The Devil Who Claimed Me

Mila held the phone tightly to her ear as she waited for the call to be connected.

"Hello, it’s me," she said the moment the line clicked in. "I took a taxi."

On the other end, Lara let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness you got out of that hellhole. They aren’t following you, are they?"

Mila turned her head, glancing through the rear window. She could see a few cars, but none of them seemed to be tailing behind her.

"No," she said, but her heart was beating fast. "No one is following me."

But even as she said it, unease crept into her chest. She had escaped. Yet it didn’t feel safe.

’Dominic... he won’t stop,’ she thought.

He might have already found out that she wasn’t in the hospital and started deploying his men everywhere to look for her.

"They might be looking for me," she said slowly.

The driver glanced at her through the rearview mirror. Her anxious tone and her nervous glances told him that something wasn’t right with her.

"Then do one thing," said Lara. "Get out of that car. And get another taxi."

"Why?" Mila couldn’t understand why she was asking her to change the taxi.

"You got into that taxi right in front of the hospital," Lara explained quickly. "If they checked the cameras, they already have the car number. You’d better get down. Make sure there is no camera around."

Mila understood the gravity of the situation. She nodded. "I’ll do that."

"Good. Someone is waiting for you at the station," Lara added. "I’ll send you his number. Call him when you get there. He’ll bring you here."

Mila had a small smile as she ended the call. Freedom was finally within reach.

"Just a few more steps," she murmured.

The phone buzzed in her hand. It was a new message from Lara, with the man’s contact details.

"Stop the car," she said.

"Here?" the driver asked, glancing at her through the mirror. "You said you were going to the station."

"I remembered something," she replied quickly. "I have some work here."

The driver hesitated but eventually pulled over.

Mila got out and walked away, looking for another taxi.

The driver watched her for a few seconds.

"Weird..." he muttered. "It’s not easy to get a taxi here. What is she doing?"

Shrugging, he turned the car and drove off.

He had barely gone a few kilometers when a black SUV screeched to a halt right in front of him.

"Hey! What the—" He slammed the brakes.

Anger flared instantly. Rolling down the window, he leaned out. "Are you blind? Don’t you know how to—"

His voice died the moment he noticed a man stepping out of the SUV and pointing a gun straight at him.

His face drained of color. Fear swallowed his anger whole. He instantly closed his mouth and shrank back.

"Come out," the man commanded.

The driver hesitated. But when he saw the gun still pointing at him, he didn’t dare disobey him. He opened the door and stepped out, his legs shaking.

"Please... don’t kill me," he stammered. "It was my fault. I wasn’t driving properly—"

"Kneel." The command was sharp.

He dropped to his knees instantly.

The man checked the car but found nothing. He turned to the driver, his expression darkening further.

"Where is she?" he asked coldly. "Where did you drop her?" 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

The driver’s eyes narrowed slightly. He realized he was in this trouble because of that woman. He had already felt something weird about her. It turned out that he wasn’t wrong.

"Answer me," the man barked, pressing the gun harder against his forehead.

"She—she said she was going to the station," the driver blurted out. "But then she told me to stop. Said she had something to do. I dropped her a few kilometers back. I don’t know where she went."

The man gritted his teeth. He pressed the gun harder on his head as he dialed a number.

The call logged in quickly.

"I got the driver," he said, "but Mila is not here."

Dominic stiffened in his seat. "Find her, Lucas. Or I’ll burn down the whole city."

"She is smarter than we thought," Lucas muttered. "She guessed we were tracking her, and she got out of the car."

After a moment of pause, he added, "She must have gone to the station. I’m heading there."

Ending the call, he glared at the driver. "Get out of here."

The driver didn’t wait. He scrambled into his car and sped away.

Lucas jumped into his SUV and drove off just as fast.

Mila reached the station. Crowds surrounded her. People are moving in every direction.

She checked Lara’s message and dialed the number.

The call connected within seconds.

"Hello?" a man’s voice came through.

"Hello... It’s Mila," she said quickly. "Are you John?"

"Yes."

"I’m at the station. Where are you?" She scanned the crowd anxiously.

"Come to the small stationery shop opposite the station," he replied. "I’m waiting."

"Okay. I’m coming."

Mila ended the call.

Adjusting her mask, she stepped out of the station.

The road was busy: vehicles passing, people crossing.

She took a step forward, about to cross, when a van screeched to a halt right beside her suddenly. Her heart jumped. She stepped back instinctively. Before she could react, a hand grabbed her and dragged her inside.

The door slammed shut.

"What are you doing? Who are you?" she cried, panic surging through her.

Two men held her tightly, their grips unyielding. Within seconds, her hands were tied behind her back. A strip of tape sealed her mouth.

"Mmm..."

She struggled violently. Her heart pounded in terror. Her eyes darted between them.

’Are they Dominic’s men?’ she wondered.

No—

Something felt wrong. Dominic’s men had never treated her like this. They had locked her up in the room, but they had never tied her or handled her this roughly.

Fear crept deeper.

"Stay still," one of them snapped. "We are not Dominic’s useless dogs."

His words hit her like a blow.

"If you move again, I’ll shoot you."

A gun pressed against her head.

Mila froze instantly, her eyes widened. Her body went cold. She understood she had walked straight into the enemy’s hands.

Across from the road, John saw everything. "Shit," he muttered, throwing the cigarette down. He instantly called Lara. "It’s wrong. Everything is wrong. Someone just took her away."

"What?" Lara exclaimed.

"Someone might have been following her," said John.

"Leave right away. Or they will come after you."

John instantly disconnected the call, hopped into his car, and drove away.