Chapter 2

The Devil's Offer

The rain hid my tears.

Or maybe it didn't.

At that moment, I didn't care.

I stared at the stranger inside the Rolls-Royce, wondering if grief had finally driven me insane.

"...if I offered you a way to ruin the man who did this to you... would you take it?"

The words echoed in my head.

I let out a hollow laugh.

"You don't even know my name."

"I know enough."

"No, you don't."

"My name is Damian."

"I didn't ask."

One corner of his mouth twitched, as if he wasn't used to being spoken to that way.

"Good," he said quietly. "Most people are too busy trying to impress me."

"I'm not most people."

"No," he agreed, his eyes lingering on my soaked wedding dress. "You're a woman who just lost everything."

His words stung because they were true.

I looked away.

"I haven't lost everything."

"Haven't you?"

I opened my mouth to argue.

Nothing came out.

Three years.

Three years of love.

Three years of sacrifice.

Three years of believing I had found my forever.

Gone.

In a single text message.

"I don't need your pity."

"I'm not offering pity."

"Then what are you offering?"

"A choice."

Lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating his face for a split second.

He looked calm.

Too calm.

As if storms didn't scare him.

As if heartbreak was just another business problem waiting to be solved.

"I don't make choices with strangers."

"Then stop treating me like one."

I frowned.

"What does that mean?"

Instead of answering, he reached into the seat beside him and pulled out a tablet.

He tapped the screen once before handing it to me.

"What is this?"

"Watch."

The video started playing.

My heart stopped.

It was Ethan.

He was laughing.

Laughing.

Standing in the arms of another woman.

The recording had been taken less than an hour ago.

The date and time flashed at the bottom of the screen.

My wedding day.

"I don't understand..."

The woman wrapped her arms around Ethan's neck.

"I can't believe she actually thought you'd marry her," she laughed.

Ethan kissed her.

"I only stayed because I needed her father's investment."

My knees nearly gave out.

The tablet slipped from my trembling hands.

"No..."

"Watch the rest," Damian said.

I couldn't.

I didn't want to.

But somehow, I pressed play again.

"I blocked her already," Ethan said with a grin. "By now she's probably crying in that church."

Both of them burst into laughter.

"I almost felt bad."

"You?" the woman scoffed. "Since when?"

"When she looked at me this morning."

He shrugged.

"For about two seconds."

They laughed again.

Something inside me died.

I wasn't crying anymore.

I was empty.

"Who are they?" I whispered.

"The woman is Vanessa Hart."

The name sounded familiar.

"She's the daughter of your fiancé's biggest investor."

I looked up sharply.

"You investigated me?"

"No."

His gaze hardened.

"I investigated Ethan."

"Why?"

Before he could answer, his phone rang.

The moment he saw the caller's name, his expression changed.

He answered immediately.

"What?"

Silence.

Then...

"What do you mean she's missing?"

He looked out the rain-covered window.

"No. Don't call the police yet."

Another pause.

"I'm on my way."

He ended the call.

The driver started the engine.

I grabbed the door handle.

"I should leave."

"You can't."

"Watch me."

I pulled the handle.

It didn't open.

My heartbeat quickened.

"What did you do?"

"The child lock is on."

My pulse shot up.

"You locked me in?"

"I locked you in because the moment you step outside, they'll find you."

"Who?"

His eyes met mine.

For the first time, I saw something that looked almost like... fear.

"The people who destroyed your wedding."

A loud bang echoed against the side of the car.

Someone had hit the window.

I turned so fast my neck hurt.

Three black SUVs had surrounded us.

Men in dark suits stepped into the rain.

One of them raised a gun.

Damian's jaw tightened.

"They found us."

Then the first shot shattered the silence.