Viella’s POV

What felt like years finally came to a stop.

The car engine went silent, and I heard the faint sound of a door opening.

"Bring that potion box from the trunk," Alina’s voice ordered. Her heels clicked against the gravel as she walked away.

Potion box??

My eyes darted around the dark space-oh great, there was a box right beside me. Probably the one she meant.

...Trunk.

Oh, fuuuck.

Before I could even breathe, the lock clicked.

I froze.

Then-light.

The trunk lifted open, and I found myself staring up at some random guy who definitely didn’t sign up to find a woman hiding inside his boss’s trunk.

His eyes widened, mouth opening to say something-

Too late.

I jabbed my hand at his neck, twisting the way I’d seen in some martial arts YouTube video.

Thud.

He went down like a sack of potatoes.

I blinked.

Holy crap.

Did I just... knock him out?

I stared at my hands.

"Okay, Viella. Maybe you were a black belt in your past life," I muttered proudly, before realizing I just assaulted a random man in the middle of nowhere.

Peeking out of the trunk, I climbed out quietly. The night air hit me-cold

I straightened up, brushing the dust off my dress, and looked around.

It was the backside of some mansion-

Wait...

why does this place feel so familiar?

But it was too dark to tell.

Before anyone could notice, I turned back to check on the guy I’d knocked out-still face down on the ground

"Night-night, unknown guy,"

I whispered. Then I peeked into the trunk again.

Right. The "potion box" Alina had asked for.

Because clearly she wasn’t planning a midnight tea party.

I grabbed one of the glass vials, cold, and tucked it inside my pocket. "Mine now," I muttered. "For... research purposes."

Then I crept into the house, praying no one noticed

"Where the hell did this girl go?" I hissed, tiptoeing down the hallway.

"Who even keeps their mansion this dark?" I muttered again. "Oh, right. Psychopaths. Obviously."

A faint sound-low voices-caught my attention. I followed it, pressing myself against the cold wall.

I leaned closer. Just as I was about to peek in-

---

Meanwhile -

"I told you," Dante’s voice was low, smooth. "She’s not that dumb. She’s the girl who faked her own death and now fooled an entire mansion full of guards."

Lucian snorted from his seat, swirling his drink. "Yeah? Then where’d she get that brain from? Last time I checked, she once spent three hours trying to microwave a metal fork."

Dante’s lips curved, not into a smile but something far more dangerous. "You underestimate her."

Lucian raised a brow. "You overestimate her."

Dante’s smirk deepened. "No. I watch her. Closely. Every twitch, every lie, every breath she takes. In fact I intentionally let her escape to see how far she can go."

Lucian blinked. "Okay, creepy, but go off."

Dante ignored him, his voice dropping lower. "My little mouse thinks she’s smart enough to sneak out of my cage. But she forgets..." he paused, picking up his coat, "I built the cage around her."

Lucian groaned, running a hand through his hair. "And here we go again with your dramatic mafia poetry."

"Call it whatever you want," Dante said, buttoning his cuffs with eerie calm. "But she’s mine, Lucian. She just hasn’t realized it yet."

Lucian laughed lightly. "You sound like one of those obsessive male leads from Viella’s romance novels."

Dante turned, his gaze sharp through the screen showing the CCTV footage-Viella, sneaking barefoot down the hallway

"I’m worse," Dante said simply. "Because I don’t need a plot twist to find her."

Lucian leaned back, watching the footage as Dante started walking toward the door. "Don’t be too hard on her, yeah?"

Dante stopped in the doorway, his voice darkly amused. "Hard?" He tilted his head slightly, a cold smile tugging at his lips. "Lucian, I invented hard."

And with that, he walked out-

Lucian sighed, sipping his drink as he replayed the footage one more time.

"Guess the little mouse walked straight into the lion’s den," he murmured.

Then he grinned. "This is gonna be fun."

---

Viella’s POV

"So," Alina’s voice came, "you checked that cursed book?"

There was a pause. Then came a man’s voice-low, calm, lazy menace that sent chills down my spine.

"Yeah," he said, "I did. But it’s strange... no matter what I do the book refuses to be destroyed."

Alina slammed her hand against the table. "You’re the fucking writer! How can you have no control over your own creation?!"

Writer?

My breath hitched.

"I burned those pages," she hissed, her tone cracking with panic. "I ripped them apart, I tore them into ashes-yet it appears again! Every single time! Mocking me!"

"Lower your voice, Alina," the man replied, his voice turning dangerously quiet. "You’re testing my patience."

"I don’t care!" she screamed, voice echoing through the dark hall. "Do you even understand what’s happening?! That story was mine-my life, my love, my ending! But she-she-ruined everything!"

I froze behind the door.

She... she couldn’t be talking about me, right?

The air felt heavy. I could barely breathe. Slowly, I leaned forward, peeking through the tiny slit between the door.

There she was-Alina-her back tense, Hair messy. In front of her sat a man, half his face hidden with some mask, a dim light flickering over his face. He held a book in his hand.

My stomach dropped.

That book.

That goddamn book.

The same one I read in my world before I got thrown here.

The same cursed thing that ruined my peaceful life from Vivian to Viella

The man turned a page slowly, his tone now calm.

