Chapter One: The Coming

"He is coming."

Wills Adams whispered the words as he stumbled down the stairs, heavy sweat dripping down his forehead. His clothes were soaked with sweat and they clung to his body as his eyes darted around like a madman being haunted. 

“I shouldn’t have gone to that devil for help. Now I have to live in worry and fear. I have also put my family into this big mess.”

He continued walking down the steps of the mansion with unsteady movements, holding the railing for support.

Suddenly, a touch landed on his shoulder.

Wills convulsed vigorously, a strained yelp ripping from his throat. But when he spun around, it was only his wife.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he sat down at the last step of the staircase. 

Rose's face was etched with worry as she voiced out. “Wills, what is going on? Did something bad happen?”

He didn't answer. He seemed unable to. His breathing labored faster, his hands trembling and clasped together as if saying his last prayer for what was to come.

“Wills, what is wrong? You are scaring me.” Rose grabbed him by both shoulders as she shook him lightly to bring him out of his reverie. 

He soon regained his senses, stood up and walked to the dining hall. His back hunched as if he had aged overnight. He sunk into a dining chair and looked at his wife.

Rose followed behind him, her steps frail with dread and when she got close to him, he grabbed her hands tightly.

“Ivan Vladimir. He is coming for us.”

Rose froze, her breath caught in her throat and her face reddened in her instant.

"No," her voice quivered, barely recognizable. “Wills…no. He promised us a month, he said…”

Before Rose could finish, soft footsteps resonated and a slender figure emerged from the shadow. Ellen Adams blinked at her parents' plight down below: her parents ridden with fear, her mother’s hand pressed close to her mouth and her father’s figure hunched like a broken man.

She raised her brows in confusion. "What’s going on?" 

Neither of them answered. The only response was the howling of the wind. 

She slowly descended the stairs and walked towards her parents. She asked again, her curiosity piqued. “What’s going on?”

Wills and Rose looked at each other, telling one another through thier eyes that it was time to tell thier daughter the truth. 

Rose hesitated briefly, glancing at her husband. She sighed then spoke, “We… borrowed money from someone dangerous to save the company.”

Ellen raised her eyebrows and questioned, “What kind of money and from whom?”

“A hundred billion. From Ivan Vladimir the CEO of BSC Company.” Wills looked up at his daughter.

“What?!" Ellen's jaw dropped. "And you didn’t think of informing me?” 

“We didn’t want to bother you and besides, the company was falling apart. The money we borrowed revived the company.” Rose sighed as she looked at her daughter.

“I would have looked through my contacts…” 

“No one would lend you such an amount.  After all, you are a college student.” Wills sighed. All this was his fault. If he had managed the company properly, casualties like this wouldn’t  have happened.

Ellen hauled back, her anxiety rising but worry overtook it. “So why panic now? Is he coming today? 

Wills tightly pulled his hair. “Yes. Today.”

Ellen rolled her eyes, completely ignorant. “Then tell him you haven't gathered enough yet.”

Her parents exchanged a look of disbelief.

“You don’t know that devil, Ellen.” Rose said quietly. “Ivan Vladimir doesn't forgive debt. He collects them. All of them. One way or another.” 

Ellen’s face tightened, she didn't understand their fear but a memory flashed.

“The messages…” She mumbled.

Wills looked up almost immediately. “What messages?”

Ellen paused. “About the company. I got messages from a strange number telling me the company was facing bankruptcy. I treated it as spam.”

Rose went pale.

“It kept calling too,” Ellen added. “Threatening me for information.”

She rubbed her arms, suddenly frightened. “Ricardo helped me block the number.”

Wills's stomach somersaulted.

Someone had been watching them. Someone close.  

“And the news article,” Ellen continued. “Celine showed me at school about the company almost collapsing. I didn't believe it and laughed it off. I thought you two would have told me if something was wrong.”

Her voice quivered on the last word.

She had ignored every sign. Every warning. 

“If the messages and news weren't a coincidence,” she continued, “... then someone was leaking information. Someone inside your company, Dad.” 

“A mole…” Wills's eyes widened in realization. “I’ll investigate.” 

Rose suddenly spruced up. “Ellen, go to your room. Now. Before he arrives.”

“Yes.” Wills urged. “It’s safer upstairs."

Ellen shook her head, her jaw tightening. “I’m not hiding. I’m staying right here. I want to see what this bastard thinks he can do.”

Wills opened his mouth to persuade his daughter.

But then the lights flickered. 

The wind howled.

A cold gust swept through the hall, making the mansion a degree colder.

Footsteps echoed.

It was slow, controlled and deadly.

The devil reincarnate had arrived.