The Devil's obsession with the Heiress

"Really? Who is it this time?" Aliana asked, raising an eyebrow with genuine interest.

"Well, boss... it’s you," Nigel replied in a small, cautious voice.

When Aliana simply stared at him with a perfectly blank expression, Nigel began to grow uneasy, sensing an incoming storm of denial.

"I think you’ve been watching far too much drama lately. It’s clearly muddled your brain," Aliana said, rolling her eyes.

"Actually, Boss, I barely have time for TV these days when there’s a real-life drama unfolding right in front of my eyes," Nigel stated, that familiar sparkle appearing in his eyes whenever he caught a whiff of a new plotline.

"Really?" Aliana scoffed. "And who, exactly, am I sparking with?"

"The mysterious male god we met today," Nigel replied, a cheeky smile playing on his lips.

Aliana knew exactly who he was talking about.

"Nigel... stop sprouting nonsense and get back to work. Clearly, if you have time to think about non-existent scenarios, you have enough room on your plate for more work," Aliana threatened.

"What?! No... I mean, I’m drowning already, Boss! Please, have mercy on my soul," Nigel exclaimed, his "drama-seeking" face instantly replaced by one of pure panic.

"Maybe not enough. And now that I think about it, I need you to dig up every bit of dirt you can find on James Walter’s mistress, Lora Hill," Aliana added, recalling her end of the deal with Rose.

"Lora Hill?" Nigel repeated, his brows furrowed as he tried to recall where he had heard that name before.

"Remember that pervert, Jack Hill? She’s his mother, and also the mistress of Rose Walters’ husband," Aliana informed him.

"Oh... what could she have possibly done to deserve a deep dive into her personal life?" Nigel asked curiously. He knew Aliana never asked to dig up dirt without a very good reason.

"Apparently, she’s running a smear campaign against me after what happened to her precious son," Aliana said.

"I see. I’ll get right on it," Nigel agreed immediately, loyal as ever.

"Good. Also, while you’re at it, find everything you can about Gavriel. I want to know every possible detail about the man."

A sly smile began to play on Nigel’s lips again at the mention of Gavriel.

Aliana rolled her eyes. "Stop dragging your mind through the gutter. I need information because he seems..." She paused, searching for the right word.

"Mysterious?" Nigel guessed helpfully.

"Mysterious, yes. Which is exactly why he’s dangerous," Aliana replied thoughtfully. "Find out whatever you can, even though I know Dad is already on the case. I need the kind of off-the-record information only your sources can find." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"Consider it done, Boss," Nigel replied with a nod.

"Alright, now let’s get back to the task at hand. I see some of the shortlisted suitors are already present at the conference. We can set up meetings for those who have previously expressed interest in a union," Aliana stated.

Nigel looked at her, skeptical. "Are you sure you want to meet them here?"

"Why not? Since several of them are already in one place, I don’t see the point in delaying. We have ample time once the conference sessions end in the evening. I can find an hour or two to meet them," Aliana replied, shrugging her elegant shoulders.

Nigel knew what she was saying made perfect logical sense, but he couldn’t shake the "spark" he had witnessed from the sidelines today. After seeing her with the mysterious chairman of Archon Group, he highly doubted that meeting any of these men would lead anywhere.

Still, he would follow her orders... gladly, in fact. He wanted a front-row seat to see exactly how this real-life drama would unfold.

’This should be interesting,’ Nigel thought to himself before agreeing and immediately setting to work on arranging the meetings.

While Aliana was busy finding a suitor to fulfil the deal she had made with her father, a very different scene was unfolding on the other side of the hotel.

In a large suite lit only by a few dim lamps, a tall man stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the vast, dark sea.

He was dressed in a black silk robe tied loosely at his waist, leaving his smooth, pale skin and the incredibly sculpted, powerful muscles of his chest and abdomen exposed. Damp strands of raven-black hair kissed his forehead, and stray droplets of water glided slowly from the nape of his neck down his spine.

His hand held a glass of wine, which he swirled with effortless elegance. His icy blue eyes gleamed, reflecting the light of the near-full moon that hung over the water.

Suddenly, there was a sharp shift in the air. The temperature seemed to drop, but Gavriel didn’t bother to turn around to see who had entered.

"Master," a low, gruff voice echoed from the shadows behind him. "I’ve got her."

He remained still, facing the window. Through the glass, he watched the faint reflection of a man in a rugged, dark hood that obscured his face. The hooded figure held the malevolent spirit, who was shivering violently against his grip in pure terror.

In a low, deep voice, Gavriel asked, "Why did you attack that woman today?"

"F-forgive me, Milord... I-I didn’t know she w-was known to you," the ghost stammered, her voice warped and doubled with an eerie resonance.

Gavriel didn’t react.

He simply asked again, his voice dropping to a lethal, icy tone. "Why did you do it?"

"I-I... heard o-others whispering that she holds the p-power to release us. P-please, milord... f-forgive me. I didn’t know that woman was with y-you," the ghost trembled in fright.

At that, Gavriel stilled, the gentle motion of swirling wine in his glass coming to a halt.

His gaze lifted slightly, meeting the dull red eyes of the man reflected in the glass of the window, and he gave a slow, deliberate nod.

No sooner, the hooded man’s hand glowed faintly red as he drove his clawed hand straight through the woman’s chest from behind. A piercing scream tore through the air before she dissolved completely, vanishing as though she had never existed.

"Keep a close eye on her. I want to know everything," Gavriel ordered.

The man bowed his head. "Yes, Master," he replied, before his form dissolved into a cloud of thick, black smoke and vanished from the room.

Gavriel took another slow sip of his wine, his gaze returning to the dark horizon.

"Just who... are you, little rose?" he whispered into the silence, the words barely more than a breath against the rim of his glass.