WHEN THE DEVIL CHOSE LOVE

BLOOD OATHS

Chapter 6

The underground vault shook violently.

Chunks of concrete crashed onto the floor as thick clouds of dust filled the air.

"Everyone, move!" Ethan shouted.

Lucien grabbed Nerisse's hand without hesitation.

"Stay with me."

She tightened her grip around his hand as another explosion echoed behind them.

The ancient walls groaned.

Cracks spread across the ceiling like lightning.

They ran through the narrow passage while bodyguards covered the rear.

A massive stone pillar suddenly collapsed.

Bang!

It crashed between them and the entrance to the vault.

Ethan barely managed to jump aside.

"Sir!"

Lucien turned instantly.

"Is everyone out?"

Ethan coughed through the dust.

"Yes!"

"Go!"

They continued running until they finally burst through the hidden doorway into the library.

The bookshelf behind them slammed shut.

A deafening crash echoed from beneath the floor.

The entire secret vault had collapsed.

Silence followed.

Everyone stood there, breathing heavily.

Margaret rushed into the library.

Tears streamed down her face.

"Mr. Blackwood!"

Her eyes quickly searched the room until they found Nerisse.

Relief washed over her.

"Thank goodness..."

Nerisse leaned against a nearby table, trying to steady her breathing.

She looked down.

Her hand was still wrapped around Lucien's.

She gently pulled away.

Neither of them spoke.

Ethan broke the silence.

"The vault is gone."

Lucien nodded.

"Not everything."

He looked toward the pocket watch still clutched in Nerisse's hand.

"Damien wanted us to find that."

Nerisse slowly opened it again.

The tiny family photograph stared back at her.

Her mother.

Her father.

Herself.

And Lucien.

Standing together.

Smiling.

It looked like a family portrait.

Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Why were you there?"

Lucien closed his eyes.

For the first time...

He looked exhausted.

"Because your father was my closest friend."

Nerisse stared at him.

"Then why didn't my mother ever tell me?"

Lucien answered quietly.

"Because after your father's death..."

"...she blamed me."

The words struck Nerisse like a blow.

"She blamed you?"

He nodded.

"She believed I could have saved him."

Tears filled Nerisse's eyes once again.

She remembered every warning in her mother's letter.

**Stay away from Lucien Blackwood.**

Suddenly...

She understood.

Perhaps her mother hadn't hated Lucien.

Perhaps she had simply been unable to forgive him.

Ethan's phone rang.

He answered immediately.

His expression changed.

"Sir..."

"Our security team found something outside."

Lucien frowned.

"What is it?"

Ethan looked directly at Nerisse.

"A package."

"It has Miss Nerisse's name written on it."

Minutes later, everyone gathered in the entrance hall.

A small wooden box sat on the marble floor.

There was no sender's name.

Only four words burned into the lid.

**OPEN IT ALONE, NERISSE.**

Nerisse swallowed hard.

"It could be dangerous."

Ethan stepped forward.

"I'll inspect it first."

"No."

Lucien stopped him.

His eyes never left the box.

"It's meant for her."

Nerisse slowly knelt in front of it.

Her heartbeat echoed in her ears.

With trembling hands...

She lifted the lid.

Inside lay a single red rose.

Beneath it rested another cream-colored envelope.

It was sealed with black wax.

She recognized the handwriting immediately.

It wasn't Damien's.

It wasn't Lucien's.

It belonged to her mother.

Nerisse's eyes filled with tears.

"Another letter..."

Lucien's expression hardened.

"That's impossible."

Nerisse carefully broke the seal.

The first line made the color drain from her face.

**My dearest Nerisse... if you have received this second letter, then Lucien has finally broken the promise he made to me.**

The room fell silent.

Nerisse could hear nothing except the sound of her own heartbeat.

Her trembling fingers tightened around the letter.

Lucien stood only a few steps away, his eyes fixed on the paper.

For the first time since they had met...

He looked afraid.

Not for himself.

For what the letter might reveal.

Nerisse swallowed the lump in her throat and continued reading.

**If Lucien has brought you to Blackwood Manor, then he has already broken the promise he made to me.**

**Don't blame him. I knew this day would come.**

Tears blurred Nerisse's vision.

She continued.

**Lucien promised me that he would never allow you to become part of this war.**

**But fate has never cared about promises.**

Nerisse lowered the letter.

Slowly...

She looked at Lucien.

"You promised my mother?"

Lucien nodded quietly.

"I did."

"Then why did you bring me here?"

Pain flashed across his face.

"Because there was nowhere else I could keep you alive."

Nerisse looked back at the letter.

**There is one truth I could never tell you while I was alive.**

**Not because I didn't trust you...**

**But because I wanted you to have at least a few years of peace.**

Her hands trembled.

Every sentence felt heavier than the last.

**Your father did not die in an accident.**

**He was murdered.**

Ethan lowered his head.

Margaret quietly wiped away her tears.

Nerisse's knees almost gave way.

Murdered.

The word echoed through her mind.

All these years...

She had believed her father had abandoned them.

Then she learned he had died.

Now...

