Chapter 16: Running out of time

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• Devil's Bidding   Chapter 21: An oath to kill

  How did he know?Arabella's mind was spinning in disbelief. The woman on the subway—the one who had offered her the hoodie. The warmth wrapped around her shoulders now suddenly burned like acid.He had sent it.He had orchestrated even that.---Earlier.“Did she make it out?” Lucas asked calmly, already knowing the answer.“She did,” Alex responded. “But… it's drizzling.”Lucas’s expression darkened slightly.“She ran in the rain?”Alex hesitated.“Yes.”“She’ll need something warm. Her heart isn't..... ” His voice was low. “Get her warm clothes.”Alex stared at the message, bewildered.Then, with a sigh, he crossed the station and approached an older woman on the platform.“Ma’am, I need a small favor.”He pointed discreetly. “See that lady over there? She’s my boss’s girlfriend. They had a fight, and she’s trying to run. He asked me to make sure she’s okay. Please, just… offer her this. She won’t accept it from me.”The woman had nodded, concerned, and crossed over to Arabella, h

• Devil's Bidding   Chapter 20: No escape

  It couldn’t be Lucas.No. Her eyes had to be playing tricks on her.How had he found her so quickly?Arabella’s blood ran cold. Her already pale face lost all color as her gaze locked with him. Her heart beating as she struggled with herself. He was here? Really here! Her knees nearly gave out beneath her.It felt like standing face-to-face with the devil himself.Everything, everything, had been a lie? She shook her head slowly her eyes still wide in disbelief. Her escape plan. Her frantic coordination and execution. Even the silent prayers.Creeping out of the manor and getting on that train. Were all in futile? He knew everything. All of it, while he watched from afar… and laughed.“Sophie lied?” she whispered, her voice a ghost. “The cameras… they do work?”“No,” Lucas replied calmly. “They don’t.”Her breath hitched. “Then how…”She couldn’t comprehend it. Couldn’t wrap her mind around how he had come two days earlier than scheduled. How he had known she was planning an

• Devil's Bidding   Chapter 19: All for nothing

  Arabella Where was the third guard? I wondered. And suddenly I heard a low grunt, and my heart plummeted.No. Please no.It had to be him, the last security guard.Was he awake? Had he heard me?I dove to the floor hiding behind a plant, my breath trapped in my throat. The cold concrete bit into my knees as I waited in absolute stillness, heart pounding madly against my ribcage like a warring drum.This was it, I'd be caught. I wouldn’t make it.I’d come all this way for nothing. I squatted there holding back tears. I closed my eyes for a moment waiting for when I'd be discovered. Seconds passed. Then a full minute. Nothing.No footsteps, only my madly beating heart.Swallowing hard, I crawled out from the shadows, inching forward slowly. There was no one in sight. I walked on looking for the last guard and then I found him at the gate house. There he was.Slouched over a table, completely out cold.I released a shaky breath, relief flooding through me.That’s when I saw it.A c

• Devil's Bidding   Chapter 18: I've come this far

  Arabella Three days. That was all the time I had before Lucas returned.I sat quietly in the kitchen. Anna had already agreed to let me bake tomorrow evening. I’d asked innocently enough, and she’d smiled, pleased at how well I was “adjusting.” That part was settled. Tomorrow would be the day I'd leave. All I needed now were the pills.My gaze flicked to the far corner, where the first aid box sat behind the counter—locked, but not unreachable.It was just I and Sophie here right now. Now would be the best time. “Let me help,” I said lightly, approaching Sophie with practiced calm as she sorted the vegetables for dinner.She smiled and moved aside, letting me join in. Sneaking into Anna’s room and getting her phone to contact Mona again was a lost cause. I didn't want to risk it. I'd have to get out first, then call Mona later. That was the order. That was the only way.I picked up a knife, its metal gleaming under the warm kitchen lights. My heart drummed a wild rhythm in my c

• Devil's Bidding   Chapter 17: The plan

  Arabella I forced the tremor from my voice, swallowing the rising dread as I asked, “When would he be coming?”Sophie barely looked up, casually brushing flour off her hands. “In four days, I think.”Four days.The words echoed, detonated in my skull like a bomb. I nodded slowly, numbly, as if that information hadn’t just shattered the ground beneath me.“I’ll miss you guys too,” I said softly, my voice layered with a fragile sweetness I didn’t feel. I looked down at the dough, kneading it like my life didn’t depend on getting out of this place before that deadline. Four days.If I was moved to Lucas’s penthouse—his real lair, the fortress where he ruled behind marble walls and impenetrable security—then I was finished. There would be no doors accidentally left unlocked. No casual staff leaving phones lying around. Cameras watching my every move. No freedom.No hope.We finished the baking, the kitchen humming with warmth and the scent of sugar and vanilla. The pastries came out gol

• Devil's Bidding   Chapter 16: Running out of time

  ArabellaI studied the house more, observing everyone and everything.One thing became clear early on—how the staff operated as a tight-knit unit.They all gathered in the kitchen for meals, especially dinner, before retreating to their individual stations for the night.There was an easy rhythm to the house. Predictable. Familiar.And contrary to what I initially thought, the place wasn’t swarming with security.When I first arrived, it had felt like eyes were everywhere—like the very walls were watching me.But the truth?There weren’t many guards at all. Barely any, in fact.Not that it made escape any more possible.Even without guards, the maids alone could overpower me if I made a funny move.And the gates were far from the main house, enough that I’d never reach them in time.Still, I paid attention.From Sophie, I learned things.Anna took long showers every night. The butler’s daughter was pregnant and due to give birth soon.Other tidbits, small and seemingly useless on the