Chapter Thirty-Five

Holland and Adam leave the Watch Man’s bungalow amid Halloween revelry. Sensing Holland’s evasiveness, Adam pulls her into an empty hotel suite, seizes her satchel, and demands honesty. Pressed, Holland admits the Watch Man said Adam is the devil. After a long pause, Adam denies being the devil now but confesses he once was.

Adam explains his family’s inheritance test: their father would bequeath abilities to the son who amassed the most power. Adam’s older brother, Mason, proposed they adopt the devil persona to build influence through myths and rumors. They seeded legends—starting with Natalia West—and recruited minor-gifted operatives to engineer success for strivers who would then owe “the devil” favors.

When their father discovered the scheme, he condemned it and sought another heir. The next morning, their father died and Mason inherited all abilities. Adam later realized Mason killed him. Adam tried to stop Mason and ultimately locked Mason’s abilities so he cannot use them—for now.

Adam believes Mason is hunting the Alchemical Heart to restore full power, and that many debtors were expected to pay with the Heart. Adam denies making any deal with Holland’s parents and is unsure whether Mason did. He warns that pursuing that truth could get Holland killed.

Adam returns Holland’s satchel and offers her a chance to walk away. Holland chooses to continue, revealing her murdered boyfriend had been hired—via a gold-and-black dossier—to infiltrate her life, which Adam says matches Mason’s methods. When Holland asks Adam’s age, he sidesteps and refocuses on keeping her alive, reaching for her satchel as the clock to midnight shrinks.