CHAPTER 336: THE ROTTEN ’EMPIRE’

Aria had never thought this day would come as she sat in the theatre with Vivian, Crystal and Ethan.

Not only was she going to rebel against her father, she was planning to confront him to save other innoceny people from his clutches.

She felt butterflies in her stomach akin to the first performance she ever had. She was undeniably nervous but she was grateful to her friends.

Ethan and Vivian in particular were the ones with the most to lose here yet they had decided to help her with no hesitation.

As the adopted children of her Dad’s Head of Security, they had been trained to be Father’s ’hunting dogs’. Now they had turned on their master and if they failed.... their fates would be worse than death.

’No. I can’t think like that!’

Aria lightly slapped her cheeks to focus. She couldn’t be negative like this if she wanted to succeed.

Crystal gently placed a hand on Aria’s knee, grounding her.

"You okay?" she whispered.

Aria nodded, inhaling slowly. "I will be. Just... nerves."

Ethan sat a few seats down, checking his watch for the third time in a minute. His usual high strung personality had kicked into overdrive when he heard from Crystal that this ’event’ would be over in about half an hour.

Vivian took another casual swig of wine from the bottle before she spoke again with her legs draped over the seat in front of her like they were still at some high school movie night.

"Alright. Let’s go over the plan one more time. Ms. Blindfold and Aria are going to go confront Mr. Eversong directly while Ethan goes to the security office and gets copies of the camera recordings."

Ethan grimaced a bit before he frowned snd shot back.

"Fine. Then what are you going to do?"

The corner of Vivians lips curled up into a cold smirk.

"I am going to go beat up the asshole we were forced to call ’Father’."

Ethan rolled his eyes at her but didn’t say anything against it. If ajyone had a chance against him, it was her.

"Just try to not make too much noise, okay?"

He asked after a moment but he already knew the answer

Vivian shrugged, swirling the wine like it was fine champagne. "No promises. I’m not the subtle type. Never was and never will be."

Aria couldn’t help but smile, even if it was small and fleeting. Somehow, the absurdity of Vivian casually sipping wine just before going out on a mission that was borderline suicidal made the whole thing feel... possible.

She stood up and straightened her jacket.

"Then let’s do this."

They each nodded in turn. No more waiting. No more running. It was time to put the plan in motion.

Aria and Crystal nodded at each other before they stood up and started walking. They left the theatre area and began walking deeper into the building where the foul stench of drugs mixed with alcohol hung in the air.

Crystal wrinkled her nose but said nothing. Her senses were sharp, alert, scanning every hallway and shadow as they moved with her hand tightly wrapped around the hilt of her sword, ready for any danger that may jump out at them.

Aria kept close to her, trying not to let the weight in her chest slow her steps. Every door they passed, every muffled noise behind the walls, reminded her of how rotten her father’s business empire truly was. It made her stomach turn, but it also hardened her resolve.

Somewhere in this building, her father sat comfortably. Powerful. Untouchable. But not for much longer.

Crystal finally spoke in a low voice.

"We’re getting close."

Aria nodded. "I know."

They turned a corner and came to a wide hallway flanked by ornate doors. The opulence here was stark compared to the filth they’d just walked through. Gold-trimmed fixtures, deep red carpets, paintings of old myths and fake legacies lined the walls. A sick parody of nobility.

Aria’s hands clenched into fists at her sides.

How many people had suffered for this? How many had been used, discarded, or silenced to build this empire of lies?

Was he really so hungry for power that he would ruin lives without hesitation?

She grit her teeth, her chest tight with disgust and anger. Crystal slowed beside her and gave her a silent look. A question. Aria nodded once.

Crystal pulled out a keycard from her coat and swiped it across the security panel.

The doors slid open.

Noise spilled out immediately. Loud, pulsing music that was more noise than melody. Lights strobed through the air, bathing the grand ballroom in artificial color. The scent of perfume, sweat, alcohol, and something darker hit Aria like a wave.

She stepped inside and felt like she had entered a nightmare.

The room was massive. Crystal chandeliers flashed overhead, casting chaotic reflections off the marble floor. Bodies danced and staggered across the room in a frenzy of indulgence.

People she recognized from news articles and magazines were here. Politicians, musicians, actors. All of them lost in some form of excess.

Some were laughing with glazed eyes as they poured wine onto each other and rolled around on couches. Others leaned into dark corners, exchanging pills and money. In the center of it all, a famous singer was screaming into a microphone, her voice digitized and twisted into something monstrous. Her costume was barely there, and her body moved with a hypnotic rhythm that made Aria recoil.

This wasn’t a party. It was a display of rot. A celebration of decay.

Aria’s stomach turned.

She saw waitstaff walking around with trays of pills instead of food. A man in a silk robe sat on a golden throne, surrounded by unconscious women. A group of guests were filming some sort of twisted performance on stage that she didn’t want to look at any closer.

And above it all, in a high balcony, he watched.

Gerard Eversong. Her father. Dressed in white with a smug expression, he sat on a velvet chair with a glass of wine in one hand and a woman in the other. His expression was calm. Amused. Like a king watching his kingdom burn exactly the way he wanted it to.

Aria couldn’t stay silent.

Her body moved before she realized it. Her wings erupted from her back, feathers shining with a furious glow. The shock of their sudden appearance blew papers and drinks off nearby tables, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

She rose into the air, her wings beating once, twice, hard enough to send gusts of wind rippling through the room.

She opened her mouth.

"GERARD!"

Her voice rang out like a cannon blast.

The music screeched to a halt as the speakers exploded in a shower of sparks. Glasses shattered. Lights cracked and flickered. A ringing silence followed, pierced only by gasps and screams as guests stumbled back, shielding their ears.

Her father stood up slowly from his balcony, brushing down his coat before glaring at her.

"Who the fuck are you?!"