25. Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Five
Amelia
D amon arrived shortly after the call ended, ushered in by a guard. His usual confident stride was replaced by an unusual intensity, and I could see the weight of the situation in his eyes as he entered the living room.
“Amelia, Aidan, Sienna,” Damon greeted us, his tone gruff, his gaze flickering from me to Aidan before settling on Sienna.
Damon handed the diary to Aidan, who quickly flipped through the pages.
“Have you gone through it?” Aidan asked.
“No, I just picked it up and brought it here as fast as I could,” Damon answered.
His brows furrowed at the empty first page, and a frustrated growl escaped him.
“It’s just a waste of time,” he muttered, tossing the book down on the table in exasperation.
Sienna picked up the diary, scanning the pages and her eyes lit up with realization.
“It’s written in invisible ink,” she said, holding the book closer to her.
“What?” Aidan asked, his voice laced with disbelief.
Sienna nodded, her fingers brushing across the pages carefully.
“We need heat to reveal it.” She glanced over at Aidan, then me. “Do you have a lighter?”
I handed her a lighter, and she held it under the pages. The words slowly appeared, faint at first, then became clearer.
“That's incredible,” I said in awe.
Sienna looked up from the book, her face lit by the glow of the lighter.
“My grandmother was a writer. She taught me a lot of things about old tricks like this.”
I nodded as Sienna handed the diary to me and I began to read.
“I have committed a grave sin against my kind and vampires, I admit that greed swallowed me, and I wanted only werewolves to live on earth. I met Vera, a ruthless vampire who told me she wanted to end vampires because they committed an atrocity against her.”
“What could vampires have possibly done to her?” Aidan muttered under his breath, his tone hard and full of disbelief.
I couldn’t shake the unease as I read on, my eyes scanning each word carefully. Aidan remained silent beside me; his jaw clenched as I continued.
“I thought I could use her to achieve my goal, but she used me instead. She plans to wipe out both vampires and werewolves, and I don’t know what to do or how to stop her.
I paused, looking up at Damon, who was visibly shaken.
“She’s on a suicide mission, and she planned everything to the letter,” I read aloud, my heart racing. “She was friends with a witch who was able to stop her vampirism and made me impregnate her. The child she carries is a cursed child and will be the destruction of all.”
Damon’s eyes widened as he heard the last part.
“What?!” he exclaimed in shock, his voice cracking slightly as he looked at Aidan.
I took a deep breath, my voice trembling as I kept reading.
“She plans on using her child to achieve her goals. I sincerely thought she wanted to wipe out just vampires, which is why when Alma found out about her plans, we killed her. But I just recently overheard her conversation with the witch and realized that she wants to wipe out both vampires and werewolves.”
I could feel the weight of the words sink into me, the gravity of the situation crushing. I stopped, lifting my eyes to Aidan and Damon, before finishing the last lines:
“The witch is clearly fueling her anger, but what did the vampires do to Vera?”
Aidan's fist slammed onto the table with a force that startled me.
“We have to stop her,” Aidan’s voice, raw and fierce, broke through the silence.
Aidan’s jaw was clenched, his eyes burning with a mix of fury and desperation.
“We have barely two hours left to save Finn from Vera. We leave now,” Aidan said, his tone unwavering. “Sienna, you stay behind. It’s too dangerous. Your life might be endangered.”
Sienna didn’t argue, just nodded solemnly.
We headed out to the convoy of black SUVs waiting outside, the vehicles sleek and imposing. A group of vampires surrounded us, their presence a silent reminder of the danger we were walking into.
“Damon, you will join Amelia and I in the same vehicle,” Aidan said.
“There are over seven SUVs here,” Damon said as he looked shocked.
“Because we are going to war, I’ll brief you on our way,” Aidan replied.
The engine roared to life, and the convoy sped off toward the outskirts of town.
Finn, just hold on, we are coming for you, I thought.
