Chapter 4: The Blueprint of Revenge

The nightgown fell from my shoulders, pooling like a heap of silk on the floor. The reddish glow from the fireplace played strange tricks with the shadows on my bare skin.

Lucas watched me—there was no forgiveness in his eyes, no mercy; only a primal hunger and the intoxication of conquest. The truth of my father’s murder whispered in my ear like a venomous snake, and Lucas was the ruthless sorcerer standing with his heel firmly on that snake’s head.

​He swept me up from the dining table.

The sheer strength in his arms reminded me of how insignificant I was before him. He laid me down on the vast, plush carpet of the living room. The heat of the fire scorched my back on one side, while Lucas’s ice-cold gaze froze my heart on the other.

​"Lucas... that name... tell me," I panted. Every breath felt like a scream of agony.

​Lucas leaned over me. He pressed his knee between my thighs, pinning me against the carpet.

He bunched my hair in his fist and pulled my head back. "Truth comes at a heavy price, Sophia. Do you think a single night of pleasure is enough to buy a secret that could shift the power of this entire city?"

​He reached out and picked up the black leather file from the dressing table again. Pressing the edge of the file against the underside of my throat, he said, "Your father wasn't just Edward Smith's business rival, Sophia.

He was a witness to Edward's filthy past—a past that would land Edward in prison for life if it ever came to light."

​My head began to spin. Edward Smith—my stepfather. The man who had entered our lives like an angel during my mother’s loneliness was actually the devil? He was the one who planned my biological father's murder?

​"No... it can't be!" I screamed, trying to push against Lucas’s chest with both hands.

​In a swift motion, Lucas pinned my wrists above my head.

He unbuckled his belt and bound my hands tightly to the brass grille beside the fireplace. The cold touch of the metal bit into my wrists, and I recoiled in pain.

​"Quiet!" Lucas’s voice boomed like thunder. "From now on, you don't cry. You only listen. Edward removed your father to seize your mother and her property. And now, his eyes are on you.

He’s planning to sell you to an influential politician to secure the license for his new project."

​Lucas stood up, moving away from me. In the firelight, his sculpted physique looked like that of some infamous Greek warrior.

He began to slowly button his shirt, his gaze never leaving mine.

​"I can save you from this hell, Sophia. But for that, you must become my 'weapon.' You must earn Edward’s trust, enter his house, and steal the original file from his locker—the one that will bury him. And in exchange, I will give you whatever you ask for."

​I lay on the carpet, trembling. My hands were bound, my body exposed, and my soul shattered into a thousand pieces. "And if I refuse?"

​Lucas took a final sip from his glass and said, "Then tomorrow morning, Edward’s men will take you from here.

And Lucas Valentine never reaches out twice for something lost or rejected."

​He walked toward me and undid the binding. I managed to sit up and pull my nightgown around me. My body felt numb.

Lucas tilted my chin up, forcing me to look deep into his eyes. "You have until dawn, Sophia. Either you fight for me, or you become a sacrifice in Edward’s bed."

​Before leaving the room, he placed a small locket on the table. The exact locket I had seen in my nightmares.

​I sat before that fire all night. Snow is probably crying alone in my apartment. Cassie is likely dancing in some bar. And me? I was being crushed between a billionaire monster and a murderous stepfather.

​Just before dawn, I walked upstairs. The door to Lucas’s bedroom was ajar. I walked in. The room was dark, save for the reflection of the snow outside the window. Lucas wasn't in bed; he was standing by the window, smoking a cigarette.

​I went up behind him and wrapped my arms around him, resting my face against his broad back. "I’m ready, Lucas. I want to destroy Edward. I’ll do whatever I have to do."

​Lucas turned to face me, that same coldness in his eyes. He pulled me closer with a sharp tug. "You know what this means, Sophia? From now on, you smile only at my gesture, you cry only at my command. Even your body now moves by my direction."

​He pushed me down onto the bed. "Let it begin now. You need to learn how to use every inch of your body to overpower men."

​At that dawn, as the snowfall outside the window finally ceased, a new war began on Lucas’s bed. He took me through experiences that transcended my imagination.

Every moment, he reminded me that I was now like a disciplined slave to him. I kept losing consciousness in the intensity of his desire, only to return to a new world of pain.

​When it was all over, as the sun peeked over the Quebec sky, Lucas leaned into my ear and whispered, "Tonight, we go to Edward’s party. There, you will do something you’ve never even dreamed of."