The Devil Who Claimed Me

Mila stiffened.

"You...you could have come to me instead. Even if I had amnesia, I would have found a way to help you. But you went to Ethan and put yourself at risk. What would have happened if I had not arrived in time?"

Mila fell silent. The memory of Ethan pressing her against the table flashed through her mind. A wave of disgust rolled inside her stomach as she recalled his hands on her body, his breath on her neck. She knew that things would have ended horribly if Dominic hadn’t come.

She lowered her head in shame and regret.

"I’m sorry. I didn’t think things would spiral out like that." A moment later, she looked up at him again. "How did you know I was there?"

She remembered telling him going to see her father at the Vega mansion. But she had not told him that she would be meeting Ethan at his office.

"Were you looking for me? Did you suspect something?"

"My sources told me you were at Ethan’s office," Dominic said. "I felt something was wrong. So I went there."

His expression changed. "What I saw made me want to kill him."

Mila shuddered at the intensity of his gaze.

"But I didn’t. There are better ways to deal with him. By tomorrow morning, Ethan Shaw will start begging for mercy."

Mila’s admiration for him grew. She was eager to see Ethan breaking down. "I’m really lucky to have you." She coiled her arm around his. "Maybe I should reward you."

Pulling him in closer, she pressed her lips against his. The kiss was warm and lingering.

Dominic’s eyes darkened. When she pulled back, he looked at her with a dangerous glint.

"Wasn’t the car enough for you?" he asked huskily.

Mila blushed. Lowering her head, she smiled shyly. "With you, it will never be enough," she whispered.

That was all it took. Dominic’s restraint snapped. In the next moment, he pushed her back onto the bed.

"Then I’ll satisfy you again."

He kissed her urgently. His fingers moved quickly as he started unbuttoning his shirt.

"The night is far from over," he whispered against her lips.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, chaos erupted inside the Shaw Group.

Phones rang nonstop. Employees rushed through the corridor with pale faces and urgent whispers.

Something terrible had happened overnight.

No one had thought the company would face such a crisis. Everyone was shocked and terrified.

Inside the conference hall, the executives were yelling at each other, demanding explanations.

Ethan stared at the financial report on the screen in disbelief. Numbers were plunging. Investments were being withdrawn one after another. Several major partners had suddenly terminated their cooperation.

Within hours, the company had lost a massive amount of funds. What was concerning was that it wasn’t stopping.

"What the hell is going on?" Ethan yelled, slamming his fist against the table.

All the executives turned to him, speechless. Before anyone could answer, the door flew open, and his father strode in, his face dark with fury.

"Explain this," the older man barked, throwing a stack of reports onto the table.

Ethan looked at them quickly.

More bad news; more losses.

Ethan couldn’t understand what had gone wrong all of a sudden. "Dad, I..."

"Who did you offend?" his father interrupted sharply. "This is not a coincidence. Someone is deliberately targeting our company."

Ethan paused, his mind reeling. He didn’t remember offending anyone significant. But his mind reminded him of one person – Mila’s new boyfriend.

That man had indeed threatened him the day before. Could he be the one attacking them?

But the thought sounded ridiculous to his own mind. That man was nothing but some loser Mila had picked up from the roadside. How could someone so insignificant attack a conglomerate like Shaw Group?

His silence only made his father furious even more. "You have until the end of the day," the old man said coldly. "Resolve the crisis. If you fail, I’ll strip you of your position as CEO."

With that final warning, he left the conference hall.

The other executives also walked out quietly, one by one.

Ethan’s face was dark as the silence thickened the room. He was already disturbed. And his father’s warning only added to it.

’I can’t lose the position,’ he muttered inwardly.

He immediately made calls, contacting the investors and partners. But none of them were ready to work with them.

The situation only worsened. Every time he tried to resolve one issue, another crisis appeared. Contracts were cancelled. Funds were seized. Projects were suspended.

Everything happened in a row. It was like watching a building collapse piece by piece.

To make it even worse, his assistant rushed in and dropped another bomb. "Mr. Shaw, we just received the confirmation about the source of the attack."

Ethan looked up sharply. "Who?"

"It’s...Nexon Group."

"Nexon Group?" Ethan repeated in disbelief. He had no recollection of offending them. "Why would they target us?"

"I..." The assistant hesitated. "I don’t know the reason, but the news is – they have started collaborating with Vega Biocorp."

The room fell silent yet again.

Ethan understood Mila might have pulled some strings to get help from Nexon Group. Anger twisted his features.

"So this is how it is," he grunted through his gritted teeth.

He took his phone and dialed her immediately.

Mila was still asleep. The sharp ringing of her phone woke her up. She turned her head, her gaze landing on her bag on the side table.

"Um, who is calling me?" She lazily reached for her bag, unzipped it, and pulled her phone out.

When she saw Ethan’s name on the screen, her mood soured instantly. She almost rejected the call. Then she recalled Dominic’s words from the night before.

’By tomorrow morning, Ethan Shaw will start begging for mercy.’

A small smile appeared on her face. ’Maybe he is calling to apologize.’

Curious, she answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Mila Vega." Instead of an apology, his loud voice exploded through the phone. "You think you are clever, don’t you? Joining hands with Nexon Group?"

Mila blinked in surprise. This was not what she had anticipated.

"Don’t start celebrating yet," he continued coldly. "Nexon Group is far beyond your league. Do you even know what kind of price they will demand for helping you?"

His voice dripped with mockery.

"This deal will cost you dearly."

Anger shone in her eyes. "Why don’t you focus on solving your own issues?" she retorted sharply. "I don’t need your concern."

Without waiting for his response, she ended the call. "This bastard," she cursed under her breath. "What does he think of himself?"

She was about to put the phone away when her attention went to the several missed call alerts on the screen – all from Max. There was also an unread text message from him.

"Oh, shit," she muttered. "It’s all because of that stupid coffee yesterday."

If she had not been drugged, she would have noticed his calls sooner.

"Maybe the reports are ready. I’ll call him right away."