Chapter 6: The Blueprint of Burning Desires

In the dark corner of the library, seeing Lucas’s smiling face and the cold gaze of the camera lens, I felt as if the ground wasn't just slipping from beneath my feet—I was entering a living grave.

As Mr. Daniels’ sweaty hands tried to tear the silk strap of my dress from my shoulder, I wasn't looking at Daniels; I was staring into Lucas’s grey eyes. There was no mercy in them, only a demonic stillness.

​"Lucas! Save me! Please!" I screamed. My voice bounced off the library bookshelves and echoed back to me.

​Lucas adjusted the focus on his camera lens. He said in a low voice, "Scream a little more, Sophia. The more helpless you look, the more certain Daniels’ downfall will be."

​Daniels gave a repulsive laugh and began to rub his face against my neck. My skin crawled with disgust. Just then, when Daniels thought he had won, Lucas turned off the camera.

In an instant, the calm in his eyes vanished, replaced by a hellish rage. He lunged forward with the agility of a panther, grabbed Daniels by the collar, and slammed him from the sofa onto the floor.

​After a succession of kicks, Daniels curled up on the floor. Lucas grabbed him by a fistful of hair, pulled him up, and whispered near his ear, "Did you really think I would let anyone else touch what belongs to me? I only wanted to record your hideous side so I could bury your career tomorrow morning."

​Lucas kicked Daniels out of the room and locked the door from the inside. I was still huddled on the sofa, crying, trying to cover my body with my torn dress. Lucas walked toward me.

His anger had now transformed into a strange thirst.

​He knelt before me. As he placed both hands on my cheeks, I shivered. "Were you scared?" He gently wiped away my tears.

The touch of his hands was no longer ice-cold, but hot as fire.

​"You used me... you recorded my humiliation!" I tried to push him away.

​Lucas pulled me against his chest with a sharp tug. I could feel his heartbeat against my back. "I didn't use you, Sophia; I conquered you. Now, with that video, I will force Daniels to testify against your stepfather, Edward. The first step of your revenge is complete."

​He picked me up in his arms and carried me toward a secret alcove in the library. There was a small velvet divan surrounded by burning candles. Lucas set me down and stared at me intently. His eyes were no longer just those of a predator, but of a defiant lover.

​"Lucas, I can't take any more..." I whispered. A peculiar storm was raging inside me—on one side, the fire of hatred; on the other, an intense addiction to Lucas’s dominating attraction.

​Lucas stripped the remainder of my dress away with one pull. "Tonight, there is no deal, Sophia. Tonight, it is just you and me." He pressed his lips against mine.

Every kiss was demanding, as if he were registering every cell of my body in his name.

​The burning of our bodies surpassed even the candle flames in the library.

Lucas was caressing me in a way he never had before—there was a strange tenderness mixed with intense passion in his touch. He left his mark on every secret corner of my body.

I felt as if I were melting, my existence merging with the dark world of Lucas Valentine.

​"Tell me, Sophia, you don't hate me, do you?" He whispered, bringing his face close to my breast.

​I couldn't answer; I only dug my fingers into his hair. Every pulse in my body told me I was falling in love with this man—falling for a man who could lead me to hell yet give me a taste of heaven.

​As we reached the peak of that ultimate moment, Lucas held me tightly in his embrace. The sweat from his body and the tears from my eyes became one.

He planted a long kiss on my forehead and said, "You are free from now on, Sophia. But remember, you are only free within my cage."

​An hour later, when everything was calm, Lucas handed me the gold locket from the dressing table. "Open this, Sophia. It contains your father’s final message."

​With trembling hands, I opened the locket. Inside was a hidden microchip. I looked at him in surprise. Lucas turned on his laptop and inserted the chip.

A video footage appeared on the screen.

​Seeing the footage, my heart withered. It showed a scene from a few minutes before my father died. But the man who was cutting the car's brakes—his face was clearly visible. It wasn't Edward Smith! It was someone else!

​I screamed. "Lucas! Who is that? Whose face is that?"

​Lucas stared at the screen and went still. His face turned pale. He slammed the laptop shut in a sudden motion.

​"Who is it? Lucas, tell me!" I shook him.

​Lucas looked at me as if he were seeing a ghost. He said in a low voice, "Sophia, the man you see in that video... is my father. My father murdered your father."

​My world turned dark in an instant. The man in whose arms I had sought heavenly pleasure just hours ago—his father was my father's killer? And Lucas knew this all along?