THE DEVIL'S TRUTH
1321 Words
Chapter 3
The black SUV sped through the rain-soaked streets, its headlights slicing through the darkness.
Inside the vehicle, silence settled over everyone.
Nerisse sat beside the window, her fingers wrapped tightly around her mother's letter. She had read it countless times in her mind, hoping the words would suddenly make sense.
They never did.
She stole a glance at the man sitting across from her.
Lucien Blackwood.
The man her mother had warned her never to trust.
Yet he was also the man who had saved her life twice in a single night.
Nothing about him made sense.
He looked out of the window, his expression unreadable, as though he carried the weight of an entire world on his shoulders.
The silence became unbearable.
"Who are you?"
Her voice was quiet, but it filled the SUV.
Lucien slowly turned toward her.
"You've asked me that before."
"Because you never answered."
His dark eyes rested on hers for a brief moment.
"I'm the man trying to keep you alive."
Nerisse shook her head.
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one I can give right now."
Frustration tightened her chest.
"Everyone keeps telling me to wait."
Her voice trembled.
"My mother waited."
"The police wanted me to wait."
"Now you're asking me to wait."
She looked away, blinking back fresh tears.
"I'm tired of living in the dark."
Lucien remained silent.
Outside, thunder rolled across the city.
After several moments, he finally spoke.
"Did your mother ever tell you about your father?"
Nerisse laughed bitterly.
"She told me he abandoned us before I was born."
Lucien lowered his eyes.
"That wasn't the truth."
Nerisse's heart skipped.
"Then what is?"
Lucien took a slow breath.
"Your father never abandoned you."
She stared at him.
"He died protecting both of you."
The words hit harder than she expected.
"No..."
"Your mother lied because she believed it was the only way to keep you safe."
Tears burned in Nerisse's eyes.
Every memory she had was beginning to crumble.
"Why would anyone want to hurt me?"
Lucien didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he reached into the inside pocket of his coat and removed an old photograph.
Its edges were worn with age.
He handed it to her.
Nerisse looked down.
The photograph showed three smiling people.
A younger version of her mother.
A handsome man with kind eyes.
And Lucien.
He looked years younger, but there was no mistaking him.
Nerisse's breath caught.
"You knew my parents."
Lucien nodded once.
"We were more than acquaintances."
"Then why didn't you come after my mother's death?"
Pain flickered across his face.
"Because your mother made me promise."
"Promise what?"
"To stay away from you."
Nerisse looked at him in disbelief.
"Then why are you here now?"
Lucien's jaw tightened.
"Because she isn't here to protect you anymore."
Silence filled the SUV again.
Nerisse looked down at the photograph.
Her mother looked genuinely happy.
Happier than she had ever seen her.
A tear landed on the faded picture.
"She never smiled like this with me."
Lucien's expression softened.
"She smiled every time she spoke about you."
Nerisse closed her eyes.
Grief settled heavily in her chest.
She wanted her mother back.
Just for one minute.
Just long enough to ask all the questions she had never thought to ask.
Suddenly...
The SUV came to an abrupt stop.
The bodyguards instantly reached for their weapons.
Lucien looked through the windshield.
His expression became dangerously calm.
"Stay inside."
One of the guards spoke urgently.
"Sir... the bridge is blocked."
Nerisse looked ahead.
Three black vehicles were parked across the narrow bridge.
Their headlights shone directly toward them.
Slowly...
The doors opened.
One by one...
Armed men stepped into the rain.
Lucien's eyes never left them.
Then he said four words that made every guard tense.
"They found us again."
Rain crashed against the windshield as the black SUVs blocked the narrow bridge.
No one inside Lucien's vehicle spoke.
The bodyguards exchanged tense glances.
Their hands rested on their weapons, waiting for a single command.
Nerisse's heartbeat pounded inside her chest.
She looked through the rain-covered window.
Seven men slowly walked toward them.
Each dressed in black.
