A bloodstained legacy

Some light was lost with her… a series of curses written in a book passed down through generations of that cursed family in a world filled with filthy blood, unjustified killing, and senseless torture.

The House of De Valerian: The Cursed Family

“She pulled the curtain open, allowing the sunlight to kiss the eyelids of that girl.”

Rosalia (the grandmother): Mariaaa! You’re way too late! Girls of House De Valerian should never wake up at this hour!

Maria: Ughhh Grandma!!! (She pulls the blanket over her head to block the morning sun)

Rosalia (trying to tug the blanket away while Maria holds onto it): Mariaaa! (She sits on the edge of the bed) I give up! I give up!

Maria (revealing her face with a smile): Good morning, Grandma! Hehehe.

Rosalia (smiling back): Good morning, Maria! Take a look at the time! 🙂

Maria 😱: Only fifteen minutes left before the first class starts!!! (She jumps up and turns to Rosalia) Grandma, who are the De Valerian girls? Aren’t I the only one? 🙂

Rosalia (sighs): I don’t know!! I don’t know!! Every morning you drive me mad with your strange questions just to wake you up!

Maria: Alright, alright, Grandma.

Rosalia: Yes?

Maria: Get out of my room 🙂 I need to get dressed.

Rosalia (laughs mischievously as she leaves the room): I used to change your diapers, Miss Maria!!!

Maria: Ew, disgusting...

“Maria put on her school uniform: a blue dress with a black ribbon hidden under the dress covering her white shirt. She rushed out, descending the marble staircase of the mansion, got into the luxurious car driven by their elderly chauffeur, and arrived in front of her high school.”

A loud gunshot!!

A bullet pierced Maria’s shoulder!!

A scream from the other side!

“She’s your daughter, you idiot!!!!”

His hand trembled for a moment. For the first time, he didn’t finish his target with one shot. He tucked his weapon away and vanished, as if he was never there—disappearing behind his black mask.

“In front of the ICU window”

Aaron (Maria’s uncle, clenching his fist so tightly his nails pierce his palm and blood drips): I’ll kill him! How dare he!!

Dominar (Maria’s grandfather): Shut your mouth… You can’t do anything to him!

Aaron: He became a monster because of you!!

Dominar (silent for a moment): Because of me? … No. He’s just a true De Valerian—unlike you. (tries to light a cigarette) Ugh, not the right place.

Aaron: What do you mean by that?!

Dominar: As long as that curse exists, he won’t stop his mad killing!

Before Dominar could continue, a woman dressed in black interrupted him.

Valerka: I can stop that curse.

Dominar (laughs): You can’t do anything! Anyway... (pauses) I’m going out for a bit. (leaves)

“The doctor comes out of Maria’s room.”

Aaron: Is she alright?!

Doctor: Yes. She’s still exhausted from the bullet removal surgery, but she’ll recover. She’s out of danger. May I speak with her father?

Aaron: He’s not around. I’m her legal guardian!

Doctor: She was hit by a special kind of bullet… I mean, a high-level assassination type. You understand? We’ve already informed the police, and—

Aaron: Why would anyone assassinate a sixteen-year-old girl?!

Doctor: That’s not my job to answer. I wish her a full recovery.

Aaron: Can I go in?

Doctor: Yes, but only you. And please, no noise to disturb her. Just keep watch.

“Aaron enters and sits beside Maria quietly. In reality, he’s there to guard her… He’s sure that man will come back to finish the job.”

“Somewhere else, overlooking a mountain forest, a man stands smoking his tenth cigarette of the day, watching the greenery through the glass balcony.”

“This is the first time you’ve missed your target, Masked One!”

“Tch… I didn’t miss! Just a slight distraction.”

“That girl must die—you know that! The leader’s orders are absolute!”

“Don’t worry, this nonsense will end soon.” (He throws the cigarette and crushes it underfoot)

“Maria opened her eyes and looked beside her to find Aaron.”

Maria (weakly): Uncle…

Aaron (opens his eyes): Maria!! Are you alright?!

Maria (smiling faintly): If I were fine, I wouldn’t be here.

Aaron: Don’t worry. It’s just a small wound!

Maria: I almost died…

Aaron (her words hit him like lightning—he raised her since birth, never married, gave her everything, filled the emotional void left by their cold-hearted family): Don’t ever say that again!

Maria (silent for a moment): Who is my father?

Aaron (hesitates): We agreed not to ask that. Aren’t I enough for you?! (holds her hand) Maria, you’re my daughter—and that’s enough.

Maria (tears fall): I’ll die without knowing the name of the one who gave me life! Uncle… I love you… You and Grandma Rosalia are the only ones I love! But... I know nothing about myself!!! Sometimes… I feel like I’m going crazy! Who are my real parents?! How can something so important stay hidden from me?!

Aaron: If I tell you his name, will you stop saying this nonsense?

Maria: Yes…

Aaron: Marius.

Marius: Yes? Did you call me? (He places a gun behind Aaron’s head. His face is featureless behind the strange black mask. He whispers in Aaron’s ear) Little brother, I missed you so much. (Presses the gun harder against Aaron’s head) Drop it, you fool. (He presses with such intensity it’s as if he wants the weapon itself to penetrate Aaron’s skull without firing.)

