?Chapter 24: Cages Made of Ghosts

                                        

                                              

Aria's POV

The room smelled like bleach and metal.
Aria blinked against the overhead light, her wrists sore, her lips cracked. Her baby kicked once  a flutter that brought tears to her eyes.
She was alive.
And the baby... still hanging on.
But for how long?
She didn't know where she was underground maybe, the windows were sealed, the air was stale, and time moved like thick molasses.
What she did know?
Ezra had come back not as the boy she once loved... but as something darker. Something broken.
⸻
Few hours later she heard the door opening, He entered with a tray of food bland oatmeal, water, prenatal vitamins. His face was thinner, his eyes more sunken. That charming grin? Gone.
"You're awake," he said softly. "Thank God."
She flinched. "Why are you doing this?"
He placed the tray on the table and sat across from her, his eyes scanning her belly like it was a prize.
"I just wanted to talk," Ezra said. "I needed time. Space. But when I heard you were with him... Voss?"
His tone dripped with venom.
"Dominic is not your concern."
"He made you his. Took what's mine."
Aria stood, shakily. "You were never there for me. You ghosted me the second I told you I was pregnant."
"I was scared," he hissed. "But I came back, didn't I? And I'm not the only one who thinks Voss is dangerous. You think this was just about me?"
She didn't have any words to say to him order than silence. 
⸻
The door opened again.
Nina walked in.
Aria's breath hitched. "What the hell—?"
Nina looked immaculate as always silk blouse, pristine heels, her gaze like ice. "I didn't think you'd end up here. But Ivan wants leverage."
"You're working with him?" Aria asked
"I'm working with whoever doesn't burn the world down."
Aria stared, realization dawning. "You were at Dominic's party. You were already in bed with them."
Nina smiled faintly. "Figuratively Not literally I still have standards."
Ezra watched silently, like he was the audience to a play he didn't understand.
"You're just a pawn," Nina said to him. "Ivan's using your obsession. He doesn't care about your baby."
Aria narrowed her eyes. "But you do? Why are you even here, Nina?"
Nina paused. For the first time, her voice dipped lower.
"Because I owe Ivan. And I've learned to survive in his shadow. But you... Dominic will come for you. I'm just not sure if it'll be love or wrath that gets here first."
⸻
Later that night, Aria woke to the sound of soft humming.
A Aged looking woman sat near the door, cross-legged, reading a book. She couldn't have been older than 65. Dark hair tied into a knot. Quiet energy. Watchful.
"Who are you?" Aria asked hoarsely.
The woman instantly glanced up. "Juliette."
"You work for Ivan?"
Juliette tilted her head. "Not exactly. I'm here to observe. To learn."
"Learn what?" Aria inquired 
Juliette offered a small smile. "What it takes to stay alive in a war of monsters."
She walked to Aria slowly, placing a warm blanket around her shoulders.
"You'll need your strength soon. He's coming."
"Dominic?"
"No." Her eyes flicked toward the ceiling, then the door. "The real one."
⸻
Alone Again
Hours passed. Or maybe days. There was no sense of time.
Aria kept thinking who was the woman, but more importantly who is the "the real one ". 
She had a bad feeling about everything. She prays Dominic find her soon before it is too late. 
Aria held her stomach, whispering to the baby, trying to stay sane. Every kick was a reminder this wasn't just about her.
She had to survive for two.
She had to keep believing that Dominic would come.
That the man who'd torn apart half the city to protect her, would burn the rest down to get her back.
But when the door creaked open again and Ezra walked in, closing it behind him...
Aria realized something.
Ezra wasn't going to let her go.
Not alive.