Free Web NovelChapter 157: The Forbidden Potion
Sometime earlier, before Gavriel had even stepped inside the mansion...
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The woman in the red gown headed straight up the grand staircase after asking Winston, in a roundabout way, where her room was located.
She had never set foot inside this mansion in her life. Because of that, she needed to be incredibly clever with her every move to avoid tripping over small details.
She knew all too well that Gavriel was not a man who could be easily fooled. One wrong move and everything would go downhill fast, so she had to play her cards carefully.
Of course, it had only been around two hours since the incident in the bathroom at the Vanderbilt Estate, and only she knew how much she had been walking on eggshells ever since.
After all, it had not been an easy task to teleport the real Aliana’s unconscious body out of there.
Time had been of the essence, forcing her to move quickly and take Aliana’s appearance by licking her blood before anyone could discover what had happened.
Demons and demonesses possessed remarkable healing abilities, but for some reason, when Diana had tried to heal herself after Aliana had viciously scratched her wrist, the wound had refused to close as quickly as it should have.
The sluggish healing left her deeply unnerved, wondering what could possibly be causing her dark magic to falter.
She knew Aliana was a special human who possessed unique abilities, which was exactly what had caught the attention of that notorious demon, Mord.
He had approached her a couple of nights ago with a dark offer she simply could not refuse.
Ever since Gavriel had brutally sliced off Diana’s nose back at The Bone Club, she had been seething with absolute rage and humiliation. To be treated like garbage after serving him for so long was a slight she could not forgive.
Because her fury could not be directed at Gavriel himself, it naturally redirected toward Aliana.
Diana wanted Aliana not only dead, but utterly destroyed in every possible sense before she died.
She knew all too well how fiercely possessive Gavriel was of his property, and how he despised anyone else touching what belonged to him.
Once defiled, he would discard a broken toy without a second thought. That cruel reality was precisely why she had agreed to the scheme.
It was a twisted, highly volatile plan that involved using a corrupt, obsessive human like Jacob to violate Aliana after Diana teleported her far away.
The destination was a hidden location where neither Gavriel nor his most skilled minions could ever trace her, protected by a powerful barrier erected specifically for this trap.
The only missing piece had been convincing Jacob to participate, a task that proved incredibly simple, as the corrupt human readily agreed the moment he realised his payment would be Aliana herself.
Diana knew that once Jacob had his fill and broke the human woman beyond repair, Mord would step in to devour Aliana’s tainted soul, bringing a definitive end to her existence.
But all of this could only succeed if Diana herself succeeded in holding Gavriel back.
They needed a small window of time, just enough to secure Aliana at that location alongside Jacob before anyone realised what had happened. freёwebnovel.com
To achieve that, Diana had first taken Diaz’s form after killing a random woman so that Gavriel wouldn’t recognise her and entered the party under a different guise.
She had purposefully kept her distance from him, fully aware of how terrifyingly perceptive and powerful the devil truly was. Mord had cast a potent concealment spell on her to suppress her demonic essence, which was the only reason she hadn’t been detected immediately.
Even with that magical protection, she had carefully steered clear of Gavriel until the perfect moment arose to ambush Aliana. ƒrēewebnovel.com
After Mord successfully distracted Cillian and Reve with the decoy, Diana was able to take Aliana’s form. She concealed her half-healed wrist beneath a pair of black gloves, believing that would prevent anyone from noticing anything suspicious.
Yet, against all odds, Gavriel had noticed.
A suffocating wave of panic rose within her chest, one she could barely control.
Still, she forced herself to keep moving forward, desperate to maintain the illusion just long enough to execute the final step of her deadly game.
Now, as she stepped inside Aliana’s designated room within the Valentine Residence, she ran straight to the walk-in closet. She skimmed rapidly through the woman’s expensive, vast lingerie collection, ultimately selecting something exceptionally lacy and provocative.
Quickly changing out of the crimson gown, she slipped into the outfit. She then grabbed a robe to cover her wrist and paused before the mirror, a smirk curling across her lips.
Even though she currently wore Aliana’s face, she had seen the intensity that burned in Gavriel’s eyes whenever he looked at the woman.
As jealous as she was of that fact, she found herself more than willing to remain in this form if it meant getting to sleep with him again. Her thighs clenched in tight anticipation, as wetness pooled between her legs at the mere thought of his touch.
But simply looking the part was not enough.
She still had to execute her final move to possess him completely.
Quickly making her way over to the suite’s mini-fridge, she pulled open a bottle of expensive red wine and poured two generous glasses.
Once the wine was set, she extended her hand, summoning a small vial filled with a swirling, pitch-black liquid.
Triumph gleamed in her eyes as she carefully uncorked it and poured half of its contents into one of the glasses before swirling the wine to ensure it mixed properly.
With a flick of her wrist, the vial vanished into thin air.
She eyed the crimson glass with a devious smirk.
’This... this will make him forget everything about that human woman and make him fall for me instead.’
Diana knew that this potion was far from ordinary.
It was one of the most potent concoctions ever created in the Underworld, specifically designed to work on high-ranking demons. Not only did it erase memories of previous romantic attachments, but the first person the victim laid eyes on after consuming it would become the object of an all-consuming obsession.
It was precisely because of how dangerous it was that the potion had been outlawed even in a place as ruthless as the Underworld.
Yet somehow, Mord had managed to obtain it.
And now, so had Diana.
Since her nose could never be regenerated after being severed by Gavriel’s powers, she had no intention of returning to her original appearance. Instead, she planned to remain in Aliana’s form forever.
The real Aliana would disappear from the world without a trace, and with Gavriel’s memories wiped clean, he would never question her absence or go searching for her.
That would allow Diana to permanently take Aliana’s place.
In public. In private. Everywhere.
Carefully setting the tainted glass down on the vanity, her ears suddenly picked up those distinctive footsteps echoing down the hallway. The sound made her heart shudder in intense excitement.
And then, without a single knock or a word asking for permission, the bedroom door finally swung open.
