Chapter 3: The Underworld Devil

The countdown to the engagement turned the Hayes mansion into an absolute warzone. Chloe’s rage peaked, and Aria’s daily existence became a grueling test of survival. Her body was bruised, and her chore list doubled, yet she never shed a single tear. No matter how brutal the treatment, Aria maintained a cold, hauntingly calm facade. Her stoic silence only infuriated her step-sister more. Seeing that she still couldn't extract a scream of pain or a plea for mercy, Chloe refused to stop. She was determined to break Aria’s strong front, no matter what it took.

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in Country C, a completely different kind of storm was brewing.In a sky-high corporate office, standing before a floor-to-ceiling glass window overlooking the capital, Damian Vance stood like a handsome devil. His face was a mask of cold, emotionless perfection as he idly swirled a dark vintage wine in his crystal glass. His grandfather had just dropped a devastating bombshell over the phone: the old family marriage alliance had been triggered.

Damian was officially engaged to a daughter of the Hayes family.

A dark, dangerous smirk played on Damian's lips. To the legitimate corporate world, he was a giant—a shadowy tycoon who pulled the strings of the global economy from behind a curtain. But in the pitch-black shadows of the underworld, he was known by a far more terrifying title: The Ghost Reaper.

When criminals heard the name of the Ghost Reaper, their blood ran cold. He was the judge, jury, and executioner of the global syndicates. When he arrived, he burned entire syndicates to the ground and cleansed the city of rogue factions. Anyone who broke the underworld's sacred rules faced his wrath.

Just six months prior, a notorious human trafficking ring was celebrating a massive new shipment of victims in an underground bunker. Damian had strolled in completely uninvited. Dozens of assault rifles were instantly aimed at his chest, but he didn't even blink. He walked through the room as if he owned the very air they breathed, stopping right in front of the syndicate boss.

Damian had swirled his wine back then, too, asking a single, quiet question: "How does it feel to sell human lives like cattle?"

The traffickers had laughed mockingly, thinking he was a madman. But before the boss could even bark an order to shoot, a flawless, invisible silver flash sliced through the air.

A deep, fatal slit appeared across the boss's throat. No one saw how it happened. No one saw Damian move. The boss collapsed to his knees, eyes wide in absolute shock, clawing at his neck as dark blood spilled through his fingers.

A split second later, a hundreds of bullets rained down on Damian. But the Ghost Reaper didn't run. He moved like a shadow, dancing gracefully through the gunfire, a blur of lethal precision. Minutes later, the gunfire ceased. Damian stood completely untouched in the center of the room, surrounded by a mountain of lifeless bodies. That was how he earned his terrifying title.

Back in his glittering office, a sudden, wicked idea popped into Damian's head.Standing by the door, his loyal assistant, Leo, caught a glimpse of that dark smile. A shiver ran down Leo's spine. Whenever the boss smiled like that, it meant someone was about to suffer a terrible fate. Leo silently prayed to God that he wouldn't be the target.

Damian turned around, his piercing gaze locking onto his assistant. "Leo. We are heading to Valenica City. Book my private flight immediately. And before we land, leak a massive story to the global press: declare that the Vance Empire has completely collapsed into bankruptcy."Leo blinked, thoroughly confused. "Bankruptcy, sir? But your assets are—""Just do it,"

Damian commanded coldly.Within hours, news of the Vance family's sudden, catastrophic financial ruin shook the elite circles of Country C. The public was completely baffled.

The top corporate shareholders panicked, desperately trying to figure out what this underworld devil was planning. They knew he wasn't broke, but they also knew better than to question him.

No one dared to cross his path, because they knew nothing on earth could actually shake the foundations of his empire."One more thing," Damian added, loosening his silk tie. "Secure a low-budget, rundown house in a middle-class neighborhood in Valenica City. Have my custom-made clothes altered so they look cheap and worn. Strip the apartment of luxury. I want it to look like the home of a ruined man."

Damian didn't care about lavish mansions or flashy cars; to him, wealth was just a tool, and luxury was irrelevant. He was going to play the part of a penniless, broken husband perfectly. He wanted to see exactly what kind of bride the prestigious Hayes family would send to a man who had 'lost everything.'

With the trap officially set, the Ghost Reaper boarded his flight, soaring through the night sky toward Valenica City—and straight toward Aria.