WHEN THE DEVIL CHOSE LOVE

THE WOMAN IN WHITE

Chapter 7

Rain continued to fall over Blackwood Manor.

No one moved.

No one spoke.

The young woman lay motionless on the wet pavement, her lifeless eyes staring into the night sky.

Nerisse remained kneeling beside her.

The cream-colored envelope trembled in her hands.

She had arrived carrying only one thing.

A message.

And she had died to deliver it.

Ethan checked the woman's pulse one last time before slowly looking up.

"She's gone."

Margaret closed her eyes.

"May God have mercy on her."

Lucien remained silent.

His gaze swept across the surrounding trees.

Whoever had fired the shot was already gone.

It wasn't an attack.

It was an execution.

Someone had wanted to make sure the messenger never spoke another word.

"Take her inside," Lucien ordered quietly.

"Treat her with respect."

Two bodyguards nodded before carefully lifting the young woman's body.

Nerisse couldn't take her eyes off the envelope.

It felt strangely familiar.

The paper.

The handwriting.

Even the faint scent of lavender.

It reminded her of home.

Lucien noticed the distant look in her eyes.

"Let's go inside."

She nodded silently.

Minutes later, everyone gathered in Lucien's private study.

A fire crackled softly in the fireplace, but the room still felt cold.

Nerisse sat on the leather sofa, staring at the unopened envelope.

Lucien stood near the window.

Ethan remained by the door.

No one interrupted her.

Finally...

She broke the wax seal.

Inside was a folded letter.

And a small silver key.

Nerisse unfolded the letter carefully.

The handwriting was her mother's.

She began reading aloud.

**My dearest Nerisse...**

**If this letter has reached you, then someone remained loyal to me until the very end.**

Tears welled in her eyes.

She continued.

**The young woman who delivered this letter is named Elara.**

**If she is dead... then she died protecting you. Never forget her sacrifice.**

Nerisse closed her eyes for a moment.

The woman had lost her life without even knowing her.

She forced herself to continue.

**Inside this envelope is a key.**

**It opens a safety deposit box that your father rented many years ago.**

Ethan exchanged a glance with Lucien.

Neither of them had known about this.

Nerisse looked at the small silver key resting in her palm.

"A safety deposit box..."

She continued reading.

**Do not open it alone.**

**Take Lucien with you.**

Nerisse stopped.

Slowly...

She looked up at Lucien.

"You?"

Lucien looked just as surprised.

"Your mother wrote that?"

She nodded.

Then continued reading.

**You have every reason to doubt him.**

**You may even hate him after learning the truth.**

**But if there is one person who will stand between you and death...**

**It is Lucien Blackwood.**

Silence settled over the room.

Lucien lowered his eyes.

He had spent years carrying guilt over a promise he couldn't keep.

Hearing those words from the woman who had blamed him...

Hurt more than he expected.

Nerisse folded the letter carefully.

"My mother trusted you."

Lucien looked at her.

"In the end..."

"Yes."

Before either of them could say another word—

Ethan's phone rang.

He answered immediately.

His expression changed.

"Sir..."

"We've identified the sniper's location."

Lucien's eyes sharpened.

"Where?"

Ethan swallowed.

"He wasn't hiding in the forest."

"He was inside Blackwood Manor."

Every person in the room froze.

Lucien's voice became dangerously calm.

"Are you saying the sniper escaped from inside my house?"

Ethan nodded.

"Yes, sir."

"Which means..."

He hesitated.

"...there's still a traitor among us."

A heavy silence settled over Lucien's study.

No one dared to speak.

The words echoed relentlessly in Nerisse's mind.

**There's still a traitor among us.**

Lucien slowly turned away from the window.

His face revealed nothing.

But everyone in the room could sense the storm building beneath his calm expression.

"Who knows about the hidden passages inside the manor?" he asked.

Ethan answered immediately.

"Only members of the Blackwood family..."

He hesitated.

"...and the head of security."

Lucien's eyes narrowed.

"Where is Victor?"

Margaret looked around nervously.

"I haven't seen him since dinner."

Ethan immediately spoke into his radio.

"Find Victor."

"Search every room."

"No one leaves this estate."

Bodyguards scattered through the mansion.

Their footsteps echoed down the long hallways.

Nerisse remained seated, her fingers wrapped tightly around the silver key her mother had left behind.

She looked up at Lucien.

"Do you trust everyone who works here?"

Lucien didn't answer immediately.

Finally, he said,

"I used to."

His words carried more disappointment than anger.

Suddenly—

Ethan's radio crackled.

"Sir!"

"We've found Victor's office."

"It's empty."

"But..."

Ethan frowned.

"But what?"

The guard's voice became uneasy.

"You need to see this."

Minutes later, Lucien, Nerisse, Ethan, and several guards entered the security office.

The room had been turned upside down.

Drawers had been emptied.

Computers smashed.

Documents burned.

Someone had tried to erase every trace of something.

Ethan walked toward the security monitors.

One screen was still working.

"Sir..."

He pressed the replay button.

Grainy footage appeared.

It showed Victor entering the security room nearly an hour earlier.

He looked frightened.

He locked the door behind him.

Then he began copying files onto a flash drive.

Nerisse frowned.

"What was he doing?"

