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BONUS CHAPTER 10: BEHIND THE GLASS ARIA’S CHILDHOOD

last update Last Updated: 2025-08-01 08:29:11

~ARIA~

THE NIGHT SHE LEARNED THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SILENCE AND DEATH

~~~~~

It started with glass.

Thick. Reinforced. Almost unbreakable.

Aria was six the first time she stood behind it, a one-way mirror, tall as the ceiling, sealed into the training hall her father used to test loyalty.

The room on the other side was dim. Metallic. Smelled of oil and blood. Her small fingers pressed against the cold surface, leaving faint smudges. She didn’t know what she was watching yet. Only that Don Victor Valente had told her to stay quiet. "Watch and remember."

She obeyed.

Two men stood across from each other in the room. One wore a blindfold. The other held a knife. They said nothing. Didn’t move. For a long time.

Then the order came: "Begin."

It was over in twenty seconds.

Steel flashed. The blindfolded man dropped to his knees. Then his chest. Then silence.

Aria didn't cry.

She didn't flinch.

She asked: "Why was he blindfolded?"

Her father’s voice, calm: "So he would only hear the footsteps
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