She was learning he had been murdered.

"Why?" she whispered.

"Why would anyone kill him?"

Lucien remained silent.

The answer wasn't his to give.

Nerisse continued reading.

**The people responsible have spent years searching for something your father protected.**

**They believe he hid it before he died.**

**They also believe you know where it is.**

Nerisse frowned.

"But I don't know anything."

Lucien looked at her gently.

"They don't believe that."

She folded the letter against her chest.

"So they'll never stop chasing me."

"No."

His answer came quietly.

"They won't."

Another page slipped from the envelope and floated to the floor.

Nerisse bent down and picked it up.

It was much smaller.

On it was written only one sentence.

**Trust your heart before you trust your eyes.**

She read it twice.

It made no sense.

Yet somehow...

It felt important.

Suddenly—

Bang!

A gunshot shattered one of the manor's front windows.

Glass exploded across the marble floor.

Margaret screamed.

Ethan immediately drew his weapon.

"Sniper!"

Lucien reacted instantly.

He pulled Nerisse against him and shielded her with his body.

Another shot rang out.

Bang!

The bullet struck the wall just inches from where they had been standing.

Bodyguards rushed into position.

"Protect Miss Nerisse!"

The entrance hall erupted into chaos.

Lucien leaned close to Nerisse.

His voice was calm despite the danger.

"Stay behind me."

Nerisse looked up at him.

His arm was firmly around her shoulders, shielding her from every direction.

She had never felt so frightened.

Yet strangely...

She had never felt safer.

Their eyes met for a brief moment.

Neither of them spoke.

Then Ethan shouted,

"Sir!"

"The sniper's gone!"

Lucien slowly released Nerisse.

His expression hardened.

He walked to the shattered window.

Embedded in the wooden frame was another black envelope.

It had been fired into the manor with the bullet.

Lucien removed it carefully.

Across the front were five words.

**Tick... Tock... Time's Running Out.**

The manor was eerily silent once again.

The shattered window allowed the cold night breeze to sweep through the entrance hall.

Everyone's attention remained fixed on the black envelope in Lucien's hand.

**Tick... Tock... Time's Running Out.**

Lucien slowly broke the seal.

Inside was a folded sheet of black paper.

He unfolded it carefully.

His expression darkened.

Ethan stepped closer.

"Sir?"

Lucien handed him the note without saying a word.

Ethan read it aloud.

"**Every hour you keep Nerisse alive... another innocent person dies.**"

Margaret covered her mouth in horror.

Nerisse's heart sank.

Ethan continued.

"**You have twenty-four hours to hand her over. If you don't... Blackwood Manor will become a cemetery.**"

The room fell into a heavy silence.

Nerisse lowered her head.

"This is because of me."

Lucien immediately looked at her.

"No."

"It is."

Tears filled her eyes.

"Your staff are being attacked."

"Your home has become a battlefield."

"People are dying because I'm here."

Lucien walked toward her.

His voice remained calm.

"Look at me."

She slowly raised her eyes.

"None of this is your fault."

"But—"

"No."

His tone became firmer.

"They started this war long before you were born."

Nerisse searched his face.

There wasn't the slightest trace of blame.

Only determination.

Ethan folded the letter.

"Sir, we should move Miss Nerisse to another safe house."

Lucien shook his head.

"No."

"They'll expect that."

Ethan frowned.

"Then what do we do?"

Lucien looked toward the rain outside.

"We stop running."

The room grew quiet.

"It's time we found Damien before he finds us again."

Suddenly—

The manor's security monitor beeped.

One of the guards hurried into the hall.

"Mr. Blackwood!"

"We've detected movement at the main gate."

Ethan immediately checked the live camera feed.

A lone figure stood outside the massive iron gates.

A young woman.

She wore a white dress soaked by the rain.

She wasn't carrying a weapon.

She simply stood there.

Motionless.

Nerisse frowned.

"Who is she?"

None of the guards recognized her.

Lucien studied the screen.

Something about her seemed familiar.

The woman slowly lifted her head.

Then...

She smiled directly at the security camera.

She raised one hand.

In it...

She held another cream-colored envelope.

The same kind Nerisse's mother had used.

Before anyone could react—

The woman collapsed onto the wet ground.

Ethan's eyes widened.

"Sir!"

"She's been shot!"

Without hesitation, Lucien ran toward the front door.

Nerisse followed close behind.

The guards pushed open the gates and rushed to the unconscious woman.

Blood stained the rain-soaked pavement beneath her.

Her breathing was weak.

Barely noticeable.

Nerisse knelt beside her.

"Please..."

"Stay with us."

The woman's eyes fluttered open.

She looked directly at Nerisse.

With the last of her strength, she pressed the envelope into Nerisse's hand.

Her lips moved.

So softly that Nerisse had to lean closer to hear.

"Don't..."

She struggled for breath.

"...let him remember."

Before Nerisse could ask what she meant...

The woman's hand fell lifelessly to the ground.

The rain continued to fall.

And in Nerisse's trembling hands...

Was yet another letter that threatened to change everything.

End of chapter 6

When the devil chose Love