The road ahead was dark, my heart racing for Finn. I squeezed Aidan’s hand, feeling his tension as he planned.
When we neared the outskirts of town, Aidan suddenly ordered the convoy to stop.
“Only Amelia and I will continue from here. Stay alert. Wait for my signal,” Aidan instructed.
The vampires nodded silently, their eyes scanning the surroundings, their focus unwavering. Damon, too, gave a brief nod, understanding the gravity of the situation.
We took one of the SUVs and continued to our destination.
We arrived at the warehouse, and vampires surrounded us. They quickly restrained Aidan with silver chains. He didn’t flinch; his jaw set in defiance.
“Where is Vera?” Aidan growled, his voice steady despite the pain. “Show your face, Vera!”
I felt a chill run down my spine, and my heart pounded as they dragged me closer to Aidan. My wrists were also bound, but the chains didn’t burn me—I was human.
They ushered us into the warehouse.
"Finn..." I whispered, dread creeping in.
There he was, lying on the floor, covered in blood. His body was bruised, tortured, and my heart shattered at the sight. His body trembled slightly as I rushed toward him, but a vampire blocked my path.
“Don’t touch her!” Aidan snarled; his voice dangerous. “You lay one finger on her, and I’ll kill you.”
The vampire hesitated, but I didn’t wait. I rushed to Finn’s side, my hands shaking as I cradled his face in my hands.
“Finn…” My voice cracked, tears welling up in my eyes. He was so weak. His eyes flickered open, but he couldn’t speak.
And then, I felt it. The air grew colder. From the shadows, Vera stepped forward, a smirk curling on her lips. Her eyes gleamed with dark satisfaction.
“Well, well, Aidan,” she purred, her voice mocking. “Still the hero. How predictable" is it?
She laughed softly, the sound cruel and haunting.
“You really thought you could stop me? That you could save him?” Her gaze shifted to Finn, who was barely clinging to life. “It’s too late.”
I stood up, stepping between Vera and Finn, my body trembling with both fear and anger. “You’ll never get away with this, Vera,” I said, my voice shaking. “We’re taking him back.”
She took a step closer, her mocking laughter echoing through the cold warehouse.
“I see why Aidan fell in love with you… You’re just as brave as Alma was…” Vera taunted.
“Get away from her…” Aidan said, his voice laced with fury.
“You look just like her too, but the difference is…” She grinned, stepping even closer, eyes flashing with wicked amusement. “She loved just one man. But you, Amelia? You love two.”
Her words cut deep, and I felt a rush of protective anger surge within me, but before I could say anything, Vera turned her mocking attention back to Aidan.
“You’re a very strong vampire. Head of the vampires, in fact,” she continued, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “But despite all that power, you decided to share your woman. How weak, Aidan.
The words stung, but Aidan remained stoic for only a moment.
“How dare you!” Aidan snapped.
His eyes blazed with fury as he lunged at her, but before he could reach her, Vera held out her hand, and with a swift movement, her grip tightened around his throat.
“Don’t make the same mistake our father did,” she warned, her voice a low, dangerous whisper. “You wouldn’t want to follow in his footsteps, would you?”
Aidan’s eyes widened with realization, his struggle momentarily ceasing.
“What did you do to our father?” Aidan’s voice broke through, raw with both pain and rage.
Vera's smirk only widened as the vampires held him down, forcing him to his knees in front of her, their grip unyielding as Aidan struggled.
“Aidan!” I screamed.
A wave of helplessness washed over me as I looked at Aidan. I couldn’t do anything. My mind raced, trying to find a way to help him, to help us. But Vera was always one step ahead.
“You are just like him, Aidan,” Vera said, her tone cold. “Stubborn, full of pride. But in the end, you’re just as weak as he was.” She looked at him with a twisted amusement, her fingers tracing his chin.
“Why are you doing this?” I cried out.
“Well, you should ask your boyfriend, I turned into this heartless monster because of him,” Vera said.
“What do you mean? What did I do?” Aidan asked, immersed in confusion.
