The Devil Who Claimed Me

Dominic’s expression turned terrifying.

"And you are telling me this now?" he barked.

The guard froze. "I—we thought—"

"You thought?" Dominic’s voice rose sharply, cutting him off. "You lost her. And instead of informing me, you decided to fix it yourself?"

His voice echoed through the empty room. "Do you have any idea how serious the situation is?" 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

The guard’s face turned pale on the other end. "We are looking for her..."

"Shut up."

Dominic ended the call abruptly. For a moment, he stood there still, his mind racing.

A storm was tearing through him. Recalling the guard’s explanation, he thought Mila was in danger.

’Someone took her.’ The thought hit him hard.

His enemies were everywhere, watching and waiting. If they had taken Mila, she would have been hurt badly.

His chest tightened. His breathing grew uneven.

"No. I’ll not let anything happen to her." His eyes darkened dangerously. "I need to act fast."

He strode down the corridor. Within minutes, he reached the security room.

"Get up," he ordered coldly.

The staff scrambled to their feet instantly.

"Replay the footage from the last hour," Dominic commanded.

The screens flickered. Footage rolled.

His eyes scanned every frame, every movement.

Time stretched. Then something caught his attention, and his eyebrows drew together.

A figure, dressed as a nurse, moved quickly toward the exit. The woman kept her head low, a mask covering her face. Her movement was too cautious to be a nurse. That raised doubts in his mind.

Dominic’s gaze sharpened. He found her figure familiar.

"Zoom in."

The footage magnified. The woman’s side profile was similar to Mila’s.

"Track her," Dominic said.

The man followed the instructions.

Dominic noticed her stepping outside. Then she raised her hand and stopped a taxi. Once she got into the car, she lowered her mask and looked back at the hospital for a brief second.

"Pause," he instructed.

The video stopped at that moment.

That was enough. Even if the image wasn’t clear, Dominic knew it was Mila.

His anger exploded. ’She ran away again.’

His chest burned. He had warned her and explained how dangerous it was. Yet she chose to run.

His hand slammed against the table.

"She thinks this is a game?" he muttered, fury blazing in his eyes. "She doesn’t even care about the consequences."

A thought crept in, unsettling him further. What if his enemies found her?

Something darker stirred.

His expression turned cold as he noted the license plate of the taxi. He dialed a number.

"I’ll send the number of a car. Tract it immediately," he ordered. "Seal all exits. Check every checkpoint."

His voice dropped lower. "And send men to search every road leading out of this area."

Dominic turned toward the screen once more. His eyes locked on Mila’s blurred image.

"You think you can run from me?" he murmured. "I’ll find you. And when I do, you won’t be able to escape again."

Dominic came out of the security room and called Lucas. "What’s the update?"

"We are checking," Lucas replied quickly. "As soon as we trace the car, I’ll inform you."

"Where are you?" Dominic asked impatiently. "I’m coming."

"I’m heading to the next checkpoint. The surveillance there will show which direction the car took."

"Wait there." Dominic’s voice hardened. "I’m coming."

He ended the call and strode forward.

"Dominic." Valentina hurried toward him, urgency in her steps. "I heard Mila escaped."

Dominic’s features twisted instantly at the mention. The image of Mila in a nurse’s uniform and sneaking out of the hospital flashed in his mind.

"That woman..." Valentina muttered through clenched teeth. "We gave her everything and allowed her to attend such an important meeting. But she..."

She tightened her grip on her gun. "She wouldn’t change. You trusted her so much, but she would still betray you."

Her words only added to his fury.

"She needs to learn a good lesson. Let her fall into trouble. Don’t look for her," Valentina urged. "Let the enemies catch her. Only then will she understand what danger we have been talking about."

Dominic shot her a sharp glare. His expression was cold, ruthless, and terrifying.

"What are you talking about? She is mine, whether she behaves or not. And I won’t allow anyone to touch her."

"But she doesn’t understand you," she argued. "She doesn’t trust you. She thinks we are lying to stop her from escaping. Unless she falls into the enemies’ hands, she won’t understand. Let her suffer a bit. Then we’ll think about how to rescue her."

"I’ll never let the enemies lay a hand on her," Dominic grunted, his tone as cold as ice. "If anyone dares, I’ll kill them."

Valentina felt chills pricking her arms.

"I’m going to find her." He strode past her.

Valentina’s fingers tightened around her gun even more. She thought it was good that Mila had escaped on her own. She wouldn’t let her come back.

"Why are you so eager to save her?" she snapped.

Her sharp tone made him pause in his tracks. Dominic turned back to her, only to meet her burning gaze. There was something unfamiliar in them. It wasn’t the admiration and loyalty he was accustomed to seeing in them.

It was different.

Maybe desperation, anxiety, even. He wasn’t sure. But he had never seen Valentina this worked up.

She was always confident and determined. She stayed composed in her missions. But this time, she was acting recklessly.

"She won’t stay with you even if you bring her back," she continued. "She doesn’t want to be with you in this world. If you keep her around, she will keep trying to run away. And you will go after her again and again."

Her words came faster now.

"How long are you going to play this cat-and-mouse game? Let her go. Or you will fall into trouble because of her."

"That’s enough. Don’t waste my time." He turned to leave yet again.

But Valentina wasn’t done. "She planned this," she blurted out, "and deliberately came out of the island just to get this opportunity."

Her desperation was clear. She wanted to stop him from going after her.

That made him stop, her words hitting him harder than he had expected.

"She didn’t need to come here," Valentina added. "But she came with a plausible excuse that she would take care of the patient on the way. But her plan was always to run."

Dominic’s back stiffened.

"She used you, pretended to help you. But she never wanted to be with you. Why don’t you understand? She doesn’t love you and will never fall for you, no matter what."

He whipped his head toward her, his expression terrifying. "Are you done?"

The fire in his eyes burned so fiercely that it silenced her instantly.

"You deliberately delayed me," he said in a warning tone. "If anything happens to her because of this delay, you will pay the price."

A chill crept into her bones. His words hit deeper than anything else.

She staggered, feeling the ground beneath her slipping away.

Dominic had never threatened her before, not once, even if she had made a mistake in the past. It was the first time he had said that. But because of Mila, he wouldn’t hesitate to punish her.

Just how much Mila mattered to him?

The thought twisted painfully inside her. Hatred surged, but so did fear.

Dominic turned and walked away, his steps fast and decisive, leaving her behind.

Valentina grew restless. She hated Mila. She resented that Dominic valued that woman, who didn’t care about him. Yet, she couldn’t leave him alone even if he hurt her.

"Wait..." She hurried after him. "I’ll come with you."

"No need," Dominic said sharply, not slowing down. "Stay here." He didn’t even look at her. "Find the woman who helped Mila escape."

Valentina paused. She wanted to follow him, but she couldn’t disobey his command. She helplessly watched him get into the car and drive away.

"Fine, I’ll stay."