A debut dark fantasy short story about love born from darkness, a father’s unforgivable bargain, and the price paid when a demon comes to claim what is his.

THE FORTUNE WAS HIS FATHER’S GIFT.
THE DEBT IS HIS TO PAY.

Daniel Ashford has lived his whole life surrounded by privilege – private schools, sprawling estates, and a future paved with opportunity. His father’s business empire is a towering success, and Daniel has never questioned how it all came to be.

But as his eighteenth birthday approaches, strange things begin to happen. Shadows whisper his name. His dreams bleed with fire and smoke. And an otherworldly figure lingers at the edges of his waking world, watching… waiting.

Unbeknownst to Daniel, his father secured their fortune with a bargain no man should make – a pact with a demon who has come to collect his promised prize. On the stroke of midnight, the contract will be fulfilled, and Daniel’s life will no longer be his own.

Now, with time running out, Daniel must uncover the truth of his inheritance and decide: will he bow to the fate written in blood, or defy the darkness that has claimed his soul since before he was born?