The Devil Who Claimed Me

Mr. Lee’s hands trembled as he unlocked his phone. He glanced at Dominic, who lounged on the sofa, smoking casually, the remote turning slowly between his fingers. Then his gaze flicked to his son, who was still kneeling.

"What are you looking at?" Dominic asked lazily. "Call him. Or I’ll press the button."

"Dad," Jiang screamed. "Call him. Don’t waste time, or he will really blow us up."

"No, no..." Mr. Lee cried out. "I’ll call."

Looking at his trembling form, Dominic felt irritated. "You fool," he muttered. "Take a breath. Don’t let him suspect anything."

His warning tone echoed inside the room.

Jiang’s forehead dripped with sweat. He looked at his father helplessly. "Be careful, Dad. Marco shouldn’t know."

Mr. Lee swallowed the lump in his throat and then took a deep breath. He grasped the phone tighter than necessary as he dialed Marco.

The line connected.

"Hello?" he said, forcing his voice steady. "Can we meet? It’s urgent."

"Why do you want to meet? Does anything happen?" Marco sounded suspicious.

Mr. Lee let out a short laugh, masking his fear. "Nothing serious here. The serious matter is Dominic’s condition."

"Then why meet?" Marco pressed.

"The syndicate wants to proceed with the coronation," Mr. Lee said. "I need to discuss a few things with you... privately."

There was a moment of pause on the other end of the phone.

Tension thickened in the room. Dominic’s eyes were firmly set on Mr. Lee, his hands holding up the remote.

Mr. Lee barely dared to breathe. If Marco said no or suspected something, they were dead.

"Alright," came Marco’s reply. "Let’s meet. Come to the old villa tomorrow."

Relief nearly knocked the breath out of Mr. Lee. He forced a laugh. "Okay. I’ll be there."

His smile vanished as soon as he ended the call. His eyes were wild as he looked at Dominic.

"Please let us go," he begged. "I did everything you said."

Dominic quirked his lips and stood up. "You obeyed me. I am happy. Of course, I’ll set you free."

He tossed the remote toward Jiang and walked out.

Jiang released a sigh of relief. He scrambled to remove the bomb strapped around his waist.

But Mr. Lee’s expression changed. In one swift motion, he reached beneath the coffee table and pulled out a hidden gun, aiming it straight at Dominic.

"This time, you won’t escape," he shouted.

But before he could pull the trigger, a bullet came flying silently and pierced his chest. His breathing hitched in his throat. His body jerked violently. The gun slipped from his hand as blood spread rapidly across his shirt.

His hand moved up and pressed against his chest as he desperately tried to stop bleeding. But his strength left his body quickly.

He collapsed on the floor with a thud.

Jiang froze. Then a scream tore open his mouth. "Dad..."

He crawled toward him. His whole body trembled as he saw so much blood.

Mr. Lee reached out his trembling hand toward him.

Jiang held it instantly, his eyes teary. "No, no... stay with me, please."

Mr. Lee tried to speak. But only blood bubbled out of his mouth.

Jiang’s tears fell freely as he wiped blood out of his mouth. "Nothing will happen to you. I’ll take you to the hospital."

He never finished the sentence.

A deafening explosion ripped through the house. Their bodies exploded into pieces.

The walls shattered. The ground shook. Fire swallowed everything in an instant, smoke curling up.

From a distance, Dominic stood with his men, watching the fire consume the estate.

His lips curled into a dangerous smile. The remote he had tossed inside the house was fake. The original one was in his hand.

"Track Marco’s phone," he ordered calmly. "He is next."

He stepped into the car and drove away.

At the mansion...

Mila stood by the window, staring into the night. Her eyes were still, but her mind wasn’t. The scene of the operating room had not faded from her mind.

She was a surgeon and had performed countless surgeries before. But none of them had left a lasting effect on her.

Maybe because it was the first time she had pulled out a bullet from someone’s body.

But this was not just fear. It was because she was worried sick about Dominic.

It could be him lying on that operating table. He could have been severely injured.

The thought alone made her chest tighten. If it had been him on that table, would her hands have remained steady?

"Where are you?" she mumbled, her fingers curling around her arms.

She had just gone to wash her hands and face. In those few minutes, he had left the hospital already. Now, it was almost midnight. And there was no news of him. No one knew where he had gone and when he would be back.

"Are you on another mission?"

Her heart pounded.

This world of his—it terrified her. Danger lurked at every turn. One mistake, and everything could be lost.

She was restless.

’If anything happens to him...’

Her restlessness grew. She couldn’t even imagine seeing him in a critical condition.

"I need to find him."

She turned around. Just then, the door pushed open.

Mila froze. The moment she noticed Dominic’s tall figure, relief flooded her. She ran straight into him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.

Dominic instinctively held her, pulling her closer. His lips curled upward.

"Missed me?"

Tears choked her. She nodded against his shoulder.

"I missed you too," he whispered, hugging her tighter.

"Why did you leave without a word?" she complained. "I was worried."

She pulled back slightly and looked into his eyes. "I couldn’t stop imagining horrible things. You have no idea how scared I am. You could have been in Lucas’s place. You could have been the one fighting for your life in that operating room..."

The words faltered. She couldn’t continue speaking.

Dominic was silent too. She wasn’t wrong.

It could have been him. Lucas had taken his place. And that thought burned.

A dark resolve settled deeper within him. He would end this. Every last one of them.

Unaware of the storm inside him, Mila tightened her grip on his hands.

"How long will this go on?" she asked. "It feels endless... Danger is in every turn. One wrong step, and you could die."

Her eyes pleaded with him.

"Can you stop all this?" she whispered. "Leave this world. Let’s live a normal life... We can have a family."

For a moment, something flickered in his eyes. Then it vanished.

His expression turned cold. He pulled his hands away. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"That’s not possible," he said flatly.