The Devil Who Claimed Me

Her fingers hovered over his number, ready to dial it.

"Good morning." Dominic’s voice boomed, interrupting her.

She looked up and saw him coming in, holding a tray full of food. A delicious smell reached her nostrils instantly.

Her face lit up.

"I made pancakes," he said, putting the tray on the bed. "Let’s eat."

Mila’s stomach growled. She suddenly realized she hadn’t eaten anything since last night.

"I am starving." She started eating. "Mm...delicious. I love it."

The warm pancake and syrup quickly distracted her. She completely forgot about Max’s calls and a message.

Miles away, in a dimly lit room, a man sat quietly in front of a large screen. It was Marco. His eyes turned sharper as he continued watching the video that had gone viral on social media.

The footage showed a tall man carrying a woman out of a luxurious office building.

The caption read: ’Our CEO might have offended a powerful figure. That’s why Shaw Group is being targeted.’

The video had been secretly recorded by one of the Shaw Group employees when Dominic had carried Mila out of Ethan’s office the day before. Most viewers were not familiar with the man. They were just curious about him.

But Marco identified him at one glance.

"Dominic, you bastard..." His fingers balled tightly. "You didn’t die in that accident."

He realized Dominic had survived the accident and had been hiding all those days. But he had finally exposed himself.

"If I don’t act now, he will gather his force and come after me." Marco’s eyes were filled with murderous intent. This time, he wouldn’t make a mistake.

He stood up and turned to his men. "Prepare the team," he commanded. "Launch the attack. I want him dead."

"Yes, boss." The men in black suits echoed in unison.

"This time, I want to see his dead body," Marco added.

The men in black marched out of the room.

Marco fixed his eyes on Dominic’s form on the screen. "Dominic, you might have survived last time. But not again."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mila barely finished her breakfast when she received an urgent call from the hospital. She wiped her hands with the tissue.

"I have to go now." She already got off the bed.

"What happened?" Dominic asked.

"It’s an emergency. They need me right there."

She hurried into the bathroom.

Within fifteen minutes, she was ready to leave.

"Drive safely."

She flashed a smile at him. "See you in the evening."

Grabbing her coat, she hurried out.

Within seconds, the apartment fell silent. Dominic sighed as he glanced at the dishes.

"Time to clean them."

He was in the kitchen washing the dishes when his phone rang. The name on the screen read – Lucas.

Dominic answered.

"It’s not good," came Lucas’ serious tone.

"What happened this time?"

"A video went viral this morning."

"What video?" Dominic frowned slightly.

"The one from Shaw Group yesterday," replied Lucas. "Someone sneakily recorded you carrying Mila out of Ethan’s office and uploaded it on social media."

Dominic paused whatever he was doing.

"I already blocked and removed it from major platforms. But it spread fast before we could contain it."

There was a pause.

"I am sure Marco has already seen it. That means he might have learned that you are still alive."

Dominic’s jaw tightened visibly.

"It’s not safe here anymore," Lucas said worriedly. "You can no longer stay at Mila’s place. You need to leave immediately."

Dominic thought for a while and then said, "No."

"What?"

"I’m not leaving."

"Dominic, have you lost your mind?" Lucas’ voice rose to the next pitch.

"I won’t leave Mila alone," Dominic said firmly, silencing Lucas. "If I leave now, Marco will target her to find me. I don’t want anyone to use her as bait."

Lucas, on the other end of the line, rubbed his forehead. "Then we’ll move her somewhere safe." He thought quickly. "I’ll relocate her to one of our secure houses and assign guards for her protection. She will be fine. She can stay there until we deal with Marco."

"No." Dominic still rejected the idea. "I won’t be at ease leaving her alone with just a handful of guards."

"Then what do you want to do?" Lucas’ patience was wearing thin.

Dominic had already planned to take her with him, even if it meant against Mila’s will.

"Mila just left for the hospital. I’ll wait until she returns."

