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"And what exactly have you done to earn it?

" I countered. "Besides exist as Jan's biological daughter?

Besides feeding Blackwood's appetite with your hatred and bitterness toward me?

" I gestured toward the demon, who was watching our exchange with obvious enjoyment.

"Look at him, Stephany. He's feeding on this right now.

On your anger, your fear, your spite. This is what's been happening all these years, he's been nurturing your worst impulses, making you believe that hating me was justified. "

The tension between us crackled like electricity, a standoff with no clear resolution in sight. Stephany's words hung in the air between us, sharp and poisonous. I held my ground, refusing to shrink or apologize for simply wanting to be part of my own family.

"Stephany! That's enough!"

Jan's voice cut through the heated atmosphere like a blade. I turned to see her striding toward us across the pool deck, my father at her side. Their expressions were identical masks of concern and determination.

"Mom?" Stephany's voice held a note of surprise and uncertainty.

But Jan wasn't looking at her daughter. Her gaze was fixed on Blackwood, recognition and old familiarity evident in her eyes. There was no shock at his demonic appearance, no horror at the supernatural creature towering over her daughter. Only a weary sort of resignation.

"I see you've decided to show your true self," Jan’s voice was steady. "After all these years in the shadows."

Blackwood inclined his massive horned head, a mockery of respect. "Circumstances demanded it. Your daughter has been entertaining herself by exposing secrets not hers to reveal."

Jan's gaze shifted to me, then to Aldaine who remained protectively at my side. "And you. You're like him."

It wasn't a question. Aldaine nodded once, not bothering to deny it.

Jan turned to me then, her expression softening in a way I'd never seen before. "Rosie, do you know what you're getting into with him? With a demon contract? "

I felt Aldaine tense beside me, but I squeezed his hand reassuringly. "I know enough."

"These contracts," Jan continued, her voice taking on an urgency that surprised me. "They drain you, Rosie. Your energy, your essence. Your soul. I've lived with one for decades. It's like a slow bleed you don't even notice until you're nearly empty."

"My contract with Rosie is not like that," Aldaine interjected, steady and sure.

"They all say that," Jan countered, but without hostility. "They promise you everything you want, but the cost is always higher than you expect."

Dad stepped forward then, putting his arm around Jan's shoulders. The gesture was protective, supportive. A united front I'd never seen from them before.

"I had no idea about any of this," he looked between Blackwood and Aldaine with wide eyes. "No idea what was happening in my own home."

"That was by design," Blackwood rumbled. "Jan's contract specifically included keeping you in the dark."

"Which I now regret," Jan sighed. "Among many things."

Stephany made a sound of disgust. "Mom, what are you doing? Why are you treating her like she deserves an explanation? She's the intruder here, not us!"

"Enough, Stephany," Jan's voice was sharper than I'd ever heard it. "Your sister deserves more than explanations. She deserves an apology from all of us, me most of all."

The word "sister" sent a jolt through me. Not "your stepsister" or "Denis's daughter" but simply "sister." It felt like a gift, unexpected and precious.

I stood straighter, emboldened by Jan's words. I looked directly at Aldaine, at the demon who had become so much more than a contract to me. His eyes held mine, warm and steady despite the tension surrounding us. I reached for his hand, twining my fingers through his.

"I know exactly what I'm getting into," I addressed Jan but kept my gaze on Aldaine. "I've made my choice with open eyes."

Jan studied us for a long moment, then nodded slowly. "I believe you." She turned to Blackwood, her expression hardening. "As for you."

Blackwood's burning eyes narrowed. "Careful, Jan. Remember who holds your contract."

"No," Jan shook her head. "You don't. Not anymore."

For the first time, Blackwood looked uncertain. "What are you talking about? Our agreement.."

"I know you transferred our contract to Stephany on her last birthday," Jan cut him off. "I felt it happen. The weight lifting from me, settling onto her."

Stephany paled visibly. "Mom? You shouldn't have known."

Jan ignored her, keeping her focus on Blackwood. "I wanted to thank you, actually. For everything you've done for my family over the generations. And to tell you that I want to release you from your contract with the Thompsons."

"Release me?" Blackwood's voice was suddenly very quiet.

"Yes. I know it's what you've wanted for decades now. To be free of us. Of this arrangement that's bound you for too long."

Something flashed across Blackwood's face then, an emotion so complex and unexpected that it took me a moment to recognize it. Vulnerability. Perhaps even gratitude.

He turned to look at Stephany, who was watching the exchange with dawning horror. The smirk that had played on her lips throughout our confrontation began to fade as Blackwood's burning gaze settled on her .

"It's too late for that, Jan," his rumbling voice oddly gentle. "Stephany broke the contract a while ago."

"What?" Stephany's voice rose an octave. "That's not possible! I did everything you asked!"

Blackwood shook his massive head. "Not everything, child. The terms were clear. The firstborn female of each generation must honor the binding. Must feed me with their stronger emotions and, most importantly, must remain true to the bloodline."

"I am true to the bloodline!" Stephany protested. "I'm Jan's daughter!"

"Yes," Blackwood agreed. "But our contract specifies that you must marry within certain parameters to ensure the continuation of my sustenance. Parameters you've ignored."

"That's ridiculous! I'm marrying Roger in three months!”

"Roger," something in Blackwood’s tone made my blood run cold. "Your soon-to-be husband. He's a pathetic excuse of a human being. He has no ambition to grow the family's fortune. All he does is drink, drain his family's bank account, and cheat on you with random women."

Stephany's eyes widened and her mouth dropped. "What...?"