Each carrying a weapon.
They weren't hiding anymore.
They had come prepared.
"Who are they?" Nerisse whispered.
Lucien never took his eyes off the approaching men.
"People who don't know when to stop."
His voice remained calm.
Almost too calm.
As though danger no longer surprised him.
Ethan turned from the front seat.
"Sir, should we turn back?"
Lucien shook his head once.
"No."
"But they've blocked every exit."
"Exactly."
Lucien's eyes narrowed.
"Which means this isn't an attack."
Ethan frowned.
"Then what is it?"
"A warning."
The lead vehicle's door opened.
A tall man stepped out.
He wore a long black coat despite the heavy rain.
His silver hair glistened beneath the bridge lights.
He wasn't carrying a gun.
He simply stood there, watching Lucien's SUV.
Nerisse frowned.
"Who is he?"
Lucien's jaw tightened.
"Someone I hoped you'd never meet."
The man smiled.
It wasn't warm.
It was the smile of someone who enjoyed watching others suffer.
Slowly, he raised one hand.
Every armed man behind him stopped walking immediately.
The silence that followed was unsettling.
The man spoke loudly enough for Lucien to hear.
"It's been a long time, Lucien."
Lucien opened the SUV door and stepped into the rain.
"Stay inside," he told Nerisse.
She grabbed his sleeve before he could walk away.
"Don't go."
Lucien looked down at her hand.
For the first time...
He smiled.
It wasn't a big smile.
It lasted only a second.
But it transformed his entire face.
"I'll come back."
Before she could respond, he gently freed his arm and closed the door.
Nerisse watched him walk toward the stranger.
Rain soaked his suit within seconds.
Yet his footsteps never slowed.
He stopped several feet away.
Neither man spoke.
They simply stared at each other.
Finally, the silver-haired man laughed.
"Still fearless."
Lucien's expression remained unreadable.
"You should have stayed away from her."
"I gave you that chance."
"You also murdered an innocent woman."
The man's smile disappeared.
"She broke the agreement."
Nerisse's breath caught.
Agreement?
What agreement?
Lucien's voice became colder.
"She protected her daughter."
"She protected a secret."
The man took another step forward.
"And secrets always have a price."
Nerisse instinctively reached into her coat pocket.
Her mother's letter.
Was that the secret they were talking about?
The stranger suddenly looked toward the SUV.
His eyes settled directly on Nerisse.
A slow smile returned.
"So..."
"That's the girl."
His gaze lingered on her for several seconds.
It made her skin crawl.
"She looks just like her mother."
Lucien stepped sideways, blocking the man's view.
"Don't look at her."
The man chuckled.
"Protective already?"
He tilted his head slightly.
"Careful, Lucien."
"Feelings make powerful men weak."
Lucien didn't react.
But Nerisse noticed his hands slowly clench into fists.
The stranger continued.
"You know how this ends."
"Walk away from the girl."
"Hand over the letter."
"And perhaps I'll let you both live."
Silence.
Rain poured harder.
Lucien's answer came without hesitation.
"No."
The stranger sighed.
"Then you've chosen war."
He snapped his fingers.
Within seconds...
Every weapon was raised.
Ethan shouted from the SUV.
"Sir!"
Lucien didn't move.
His eyes remained fixed on the stranger.
"If you want a war..."
His voice was low.
Deadly.
"...come through me first."
The stranger smiled one last time.
"I intend to."
Suddenly—
A deafening explosion erupted beneath the bridge.
The ground shook violently.
Nerisse screamed as the SUV lurched sideways.
Cracks raced across the concrete.
One of Lucien's bodyguards shouted,
"The bridge is collapsing!"
Lucien spun toward the vehicle.
His calm expression vanished for the first time.
"Nerisse!"
The section of the bridge beneath the SUV gave way.
The vehicle began sliding toward the raging river below.
End of chapter 3
When the devil chose Love
- Writer