While Dominic was still calm, Lucas was barely able to maintain his cool. "That might be too late. Marco won’t sit calmly, planning for small moves. He will act fast. We need to move a step ahead."

Dominic didn’t respond.

"You are taking a huge risk," continued Lucas. "You and Mila both may fall into big trouble. We still have time. We can leave right now. If you want, we can pick her up from the hospital."

However, Dominic had his own plan. "Increase security around the apartment."

Lucas groaned. "This is a public building, Dominic. We can’t deploy too many men. It’ll attract attention."

"Just do it," Dominic used his authoritative tone. "Any suspicious activity – eliminate it immediately."

Lucas exhaled slowly. He didn’t like the plan, but he had no choice. "Fine," he agreed begrudgingly. "I’ll do what I can. But listen carefully. You need to stay vigilant."

He didn’t forget to warn him. "Anything can happen at any time."

"Take care of yourself and the team," said Dominic. "See you soon."

Beep

The line went dead.

Dominic immediately began preparing. First, he checked the apartment layout – every window, blind spot – nothing was left unchecked. He moved from one room to another silently. Then he finally came to his room and grabbed his bag.

From the hidden compartment of his bag, he pulled out a black case. Inside were several compact weapons – a black handgun, two magazines, a small silencer pistol, and a tactical knife.

He checked each weapon, loading and securing them. The handgun went into the holster behind his back. The knife slipped into the inside pocket of his jacket. The pistol was placed beneath the coffee table within easy reach.

Next, he busied himself in setting traps. He attached thin security threads across the balcony doors, barely visible unless someone looked carefully. If someone broke in through the balcony, the threads would snap and trigger the grenade attached near the doors.

An explosion would follow, killing the intruder immediately.

Near the main entrance, he placed a pressure trigger connected to the silent vibration alert in his pocket. Anyone stepping inside would activate it instantly.

Then he moved to the windows. He slightly loosened one of the frames, creating a quick escape route.

He checked the buildings across the road through binoculars. Two men were already positioned outside. They were Lucas’ guards.

Dominic’s expression turned cold. He knew there would be bloodshed tonight if Marco had planned an attack. But he was ready to face it.

If attackers tried to enter through the balconies, they would be eliminated immediately. If they barged in through the main door, he would move Mila through the balcony.

A rope system he had secured earlier could lower them two floors down to a service balcony. From there, they could disappear into the underground parking garage. Their escape route was ready.

Dominic was confident that he would kill his enemies and leave with Mila securely.

Meanwhile, at the hospital...

Several hours later, Mila finally left the operating room after a long surgery. She returned to her office, exhausted.

The first thing she did was check her phone. She wanted to make a call to Dominic. But as she unlocked the screen, she saw Max’s missed calls again.

Her chest tightened with regret.

"I should have called him earlier."

Without wasting another second, she dialed him. The call connected almost immediately.

"Mila! Thank goodness, you called me." Max sounded relieved. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I am fine," Mila replied. "Something came up, so I couldn’t check my phone. Please, don’t mind. I couldn’t call you. I’m sorry."

"It’s okay. You don’t have to say sorry. I was just worried about you."

"Are the reports ready?" Mila asked, barely able to contain her curiosity.

"I wanted to talk to you about that," Max said, his tone suddenly turned serious.

Mila could sense the change in his mood, and it alarmed her.

"The scan shows no brain damage, no blood clot either," Max explained.

Mila sighed in relief, a smile appearing on her face involuntarily. "That’s a good sign."

"Yes, it is." Max hesitated for a moment before continuing, "But the concerning part is something else."

Mila’s smile froze. The relief she had felt vanished.

"There is nothing in the report that could cause amnesia," Max said. "The only logical explanation is that he must be faking it."

Mila felt a jolt in her heart. "What? Faking it?" she repeated with disbelief.

"I couldn’t find any medical condition that could explain his memory loss," Max revealed. "He is completely fine."

Mila’s mind began spinning.

Dominic had told her he regained his memory yesterday. But if amnesia was never there, what did that mean? 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

’Why would he lie?’