The Whispers of 4th District

Chapter 32: The Devil Within

The air in the mansion was thick with tension. The fight had ended, and yet, the battle was far from over. Teddy had let her go. His eyes, so full of that soft, forgiving light, had shaken something in her—a weakness she couldn't afford. She knew, deep down, that he was no longer the angry, reckless boy she had created. But she wasn't ready for that yet. Not ready to admit that she was losing her grip.

But as she stood there, trembling, fighting back the surge of anger that rose within her chest, something began to stir. Something darker. Something she had never truly been able to control.

She had spent her entire life building walls—walls to keep people out, walls to keep herself safe from the pain of the world she had created. But the truth was, those walls had never been strong enough. And they had been breaking for years. Every lie she told, every betrayal, every dark deal had been feeding something—a hunger she couldn't understand, until it was too late.

Flashback: The Beginning of the End

The night had been like any other—the kind of night where the city buzzed with life in one part of town, while the other, the part where she lived, slept in the shadows. Back then, she was just a girl—innocent, naïve, and hungry for something more than what the 4th District had to offer. She was looking for a way out.

It was supposed to be a simple deal. The kind that made the city's power brokers smile behind their gilded doors. Money. Power. Influence. But in that dark alley, the deal had gone wrong. The wrong people were involved. And it was there, in the cold and unforgiving silence, that she first met it—the thing that would change her forever.

The demon.

It wasn't a person. Not really. It was a voice. A whisper at first, a shadow in the corner of her mind. It promised her everything. Power. Respect. Control. And all she had to do was let it in.

At first, she fought it, struggling to ignore the strange, tugging sensation in her chest. But the more she resisted, the stronger it became. It wasn't like any demon she had heard of in stories. It didn't need a body, just a voice—a voice that wrapped itself around her thoughts and pulled her deeper, deeper into its grip.

The first time she gave in, she killed a man. A simple, messy affair with a blade and a look in his eyes that she would never forget. And when it was over, when the blood had spilled and his life had ended, the demon whispered to her again.

"You see, don't you? This is power. This is who you were meant to be."

That's when she knew. She could never escape it. The demon had taken her, body and soul. And there was no way back.

Present Day: The Battle with Her Son

Now, standing before her son, feeling his hands release their grip, his soft words ringing in her ears, she realized the extent of her mistake. She wasn't just fighting him. She was fighting herself—fighting the part of her that still longed for something else, something more than just control and darkness.

But the demon wasn't done with her. Not yet.

As Teddy stepped away, his eyes still full of that forgiveness, the demon stirred inside her. It wasn't finished with its mission. The voice in her head was louder now, more desperate.

"Kill him. Kill him now. He's weak. He doesn't understand. He'll destroy everything you've worked for. He's the enemy, not you."

Her hands began to tremble as the demon's influence took hold. The pain, the hunger—it was too much to bear. Her mind was clouded with rage. Teddy was standing there, too close, his eyes filled with pity instead of hate, and the demon saw that as weakness. Weakness that needed to be eradicated.