"You keep blaming her, but don’t forget-it was you who crossed the line first, Alina.You were impatient exactly like the way you are right now"

Alina’s voice shook with rage. "Because I was meant to have it all! This story-it was supposed to be about me! The fame, the power, Dante-all of it! Why did she appear here? Why did she crossover when it should’ve been only me?! Dante is obsessed with her even that old hang loves her not me!"

My entire body went numb.

Crossover...?

No way.

No way-she was-

Alina wasn’t a pure, sweet heroine, I knew that but didn’t expect...

she was a transmigrator too.

I clutched my chest to quiet my heartbeat.

Everything I thought I knew everything-

Then-

"Viella."

The man’s voice broke the silence.

I froze.

That slow, deliberate sound of my name rolling off his tongue- only one person says my name like that..

I swallowed hard, trying to see his face to confirm it

But before I could, Alina snapped again, trembling.

"She ruined it! All of it! I tried to erase her, but she keeps coming back-no matter how many times I change the plot, the story rewrites itself around her! Can’t we just... restart? Start everything over again?"

My eyes widened.

Restart?

Go back...?

Could they actually reset this world?

The man chuckled darkly, shutting the book with a sharp thud.

"Be careful what you wish for, Alina. Every time you rewrite fate, it takes something in return."

Alina went quiet. Too quiet.

My fingers trembled. What the hell were they planning? What kind of deal was this?

Then the man leaned forward slightly, voice dipping low enough to sound almost intimate.

"Tell me something, Alina..." he murmured. "If I gave you the chance to erase her completely-would you take it?"

The silence that followed made my blood turn cold.

And then-Alina whispered, her voice barely human anymore-

"Yes."

My heart stopped.

I backed away, hand over my mouth to keep from gasping.

Oh no. Oh no.

Whatever they were planning...

It wasn’t just about rewriting the story.

It was about erasing me.

I tried to calm myself down and peaked again

"What about the potions I gave you?" the man’s smooth voice came

Alina’s frustrated tone snapped back

"Those shits don’t work at all! I didn’t waste a single drop! I mixed them perfectly in his tea, and at first it worked-but then everything stopped! He doesn’t even look at me anymore!"

My hand twitched over the small glass vial hidden in my pocket.

Potion... tea... my brain started connecting pieces

Wait.

Was she talking about this potion?

My heart pounded

Is that why Dante was obsessed with her at first?

Everything-every twisted turn, every strange behavior-started clicking together.

"Fuck," I whispered under my breath. "Everything makes sense now..."

"That’s why," the man continued

"I told you to bring them back."

"I did!" Alina hissed. "Wait-where’s that fucking man I told to bring them? What’s taking him so long. I swear your mens are useless"

Her sharp heels clicked against the floor as she turned toward the doorway-

and that’s when I saw it.

Those eyes.

The man sitting in the shadows had shifted just slightly, and his gaze landed straight on me-unblinking, sharp.

My blood ran cold.

No. No no no.

I stumbled back instinctively-my elbow hitting the wall, my grip loosening.

The potion slipped from my fingers and crashed onto the floor.

CRACK.

The glass shattered, the smell of something bitter and metallic filling the air.

For a moment, time froze.

Then-

"Who’s there?!" Alina’s voice tore through the silence, sharp and furious.

Shit.

I could already hear the rapid footsteps-her heels clicking against the marble.

My heart kicked

Run.

I didn’t think-I just ran.

The echo of her voice chased me through the dark hall like a curse.

"Guards!! Find who was here just now!!"

My breath came out in ragged bursts as I sprinted down the corridor,

I turned the corner, gasping.

Shadows stretched long across the floor.

And behind me, I heard the same calm, unsettling voice once again-quiet but clear..

"Found you."

Before I could face him... everything went dark.

The faint light flickering through the hallway vanished-

My breath hitched. My eyes darted around, but all I could see was black. The only thing I could feel was my own heartbeat hammering

And then-

A voice.

Right beside my ear.

Low. Smooth.

Almost like a whisper

"Shh..."

I froze.

"Run away like a good girl," he murmured, breath brushing against my skin , "before Alina and my man catch you."

His tone shifted, a cruel amusement

"It would be a pity to end the game this soon."

The warm, faintest touch of breath ghosted across the back of my neck.

"But I’ll see you very soon, dolcezza..."

My entire body shivered. Every instinct screamed run, but my legs wouldn’t move.

Then-footsteps. Slowly fading. His presence... gone.

Almost.

I could still feel it-the weight of his stare lingering.

"Did you catch that bitch who tried to sneak around?" Alina’s sharp voice cut through the silence.

His laughter followed. "It was probably just a kitten, Alina. You’re thinking too much. No one can enter my mansion without my permission."

I froze mid-breath.

His mansion.

That one sentence sent chills crawling down my spine.

So it was him.

The man behind everything.

The one pulling the strings since the start.

He wanted me here

He wanted me to hear every word.

He wanted me to know.

"F-fuck..." I breathed, trembling as the realization hit.

No more hesitation. I bolted-barefoot,

I didn’t dare look back.

Because if I did...

I had the terrible feeling I’d see him smiling in the dark.

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TO BE CONTINUED