Vera’s smirk only deepened. She let Aidan struggle as she slowly walked around him, enjoying the torment in his eyes.
“You don’t understand, do you, Aidan?” she purred. “I’m the monster I am because of you.”
What is she talking about? I thought.
Vera’s gaze turned icy, her voice turning bitter.
“Five centuries ago, vampires were forbidden to have relationships with humans. It was against everything we stood for. But I” Her voice quivered for a moment before she continued with hatred, "I met him, a human. And I fell in love with him. Philip made me fall in love with him in the purest form possible. I introduced you to him and told you that he was the love of my life and that I was ready to settle down with him. I confided in you Aidan and what did you do?”
Aidan’s face went pale, his anger faltering for a moment.
“You ratted me out to our father,” Vera hissed. “You were the one who exposed my love. You were the one who told our father about him. And because of you, I lost everything. My love, my life, everything.”
“I never meant any harm when I told him, he was happy that you found love …” Aidan’s voice broke through, strained with confusion.
Vera’s laugh was bitter, twisted with old pain.
“He deceived you my dear little brother … Your father made a drastic decision to protect the secret of our kind. He killed my lover and cast me into exile. For years, I was punished and it’s all because of you! He burnt Philip in front of me and made sure to burn his family too. They were innocent.”
She stepped closer to Aidan, her face inches from his as she whispered venomously.
“You made me turn into this heartless monster.”
Tears filled my eyes as I listened to her words. What had happened to her? What had Aidan’s father done?
“I’m really sorry … I didn’t know …” Aidan stammered his voice full of remorse.
“Of course, you didn’t because you were always the golden child, our father always made sure to protect you. I’m glad I was able to kill him, and his death marked the beginning of my vengeance.”
“You were the one that killed our father?”
Vera’s lips curled into a chilling smile as she took another step closer to Aidan, the malicious satisfaction in her eyes unmistakable.
"Yes, I killed him," she said softly, her voice dripping with venom. "When I returned from my exile, I found him, and I made sure that death was the last thing he’d ever feel."
Her eyes gleamed as she continued, her voice lowering to a whisper as she recalled the grim detail.
"I waited until the right moment, waited until his trust in me was fully restored. Then, I approached him, pretending to be the loving daughter he thought he’d lost forever. But in that moment, I wasn’t his daughter anymore…I was the executioner."
I shuddered, the room feeling colder, heavier with every word she said.
"He trusted me," Vera continued, her voice laced with icy bitterness. "He took me into his arms, thinking I was the same little girl he’d exiled so many years ago. But instead of love, I gave him the greatest betrayal."
Vera’s hands trembled as she spoke, but it wasn’t out of fear—no, it was excitement. Dark joy.
"I poisoned him slowly, Aidan. I didn’t just kill him with one strike. I watched him suffer, felt him weaken as he begged me to tell him why, to forgive him. But it was too late. I enjoyed every minute of it, every second he struggled for breath. And when he finally died... I was the one who ended it all by ripping his heart out."
Aidan’s face twisted with horror and disbelief.
"How could you do that? He was your father! How could you—"
Vera cut him off with a harsh laugh, her eyes full of derision.
"I’ve waited so long for this moment, where I’d get to do the same thing I did to our father to you," Vera said, her voice trembling with excitement as she looked down at Aidan, still struggling to comprehend her words.
Tears of confusion and heartbreak welled in Aidan’s eyes as he struggled to process the depths of his sister’s darkness.
“You killed him,” Aidan repeated, his voice breaking, shaking his head as if in disbelief. “You killed him... you killed Alma too…”
“You are forgetting one more person…” she said with a smirk.
“I killed Lancelot, Finn’s father,” she spat.
“What!” Finn snapped as he growled in anger and the chains on him broke.
Finn rushed to where she was and then suddenly a huge man appeared from the shadows and grabbed Finn by his neck.
“Finn!” I screamed in agony.