged in their sockets.

Suddenly, the memory of the deal flashed through his mind, sending a fresh wave of terror through his body.

It was the same angelic face and those piercing, icy blue eyes.... the ones he could never forget, no matter how hard he tried.

"My God..." Javier rasped as recognition flashed in his eyes, and that was when a faint, ghost-like smile appeared on the mysterious man’s face.

"Yes... it is always the greedy ones who forget me once they get what they want," he said in a low, bored voice.

His gaze briefly swept over Javier’s dishevelled state before drifting around the room, filled with expensive indulgences, and finally settling on the girl, who stood like a statue, terror frozen on her face.

"Hm... looks like the filthy pig you are, you chose to prey on innocent young virgins, didn’t you?" the man remarked coldly before turning his gaze back to Javier, who was now trembling in fear, just as the girl had been moments ago.

"P-p-please, I-I’m sure there are still years left on our deal. I-I still have so much to do!" Javier began to weep, pressing his heavy frame against the armchair as if trying to disappear into the upholstery.

The man didn’t budge.

He took three more steps until he stood directly in front of him. "More to do? You mean more people to exploit? More innocent girls to torture? More gluttony to indulge in?"

"I-I-I..." Javier stammered, fumbling for words, but the man cut him off.

"Your sins have piled high, Javier. Now, it is time to reap what you have sown."