The Blood Between Us

PROMISE TO YOUR FATHER

Ella’s POV

Lucas’s mansion was too quiet.

The kind of quiet that felt like it was watching you. Every tick of the massive golden clock on the wall echoed through my head like a heartbeat.

I stood in the middle of the wide hallway, surrounded by chandeliers and marble floors, feeling small for the first time in my life.

The guards had left after we came in, disappearing silently like ghosts. Now, only Lucas and I stood there.

He glanced at me once, then turned his back and started walking down the corridor, pointing at a door, his footsteps steady and precise.

“Come,” he said simply. “You need rest.”

Rest?

After everything that just happened?

I blinked, my jaw tightening. “You think I can just sleep after all that?”

He didn’t stop walking. “You’ll need strength for tomorrow.”

That made me angrier. “Tomorrow? You’re talking like this is some business trip. My parents are dead, Lucas! My whole life just fell apart and you’re telling me to rest?”

He stopped at the end of the corridor, turned slightly, and looked at me with that same detached expression. “Crying won’t change that.”

I froze. “Excuse me?”

His tone didn’t even shift. “You’re safe here. That’s all that matters right now.”

That was it. I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I stormed toward him and grabbed his wrist, yanking him around to face me.

“Safe? Safe from what? From who? You owe me an explanation!”

His eyes darkened. I’d seen cold men before, but this one was different—he didn’t just look cold; he was cold.

“You’re not ready for the answers,” he said, trying to pull his hand free.

I refused to let go. “Then make me ready! Because I’m not some broken doll you can drag around and tell when to eat or sleep.”

He stared at me for a long moment, silent, his jaw clenching slightly. I saw something flicker in his eyes—something almost like frustration… or restraint.

Then he sighed and finally spoke.

“If you leave this house, you’ll be dead before morning.”

That shut me up for half a second. “What?”

He stepped closer, his presence suffocating, his cologne dark and sharp. “The people who killed your parents weren’t ordinary criminals. Your father was involved in things you don’t understand, Ella. Dangerous things. You were left alive for a reason, and that reason isn’t mercy.”

I swallowed hard, my hand dropping slowly from his arm. “What things?”

He looked away briefly, running a hand through his hair. “Your father’s business has never been as clean as you thought. In the last few years, he got involved with some powerful people. Deals. Information. Diamonds. He kept everything locked away in a private safe somewhere.”

My heart skipped. “A safe?”

Lucas nodded slightly. “It contains something valuable. Not just the diamonds… but information that could destroy entire organizations if it lands in the wrong hands.”

I frowned, confused and angry. “And how do you know all this?”

That made him pause. His voice dropped lower when he answered.

“Because your father told me.”

I blinked. “What?”

He finally turned to face me fully. “He was my godfather, Ella. When you were aboard at your young age, I was already part of his world. We worked together, handled things you didn’t need to know.”

I stared at him like he’d just spoken another language. “You’re lying.”

He didn’t flinch. “I’m not.”

“No. I would’ve known about you.”

He smirked faintly, but it wasn’t amusement—it was sadness dressed as arrogance. “You were too busy living your perfect life across the ocean. Expensive schools. Designer parties. The daughter who didn’t want anything to do with her father’s work.”

That stung more than I expected.

“Don’t you dare talk about my father like that,” I snapped. “He was a good man!”

“Good men don’t hide diamonds and secret files from their enemies.”

I clenched my fists, shaking. “You think I care about some stupid diamonds? I just lost everything!”

He looked at me again, eyes softer this time. “I know. But your father made me promise to protect you if anything happened. That’s why you’re here.”

I stepped back slowly, my breathing shallow. “So what… this is pity? You’re doing this because of a promise?”

He didn’t answer.

I hated that silence more than any insult.

“You think locking me here makes me safe?” I said bitterly. “You think I’ll just sit quietly while strangers decide what I’m worth?”

He didn’t respond. Instead, he gestured toward the grand staircase at the end of the hall. “The second room on the right. Get some rest.”

I folded my arms, glaring. “And if I don’t?”

He met my gaze, calm and infuriatingly composed. “Then I’ll have to make you.”

That one sentence sent a cold shiver through me. Not because I thought he’d hurt me—but because he meant it.

I turned sharply and walked away before I could say something I’d regret.

The hallway upstairs was just as quiet, lined with oil paintings and faint candlelight. When I reached the door he’d mentioned, I turned the knob slowly and stepped inside.

The room was luxurious—soft white sheets, golden lamps, floor-length curtains, a balcony overlooking the dark forest. It would’ve been beautiful if my mind wasn’t drowning.

I shut the door behind me and leaned against it, breathing hard.

My father. A safe. Diamonds. Rivals. Promises.

Everything felt wrong. None of it made sense.

I sank onto the edge of the bed, pressing my palms against my face. “Why now?” I whispered. “Why all of this now?”

Hot tears spilled down before I could stop them.

I didn’t cry easily. I was the kind of girl who broke phones before crying. Who’d rather slam a door than beg. But this time… the pain burned too deep.

For hours, I sat there, replaying Lucas’s words.

Your father made me promise to protect you.

It sounded noble. But from a man like him, it only sounded like another secret.

Eventually, I stood, crossed the room, and slammed the door hard enough for the echo to shake the silence. Then I slid to the floor, hugging my knees.

I didn’t know who to trust anymore. Not the police. Not even the man who saved my life.

And the worst part?

I still couldn’t forget the way his eyes looked when he said he knew my father.

Because for a second… I believed him.

---

Lucas’s POV

I stood by the fireplace downstairs long after she’d gone to her room.

The flames reflected against the glass of the window, and for a moment, I saw her face in it—angry, broken, beautiful.

She had no idea what kind of world her father lived in. No idea what kind of promise I’d made to him.

And maybe that was for the best.

If she knew everything… she’d hate me more than she already did.

I took a slow breath and looked up at the grand staircase. Somewhere above, I could still hear the faint sound of her slamming the door.

Good. Let her hate me.

It would make what’s coming easier.