Maria (staring in horror, her voice weak as she removes the oxygen mask): Stop it! (She tries to scream but her voice betrays her—her frail body already shattered by a professional-grade assassination bullet. Surviving was a miracle—or rather, a freak coincidence so rare it’s laughable.)

Her eyes met Marius’ behind the mask. In that instant, she understood—he was the one who shot her. The same masked shadow she saw before everything turned dark, before her day became a nightmare.

Aaron (anxious): Don’t worry! Maria, just sleep!

To Maria, those words were absurd. Sleep so she wouldn’t see him die? Or die quietly herself? The man in the black mask had a strange aura—he would kill them both without hesitation. And yet… something about him made her wonder: who was he? That dangerous curiosity... at the worst possible time.

Valerka (enters and is stunned to see a man aiming a weapon at Aaron): Marius! Stop! (She recognized him instantly from the mask. He hadn’t changed—same perfect build, same height, dressed in elegant black like a powerful CEO. Or rather, that’s exactly who he was—leading two entirely opposite lives.)

Maria’s heart raced when she heard the name Marius. Her body trembled. There had to be a strange connection between this man and her uncle. Why else would someone target Aaron—someone kind and loved by everyone? Or… was Aaron just an obstacle in his path to killing her?

Maria (to herself): Wait… wait… Who am I… Who am I? This man… His name… It even sounds like mine!

Marius: Tch… Valerka, huh? Been a while. (His voice was deep and powerful—commanding, far from being just a killer for hire.)

Valerka: Marius! I don’t think… (She’s visibly tense as Maria hears everything) Please stop!

Marius (laughs): Stop? You’re asking me, Valerka?! (Fires a silenced shot into Aaron’s shoulder)

Maria (flinches in terror, tears stream down her face)

Marius: Don’t be scared, little mouse! He won’t die from a regular bullet. He won’t even faint!

Aaron: Damn you! Damn you, you—

Marius: What? Didn’t you enjoy playing with me like this when we were kids? Aaron De Valerian, you think you’re innocent? That you’ve built a new life?

Maria (weakly): Kill me… Just don’t hurt him!

Marius (changes his gun’s ammo): Ah, that’s what I came for anyway.

Maria (heart frozen from fear): But… one question.

Marius (throws Aaron’s gun to the ground): One question before dying? Of course.

Maria: Am I… am I… (tears pouring uncontrollably) your daughter?

Marius (his hand trembles for a moment at her words; to himself): Damn it, what’s wrong with me?! I had her for this moment! Her death sets me free… makes me head of House De Valerian. It’s the only condition.

Valerka: Marius! Marius, stop!! My father became leader without killing me!

Aaron: Marius!! You bastard!

Marius (gazes into Maria’s honey-colored eyes and chestnut-blond hair): My daughter? No, I don’t understand that kind of bond, and I don’t care to. But… the man who fathered you—yes, that’s more accurate. (He hears the click of a weapon.)

Dominar (hits Marius’ hand with his gun, disarming him, then kicks his leg): Oooh Marius!! Despite everything I taught you, your weakness never changes! (Takes all his hidden weapons and removes his mask) You’re overconfident! I warned you not to trust a place too quickly!

Marius (laughs): Dad? Long time no see. You haven’t changed much in 16 years! You’re right… but isn’t it rude to expose my weakness like that?

Dominar (confiscates the weapons): You’re not killing Maria. Leave her alone, got it?!

Marius: Those are the leader’s orders! I—

Dominar: Shut up! (furiously) You’ve gone insane and have no idea what kind of catastrophe you’re causing!

Maria (quietly crying, no words of comfort to soothe her trauma)

Valerka: Enough! Talk outside!

Marius: Give me my weapon!

Dominar: No. This is a professional assassin’s gun. Why would I hand it back?!

Marius: You’re not a killer! You’ve always been a rat under the leader’s boot!

Dominar: Then the rat tells you—go chase your cheese elsewhere. No dinner here tonight.

Maria: Grandpa…

Dominar (kisses her forehead): Sweet girl, don’t worry. Unfortunately, your father escaped from the asylum when he heard you were here!

Maria: Huh? Grandpa, are you joking?!

Dominar: He got the looks but lost the brains—poor guy.

Valerka (can’t help but laugh out loud)

Marius (annoyed): Are you mocking me?!

Aaron: He’s not lying. There’s no place more fitting for a murder-obsessed lunatic than a psychiatric ward!

Marius (grabs Aaron’s chin): Ahhh Aaron, how I’d love to slice you into pieces, roast you slowly… (whispers) and taste your bitter flesh!

Aaron (terrified): You… you’ve gone that far!!!

Marius: Ahhh… to the point of addiction!!!

Dominar: Marius, get out!

Marius: No… I calmed down out of respect for you… (He discreetly injects a small needle into Maria’s leg—she doesn’t feel it, still numb from surgery anesthesia.) But clearly, I can’t finish my mission now. Embarrassing, really. But I’ll be back! I’ll be back!! (He puts his mask back on and vanishes without a trace.)

Moments later, all the machines start beeping dangerously. Maria has lost consciousness. Aaron is asleep in another room, and Dominar watches closely, hiding everything from his wife, Rosalia.

Will Maria die???

Who is the leader??

Why is Marius so obsessed with killing her??

The House of De Valerian—shrouded in secrets! A family that made Maria’s life a living hell!

Many mysteries surround their past… and their future!

End of Chapter One – Hope you enjoyed it ❤️