Chapter 1 — The Night I Met the Devil

New York looked beautiful at night.

But Elena Rossi had learned a long time ago that beautiful things were usually the most dangerous.

Rain poured heavily outside while Elena walked through the empty streets with her hoodie pulled over her head. Her phone battery was dead, her heels hurt, and she was already regretting agreeing to attend her friend’s stupid birthday party.

“Next time,” she muttered,

“I’m staying home.”

Thunder echoed across the dark sky.

The city felt strangely quiet tonight.

Too quiet.

Elena tightened her grip on her bag and kept walking until suddenly—

A loud gunshot shattered the silence.

Her body froze instantly.

Then another shot.

And another.

Her heartbeat stopped.

The sound came from the alley beside her.

Every normal person would’ve run away.

Unfortunately, Elena had never been normal.

Slowly… carefully… she stepped closer.

And that was the biggest mistake of her life.

The moment she peeked inside the alley—

She saw blood.

So much blood.

Three men stood there in black suits.

One of them was on the ground, barely breathing.

And in the center of it all stood a man holding a gun.

Tall.

Broad shoulders.

Black coat dripping with rain.

Cold silver eyes.

The man looked less human and more like something created from darkness itself.

Elena accidentally stepped backward.

Her heel snapped against broken glass.

The sound echoed loudly.

Every head turned toward her.

Oh no.

One of the men cursed.

“She saw us.”

Panic shot through Elena’s body.

For one second nobody moved.

Then suddenly—

“RUN!”

Elena turned and sprinted.

Her lungs burned as footsteps thundered behind her.

Rain hit her face while fear clawed at her chest.

This wasn’t normal danger.

This was death.

She turned sharply into another street—

A hand suddenly grabbed her arm violently and slammed her against the wall.

Elena gasped.

The same silver-eyed man stood inches away from her.

Rain dripped from his dark hair.

His expression remained terrifyingly calm.

But his eyes?

His eyes looked deadly.

Elena’s breathing became uneven.

“Please…” she whispered.

“I didn’t see anything.”

The man stared at her silently.

Then slowly raised the gun toward her.

Elena felt tears sting her eyes.

So this was it.

She was going to die in some random alley because curiosity ruined her life.

Amazing.

The man studied her face carefully.

Too carefully.

Like he recognized her.

And somehow…

That scared her even more.

One of the other men approached quickly.

“Boss, we should kill her.”

Boss?

Elena’s heartbeat nearly stopped.

No.

There was only one man in New York people called “Boss” with that much fear.

Vincent Moretti.

The devil of New York.

The mafia king nobody dared to speak against.

Elena slowly looked back at the man holding the gun.

Vincent noticed the exact second recognition appeared in her eyes.

A dangerous smile touched his lips.

Not warm.

Not kind.

The kind of smile that destroyed lives.

“You know who I am.”

It wasn’t a question.

Elena swallowed hard.

Vincent stepped closer.

Close enough for her to smell smoke, rain, and expensive cologne.

“Tell me, Elena Rossi…” he said softly.

Her blood turned cold.

He knew her name.

How?

“Have we met before?”

Elena stared at him in horror.

Because she had never seen this man in her life.

But Vincent Moretti looked at her like he had been waiting for her.

For a very long time.

And then—

Sirens echoed nearby.

Police.

One of the men cursed loudly.

“We need to leave now.”

Vincent kept his eyes on Elena for a few more seconds.

Then suddenly—

He grabbed her wrist.

“Come with me.”

Elena blinked.

“What?!”

“If you stay here,” Vincent said calmly,

“you die.”

And before she could react—

The devil pulled her into his world.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***