"Your precious Roger," Blackwood continued, his voice like gravel sliding over steel, "makes our contract void. A man with no drive, no ambition beyond his next drink and his next conquest? This is who you've chosen to bring into the bloodline?"

I watched Stephany's face drain of color. Her perfectly manicured hands trembled at her sides.

"That's not..he wouldn't!" she stammered, but the protest died on her lips. Something like recognition flickered across her features. She knew. Deep down, she'd always known what Roger was.

"A man who services the housemaid in your bed while you're shopping.

Who transferred half a million dollars to his personal account last month alone.

Who has no intention of ever working a day in his life.

" Blackwood's burning eyes seemed to look straight through her.

"This is the man you would make the patriarch of this family? "

Stephany's shoulders hunched forward slightly, making her look smaller than I'd ever seen her. "I can find someone else," her voice tight with desperation. "We can renegotiate."

Blackwood considered her for a long moment, his massive form towering over her. "We could," he agreed, surprising everyone. "If I wished to continue our arrangement."

"And you don't?" Stephany's voice cracked.

"I have served your family for generations," Blackwood said, something like weariness entering his voice. "I have fed on your emotions, guided your decisions, watched you live and die in this house. And I find myself tired." He spread his clawed hands. "It is time for me to return to my realm."

I felt Aldaine shift beside me, a subtle movement of recognition. Whatever Blackwood was saying, it meant something significant to him.

"But," Stephany looked stricken. "What about us? What about the house, the money?"

"Ah," Blackwood's mouth stretched into what might have been a smile on a human face. "I am not without mercy. I will offer you a parting gift, Stephany Thompson."

Jan took a step forward, her face tight with anxiety. "Blackwood."

He held up a hand, silencing her. "You may keep your status, your wealth. You need not lose everything." His burning gaze fixed on Stephany once more. "But you must leave this estate. Take your useless fiancé and go. Never return to this place."

"Leave?" Stephany's voice rose to a near-shriek. "This is my home! You can't just.."

"I can," Blackwood cut her off, his voice reverberating with power. "And I will. These are my terms. Accept them, or I take your soul with me when I depart this realm. Your choice."

Stephany's mouth snapped shut, her face a mask of fury and fear.

Jan moved closer, placing a tentative hand on Blackwood's massive arm. "What about me?" she asked quietly. "Our agreement?"

"Is concluded," he finished for her, but his tone softened almost imperceptibly. "You may remain here. The house is yours, as it always was."

Relief washed over Jan's features, but uncertainty quickly replaced it. "And Stephany?"

"She will make her own way, as humans do." Blackwood looked down at Jan with something almost like tenderness. "You may maintain contact, of course. But never again will you provide financial support. She must stand on her own, or fall."

Jan nodded slowly, understanding and acceptance in her eyes.

My father moved to stand beside her, his arm around her shoulders. He looked overwhelmed but determined. "This is all a lot to take in," his voice unsteady. "But thank you for watching over my wife for all these years."

I felt a rush of warmth at his words. For all his faults, all his absences, he was choosing to stay and fight for his wife. Maybe there was hope for him yet.

Stephany's face had gone through a kaleidoscope of emotions as she listened to her fate being decided. Now it settled into a cold mask of resignation.

"Fine," she spat, arms crossed tightly across her chest. "I accept your terms. Roger and I will leave." Her gaze flicked to me, hatred burning in her eyes. "I hope you're happy now."

"This isn't about me," I shrugged. "It never was."

Blackwood nodded, apparently satisfied with Stephany's acceptance. "The contract is severed, then. You have three days to remove yourselves from the premises."

"My engagement party ends in three days," Stephany protested.

"Then I suggest you make alternative arrangements," Blackwood replied without sympathy.

He turned away from her dismissively, his attention shifting to Jan. The transformation in his demeanor was striking. The harshness, the cold authority melted away, replaced by something almost gentle.

"Jan," he spoke her name softly, with a familiarity that spoke of decades of connection. "You have been unexpected."

Jan's smile was sad but genuine. "As have you. All these years."

Blackwood reached out one massive clawed hand and, with surprising delicacy, brushed a strand of hair from Jan's face. "Most humans fear me. Resent me. You never did."

"I understood the bargain," she replied simply. "And you kept your word."

"As did you."

I watched this exchange with growing bewilderment. There was history here, deep and complex, that I couldn't begin to understand. Jan and Blackwood weren't just bound by a contract; they had developed something like respect, maybe even affection, across the decades.

Blackwood leaned down, his towering form bending until his face was level with Jan's. With a gentleness that seemed impossible from such a fearsome creature, he pressed his lips to her cheek.

"You were my favorite," he whispered, the words clearly meant for her alone, though the stillness of the moment carried them to all of us.

Jan's eyes glistened with unshed tears. She reached up and placed her palm against the side of his face, a gesture of farewell between old friends, or perhaps something that could have been more in the past.

"Be well, in whatever realm you choose," her shoulders bowed as she held in a sniffle.

Blackwood straightened and turned, his burning gaze sweeping across all of us before settling on Aldaine. A silent communication seemed to pass between the demons, culminating in a slight nod from Blackwood.

Aldaine returned the gesture, his hand tightening around mine.

For a moment, I thought I saw a flicker of surprise in Blackwood's eyes as he observed our linked hands.

Then, without another word, the massive demon began to fade from view, his form dissolving into mist and shadow until nothing remained but a lingering scent of smoke and spice.

The silence that followed was absolute. We all stood frozen, processing what had just happened, the monumental shift that had occurred in all our lives in the span of minutes.

Stephany was the first to break. With a strangled sound that was half-sob, half-scream, she whirled and stalked back toward the house, her heels clicking furiously against the pool deck.