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By evening, they had hit a solid wall. Every official avenue led to a dead end. The forensic reports came back with more questions than answers, a collection of scientific impossibilities. The official cause of death for Claudia Winters was listed as "unknown," and the method of the body's desiccation was deemed "impossible to determine with current technology."

It was a bureaucratic way of saying magic. Real, threatening, illegal magic.

"We need to go off the books," Sophia said, staring at the useless data on her computer screen.

Elias looked up from his own desk, his brow furrowed with concern. "Define 'off the books'."

"I have an informant," she explained. "Someone who deals in supernatural intelligence."

"How far off the books are we talking about?"

"The kind who will not talk to me if you are there." She stood, grabbing her jacket from the back of her chair. "No offense."

"None taken." He hesitated, his worry evident in his eyes. "Just be careful. Please."

The address led her to the edge of the Warrens, the sprawling, neglected part of New Eden where the supernatural community congregated. It was not technically illegal to be non-human, but it was not exactly embraced by the city's human population either. As a result, they kept to their own neighborhoods, governed by their own rules.

The bar was called The Shadowed Glass, a name Sophia had always found fitting. It catered to the lower end of the supernatural hierarchy, a noisy, chaotic establishment filled with goblins, minor demons, and the occasional rogue fae trying to lose themselves in drink.

Her informant was waiting in a back booth, his green skin and pointed ears marking him as one of the goblin clans. Grik was small, perpetually nervous, and possessed a remarkable talent for collecting secrets.

"Detective," he greeted her as she slid into the booth across from him. "You are looking for something lethal."

"How did you know?"

"Because you never come here unless you are desperate." He took a long drink of a bubbling, sulfur-smelling liquid. "And word travels fast about the dead woman in the Diamond District."

"What have you heard?" Sophia asked, getting straight to the point.

Grik glanced around the crowded bar, ensuring no one was listening. The music was pounding, a heavy, rhythmic beat that vibrated through the floor, but he still lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "That symbol. I know what it is."

Sophia leaned forward, her senses on high alert. "Tell me."

"It is a mark of the Underworld Court."

The name was unfamiliar. "The what?"

"The ruling body of the demonic community in New Eden," he explained, his eyes wide with genuine fear. "They keep order among our kind, make sure no one draws too much unwanted attention from your people." He looked genuinely frightened now. "That symbol is their seal. It is not supposed to be used like this. It is not supposed to be used at all except by direct order from the top."

"So this was an official execution?"

"No. That is what is so terrifying." Grik finished his drink and signaled frantically for another. "If the Court wanted someone dead, they would simply make them disappear. It would be clean, quiet, with no drama. This is someone using their symbol without permission. That is an act of suicide."

"Unless they are formidable enough not to care."

"No one is that formidable." He paused, then his voice dropped even lower. "Except..." He trailed off, looking as if he regretted speaking at all.

"Except who, Grik?" Sophia pressed, her patience wearing thin.

The goblin looked at her with an expression that was something like pity. "There is only one entity in this city with the authority to investigate this. Only one who could tell you if this is a sanctioned act or if someone is committing treason against the Court."

"Who?"

"Lucian Draegor."

The name sent a chill down Sophia's spine. Everyone in New Eden knew that name. He was a billionaire, a philanthropist, and the CEO of the omnipresent Draegor Enterprises. On paper, he was one of the most influential and respected men in the city.

Off paper, he was something else entirely.

"Draegor runs the Underworld Court," she said slowly, the pieces clicking into place.

"He is the Underworld Court," Grik corrected, his voice trembling. "He is the demon king himself." He stood abruptly, clearly done with the conversation. "You want answers, Detective? You go to the top. But be warned, people who walk into his world do not always walk back out."

Sophia sat alone in the booth long after he had scurried away, the information settling in her mind like a stone. She had long suspected that Draegor Enterprises had ties to organized crime, but she had never realized the true scope of his empire.

A demon king. An actual demon king was running half the city from a corporate tower.

Her phone buzzed, startling her. It was a text from Elias.

Where are you? Need to talk.

She typed back that she was on her way, then sat for another moment, staring at the condensation on her empty glass.

Tomorrow, she would go to Draegor Enterprises. Tomorrow, she would face the devil himself.

Grik's voice echoed in her mind. You want answers, Detective? You go to the top.

Sophia stood and walked toward the exit. As she pushed through the heavy door, another text arrived from an unknown number.

A photo. Surveillance footage of her inside this bar, talking to Grik. Timestamp from five minutes ago.

Beneath it, a single line: We are always watching.

Her hand instinctively went to her weapon. Someone had eyes on her right now. Someone knew every move she made.

She stepped into the rain, scanning the dark street. Shadows moved in ways that made her pulse spike. Neon signs flickered overhead, casting strange, distorted light across wet pavement.

Another text arrived.

Lucian Draegor knows you are coming. The question is: will you survive the meeting?

Sophia stared at the message, her jaw tight with determination. Someone wanted her afraid. Someone wanted her to back down.

They had made a critical mistake. Fear only made her more stubborn.

She looked up at the rain-soaked street, at the shadows that seemed to watch her with malevolent interest, and made her choice.

Tomorrow, she would walk into the lion's den and demand answers from the most treacherous man in New Eden. Her father's killer was still out there. The choice had already been made

She just hoped she would survive long enough to find the truth.