People who survived the lower districts learned fast—if something unexpected happened, there was always a reason.
And right now, staring at the girl who had just appeared in front of him, John knew this wasn’t random.
She was too poised, too clean, too confident to belong here.
She wasn’t afraid. That alone was enough to set her apart.
And more importantly… she knew Vance.
John’s fingers twitched slightly inside his hoodie pocket, his mind already running through scenarios. This wasn’t good.
"You're not what I expected," the girl—Aria—had said.
John kept his face blank. "Funny. I was about to say the same thing."
Her smirk widened slightly, but her eyes remained sharp, analyzing him. Testing him.
That wasn’t something John liked.
Aria didn't move. She just stood there, watching him, waiting.
John had spent his life around people who wanted things. Some were subtle, some were blunt. Some used money. Some used threats. But in the end, they all wanted something.
The real question was what?
"You work for Cain," John guessed, keeping his voice neutral.
Aria tilted her head slightly, her long black hair catching the faint glow of a nearby streetlight. "No," she said. "But he does have an interest in me."
John didn’t like that answer. Too vague. Too careful.
"You didn’t answer my question," he said.
"And yet you already seem to know the answer."
John almost rolled his eyes. Great. She was one of those people.
The ones who spoke in half-truths and expected you to dance around them.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"Alright," John said flatly. "Let’s make this simple. Why are you following me?"
Aria’s smirk faded just slightly.
"Because I wanted to see if you were worth my time," she said.
That caught John off guard.
He didn’t let it show.
"And?" he asked.
Aria studied him for another long moment, then… shrugged. "Still deciding."
John resisted the urge to sigh. Whatever this was, it wasn’t over yet.
Aria took a step forward, closing the distance slightly.
"Let me ask you something, John," she said.
Hearing his name from her lips made him uneasy.
He hadn’t told her his name.
She knew a lot more than she was letting on.
"Alright," John said carefully. "Go ahead."
"Why didn’t you open the case?"
The question caught him off guard.
Of all the things she could have asked, that wasn’t what he expected.
John narrowed his eyes. "Would’ve been stupid."
Aria raised an eyebrow. "Most people would’ve been too curious to resist."
John shrugged. "Most people are dead because of choices like that."
That made Aria smile. Not a smirk. A real smile.
Like she was actually impressed.
"Interesting," she murmured.
John didn’t respond. He just waited.
Finally, Aria sighed. "Alright, fine. I’ll give you a straight answer."
John doubted that.
"I’m here because Cain’s people are watching you," she said. "And I wanted to see why."
John’s stomach twisted.
That wasn’t good.
At all.
He had spent his life making sure people like Cain never noticed him.
And now, somehow, he was on their radar.
That meant he had two choices.
- Figure out why—before it was too late.
- Disappear completely.
The second option wasn’t realistic. Not anymore.
"Why do they care?" John asked.
Aria sighed. "Because Vance does."
John frowned. "I don’t work for him."
"Doesn’t matter." Aria crossed her arms. "He’s seen something in you. And when people like him get curious, bad things tend to happen."
John already knew that.
"So what?" he asked. "You’re here to warn me?"
Aria hesitated for a fraction of a second.
That was all John needed.
There was something else. Something she wasn’t saying.
"I’m here to see what you’ll do next," she said instead.
John exhaled slowly. This was a game to her.
But he wasn’t playing.
"If Cain’s watching, then I don’t have a next move," John said. "I keep my head down. Just like always."
Aria’s smirk returned. "That’s what you think."
John frowned.
Before he could say anything, she turned and walked away.
Not hurried. Not cautious.
Like she already knew how this would play out.
And somehow, that bothered John more than anything else.
John stayed in the alley long after Aria had vanished into the night.
Cain was watching him.
Vance had pulled him into something he didn’t understand.
And now a girl with too much knowledge and too little fear was watching him, too.
John clenched his jaw.
This wasn’t good.
He needed answers.
And if Cain’s people were watching him anyway…
Maybe it was time to start watching them back.