Time seemed to stand still as Lily looked at her parents for the first time in over a year. Though their appearances had changed slightly, there was no mistaking that they were Henry and Mary Athelward.

Their expressions were of shock when they saw Lily, who ran to them. She got on her knees and threw her arms around them. "Mother! Father!" she sobbed with joy.

Mary asked, "Lillith, is that really you?"

"We must be hallucinating," said Henry.

Lily looked up at them and smiled, tears streaming down her cheeks. "You are not. It is really I, your daughter." She hugged them again. "I never gave up looking for you, and I've found you at last!"

Her parents still looked shocked for a few moments, but when they finally grasped what was happening, they hugged their daughter. "Oh, Lillith, we never thought we would see you again!"

"Let's get you out of here. We're going home," Lily stated.

"How will we be able to leave?" Frederick and Simon have guards here all day and night," said Henry.

"We will be able to go. Sebastian will help."

"Sebastian?" her parents both asked.

Sebastian, who had silently been standing away from the other three, walked to them and bowed. Lily said, "Sebastian is our new butler."

"It is an honor to meet you at last, Lord and Lady Athelward. Lady Lillith has missed you terribly and has always spoken highly of you both."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Sebastian," they greeted. "Obviously you are an excellent servant since you have helped our daughter come so far."

"I only do what is expected of me. You see, I am simply one hell of a butler."

"We must leave now before anyone comes," stated Lily, calming down.

As she and Sebastian helped the other two stand, a different voice was heard behind them. "None of you are going anywhere."

Lily and Sebastian turned around. A short, fat man stood, pointing a gun at them. Another man who looked similar to him ran in. "Who are you?" the second man asked, angrily.

Before Lily could answer, Henry pulled her back. He held her as Mary held them both. "Please, don't harm our daughter," Henry said, terrified, though trying to sound fearless.

"So this is your daughter? How did you ever find them, little girl?"

Lily glared. "I presume you two are Simon and Frederick Peck?"

"Yes. What's it to you? Don't you know it's foolish to meddle in adult affairs?"

Lily kept her icy stare. "You kidnapped my parents; that affair concerns me. Why did you do it?!"

Frederick, the one who came in the room after Simon, laughed. "It was strictly business; you wouldn't understand."

"I have run my family's company quite well; I understand plenty. Try me."

"We'll humor you, child. You see, Peck's Timber has done business with the Athelward Shipping Company for years. In order to succeed, you must have as much money as possible, and the more you assets you own, the more money you make. Since we were already involved with the shipping company, it made sense to try to own it. So, we made a deal with Lord and Lady Athelward. They would hand over the company in exchange for their precious daughter not getting hurt."

Lily stared at her parents, sadly, for a moment, then angrily looked at the Peck brothers. "All this hell you caused my family was just over money?! You didn't even obtain the company!"

"We didn't realize that you would be able to have it. We were going to buy it, and we tried everything to get it, but your pesky lawyers and bodyguards kept getting in the way. In the meantime, we have made a rather decent living selling opium, as well."

Lily's mind began spinning. Everything that had happened in the past year was simply due to greed. All the heartache she had endured, and all the heartache her parents must have endured, was only due to a want of paper and metal. She couldn't focus.

Suddenly, the room became darker, and the Peck brothers both laughed. Their laughs were more deeper-sounding than before. They started shape-shifting into terrible monsters. Lily wanted to scream in terror, but her anger was stronger than her fear. "YOU EVIL, MALEVOLENT, HEARTLESS MONSTERS!" she screamed. "YOU ALMOST DESTROYED MY FAMILY! I AM NOT AFRAID OF YOU!"

Mary shook. "Lillith, stop. They have guns."

Lily looked at Sebastian. She unbuttoned the first two buttons of her dress. The contract seal on her chest glowed. "Sebastian, this is an order: hurt them, but do not destroy them. I shall deliver the final blows."

Sebastian removed his glove, and the contract seal on his hand glowed. His eyes turned red. "Yes, my lady."

The Peck brothers laughed as they gradually became uglier and uglier, but their laughter stopped once Sebastian fought them. Gunshots went off, but neither the demon, young lady, nor her parents were injured. The monsters screamed and fell on the floor as Sebastian incapacitated them. He stepped away and gave Lily the gun. "You will never, ever harm my family again." Then, she shot both Simon and Frederick Peck in the heads. As they died, they gradually turned human again.

It was over. The two men who were the cause of the pain she had felt for a year were dead.

Lily dropped the gun and turned toward her parents, who were holding each other, terrified. Out of breath, Lily stated, "They're dead. We're all safe now."

This did not seem to comfort them. "Let's leave this place," continued Lily.

Horrified, Henry asked, "Lillith, what have you done?"

"I'm sorry, Mother and Father. They caused so much misery. I lost my head, but I don't regret what I did."

"That mark," Mary gasped, as equally horrified as her husband was. "It's unholy!"

Lily looked at her chest. "I can explain. I needed help finding you, and Sebastian offered it in exchange for my soul. Don't fear, though. I wanted this, and now we will go home and be happy and together again." She smiled at her parents.

Their expressions still didn't change. "You made a deal with this demon! How could you, Lillith?! You have committed a terrible sin that you can never redeem yourself for!"

Lily's smile quickly disappeared. "I just wanted to see you two again and bring you back home."

"You gave up your soul! You've become evil in the eyes of God!"

Suddenly, Henry pulled out a gun that one of the Peck brothers had had that had been forced away from them. He pointed it at Lily and fired. The bullet went straight through her heart.

The last thing Lily saw was Sebastian's shocked face.