Ethan shook his head.

"Stealing security records."

Before anyone could say another word...

The video changed.

The office door slowly opened.

Victor looked up in terror.

A man entered.

His face couldn't be seen.

Only his black leather gloves.

He calmly walked toward Victor.

They exchanged a few words.

Then...

Victor fell to his knees.

Begging.

Crying.

The mysterious man reached into his coat.

The screen suddenly filled with static.

A loud buzzing noise echoed through the speakers.

The recording ended.

Margaret covered her mouth.

"Oh my God..."

Ethan clenched his fists.

"He killed him."

Lucien remained perfectly still.

"No."

Everyone looked at him.

"Victor wasn't the traitor."

Ethan frowned.

"How do you know?"

Lucien pointed toward the frozen image on the monitor.

Victor's terrified expression remained on the screen.

"Because traitors don't beg for their lives."

Nerisse slowly stepped closer to the desk.

Something caught her attention.

Hidden beneath the broken keyboard was a small flash drive.

Barely visible.

"Lucien..."

She picked it up carefully.

"Is this what Victor was trying to protect?"

Ethan's eyes widened.

"It must be."

Lucien took the flash drive and handed it to Ethan.

"Recover whatever is on it."

Ethan nodded.

"Right away."

Just then...

The manor's grandfather clock struck midnight.

Dong...

Dong...

Dong...

Twelve slow chimes echoed through the silent house.

At the exact same moment...

Every phone inside the room vibrated.

Lucien looked at his screen.

Ethan did the same.

So did Nerisse.

All three had received the same message.

**Stop searching for the traitor.**

**You're standing next to them.**

The message remained on every screen.

**Stop searching for the traitor. You're standing next to them.**

A cold silence swept across the security room.

Nerisse slowly looked up.

Ethan did the same.

Every bodyguard instinctively reached for their weapons.

No one trusted anyone anymore.

Lucien calmly locked his phone and slipped it back into his pocket.

His expression never changed.

"Nobody moves."

His deep voice echoed through the room.

"If the sender wanted us to panic..."

He looked around at everyone.

"...then we won't give them that satisfaction."

Ethan nodded.

"He's right."

Nerisse tightened her grip on the silver key.

She felt as though invisible eyes were watching her.

Studying her.

Waiting.

Suddenly—

One of the guards stepped backward.

"Sir..."

Everyone turned toward him.

His face had gone pale.

He slowly raised a trembling finger toward the security monitor.

"The camera..."

Ethan looked at the screen.

His heartbeat stopped.

The live security feed was no longer showing the hallway outside.

Instead...

It was showing the room they were standing in.

Every person.

Every movement.

Someone was watching them through a hidden camera.

Margaret gasped.

"How is that possible?"

Lucien's eyes narrowed.

"Trace the signal."

Ethan immediately sat at the computer.

His fingers flew across the keyboard.

After several seconds...

His expression changed.

"Sir..."

"The signal isn't coming from outside."

Lucien looked at him.

"Where is it coming from?"

Ethan swallowed.

"Inside the manor."

Before anyone could react—

The monitor flickered.

The image disappeared.

A black screen filled the display.

Then white letters slowly appeared.

**HELLO, NERISSE.**

Her breathing caught.

More words appeared.

**DO YOU STILL BELIEVE LUCIEN IS TELLING YOU THE TRUTH?**

Nerisse looked at Lucien.

He remained perfectly still.

The message continued.

**ASK HIM WHAT HAPPENED ON THE NIGHT YOUR FATHER DIED.**

Silence filled the room.

Nerisse's heart pounded painfully.

She turned toward Lucien.

"Answer me."

Lucien closed his eyes briefly.

"Not here."

Tears gathered in her eyes.

"Every time I ask you a question..."

"...you tell me to wait."

"I'm tired of waiting."

Lucien looked at her.

There was sorrow in his eyes.

Deep sorrow.

"When the time is right, I'll tell you everything."

Nerisse shook her head.

"What if that time never comes?"

Before Lucien could answer—

Ethan's computer emitted a loud beep.

"Sir!"

"I've traced the hidden camera."

"Where?"

Ethan stared at the screen in disbelief.

"It's inside Miss Nerisse's bedroom."

The room froze.

Nerisse felt a chill spread through her body.

"My bedroom?"

Lucien's expression hardened instantly.

"Take me there."

Minutes later, they entered the room that had been prepared for Nerisse.

At first glance...

Everything looked normal.

The bed was neatly made.

The curtains were drawn.

The fireplace crackled softly.

Ethan carefully searched every corner.

Five minutes passed.

Nothing.

Then Lucien noticed something unusual.

A small porcelain angel sitting on the bookshelf.

It was facing the bed.

He picked it up.

Hidden inside one of its glass eyes...

Was a tiny camera lens.

Nerisse covered her mouth.

"Someone..."

"...has been watching me."

Lucien crushed the device in his hand.

His voice became cold enough to freeze the room.

"This ends tonight."

Just then...

Another phone vibrated.

It wasn't Lucien's.

It wasn't Ethan's.

It belonged to Nerisse.

She looked down.

A new message had arrived from an unknown number.

There were only six words.

**Don't sleep beside Lucien tonight.**

End of chapter 7

When the devil chose Love