WHEN THE DEVIL CHOSE LOVE

ECHOES OF THE FORGOTTEN

Chapter 10

The forest fell silent.

Even the gunfire had stopped.

Nerisse stared at Ethan, unable to breathe.

Her mind refused to accept what she had just seen.

Ethan...

The man who had protected her.

The man who had stood beside Lucien through every attack.

The man she believed she could trust.

He couldn't be the masked leader.

"No..." she whispered.

"This isn't real."

Lucien's grip tightened around his gun.

His cold gray eyes never left Ethan.

"Take off the mask."

The masked man smiled.

Then, with one swift motion, he pulled away the face.

Nerisse gasped.

It wasn't Ethan.

It was a lifelike mask.

Beneath it stood a stranger with pale skin, sharp features, and piercing blue eyes.

He laughed softly.

"Disappointed?"

Lucien didn't lower his weapon.

"Who are you?"

The stranger gave a slight bow.

"People call me Orion."

"Damien's right hand."

Ethan released a long breath.

"I knew something was wrong."

Orion smiled.

"Of course you did."

"But you were still too late."

Before anyone could react, he threw a small object onto the ground.

Bang!

Thick gray smoke exploded around them.

"Stay back!" Lucien shouted.

He immediately pulled Nerisse behind him.

The guards rushed forward.

Gunfire echoed once more.

By the time the smoke cleared...

Orion and the remaining masked men had vanished.

Only Selene remained.

She was lying on the forest floor.

A dark stain spread across her shoulder.

Nerisse dropped to her knees beside her.

"Selene!"

Selene winced in pain but managed a weak smile.

"Looks like..."

"...they finally caught me."

Blood seeped through her fingers.

Lucien knelt beside her.

"She needs a doctor."

Selene shook her head.

"No hospital."

"They'll find me."

She reached into her jacket with trembling hands.

Pulling out a small silver flash drive, she pressed it into Nerisse's palm.

"Keep this safe."

Nerisse looked down at it.

"What's on it?"

Selene coughed painfully.

"Everything."

"Project Phoenix."

"Your parents."

"Damien."

"Lucien..."

She looked directly at Lucien.

"...and the promise you broke."

Lucien's expression darkened.

"Don't."

Selene gave a sad smile.

"She deserves to know."

Nerisse looked between them.

"What promise?"

Neither of them answered.

The silence was louder than words.

Suddenly...

Selene grabbed Nerisse's wrist.

Her grip was surprisingly strong.

"Listen to me carefully."

"No matter what you learn..."

"...don't hate yourself."

Tears filled Nerisse's eyes.

"Why would I?"

Selene looked away.

"Because none of this..."

"...was your choice."

Her hand slowly loosened.

She closed her eyes.

For a terrifying second...

No one moved.

Then she inhaled sharply.

Still alive.

Ethan immediately called the medical team.

"They're two minutes away."

Lucien stood.

His attention shifted to the old journal lying on the ground.

During the attack, it had fallen from Selene's hands.

He picked it up carefully.

A folded map slipped from between its pages.

Ethan unfolded it across the hood of the SUV.

It showed an abandoned monastery hidden deep within Raven's Hollow Forest.

A single location had been circled in red ink.

Beside it, someone had written five words.

**The truth begins beneath here.**

Nerisse stepped closer.

"What's beneath it?"

Lucien stared at the map.

His face grew pale.

It was the first time Nerisse had ever seen genuine fear in his eyes.

He slowly folded the map.

His voice was barely above a whisper.

"Some places..."

"...should never be opened again."

No one spoke during the drive back to Blackwood Manor.

The silence inside the SUV was suffocating.

Nerisse sat beside Selene, who had been treated by the medical team. A bandage covered her injured shoulder, but she remained unconscious.

Ethan drove.

Lucien stared out the window.

His eyes never left the darkness beyond the glass.

Nerisse couldn't stop thinking about the map.

**The truth begins beneath here.**

And the fear in Lucien's eyes.

She had never seen him afraid.

Until tonight.

As soon as they arrived at the manor, Lucien ordered everyone into his private study.

The old journal, the map, and Selene's flash drive were placed on the table.

Ethan connected the flash drive to a secure laptop.

A password appeared on the screen.

**ENTER ACCESS CODE.**

Ethan sighed.

"It's encrypted."

Lucien folded his arms.

"Try Phoenix."

Ethan typed it.

**ACCESS DENIED.**

"Try Raven."

Again...

**ACCESS DENIED.**

Nerisse stared at the screen.

Then her eyes drifted to the silver pendant hanging around her neck.

The pendant her mother had given her before she died.

A memory flashed through her mind.

Her mother smiling.

Her gentle voice.

*"If you ever get lost, remember your birthday isn't just your birthday... it's also the key."*

Nerisse's heart skipped.

"Wait."

Ethan looked at her.

"What is it?"

She slowly spoke the numbers.

Ethan entered them carefully.

For a second...

Nothing happened.

Then the screen unlocked.

Ethan's eyes widened.

"It worked."

Hundreds of files appeared.

Audio recordings.

Laboratory reports.

Security footage.

Family records.

Lucien selected the folder marked:

**PROJECT PHOENIX**

Inside was a single document.

Ethan opened it.

The room became silent.

**Project Phoenix was established to create individuals with enhanced memory, intelligence, and psychological endurance through experimental neurological procedures.**

Nerisse frowned.

"Children?"

Ethan continued reading.

"Subjects were selected from influential families..."

"...including the Vale family."

Nerisse's blood ran cold.

"No..."

She shook her head.

"My parents would never—"

"They didn't volunteer," Lucien interrupted quietly.

She looked at him.

"They were forced."

Before anyone could speak again—

Another file opened automatically.

A video.

It showed a little girl sitting alone in a white room.

Nerisse.

She looked frightened.

A doctor entered carrying a syringe.

He knelt beside her.

"Don't be afraid."

The little Nerisse began crying.

"I want my mummy."

The doctor smiled.

"You'll forget all about today."

The syringe disappeared into her arm.

The little girl's cries slowly faded.

Nerisse covered her mouth.

Tears streamed down her face.

"Make it stop..."

Ethan quickly paused the video.

No one in the room could bear to watch any longer.

Lucien closed the laptop.

His voice was unusually gentle.

"You don't have to see the rest tonight."

Nerisse wiped her tears.

"No."

Her voice trembled.

"I've spent my whole life living with lies."

She looked directly at him.

"I'm done running from the truth."

Before Lucien could respond—

The manor's emergency alarm blared.

Red lights flashed throughout the house.

Ethan's phone rang instantly.

He answered.

His expression changed.

"Sir..."

"We've got a problem."

"What happened?"

Ethan swallowed hard.

"Someone broke into the underground archives."

Lucien's eyes narrowed.

"What was stolen?"

Ethan looked at the security report.

His face turned pale.

"Not what..."

He slowly raised his eyes.

"Who."

Nerisse frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Ethan took a shaky breath.

"A prisoner escaped."

The room fell silent.

"Which prisoner?" Lucien asked.

Ethan hesitated.

Then quietly answered,

"The man responsible for your father's death."

The room fell into stunned silence.

Nerisse felt her heartbeat pounding in her ears.

"The man responsible for my father's death... escaped?"

Ethan nodded grimly.

"Just minutes ago."

Lucien immediately stood.

"Show me the security footage."

Within seconds, the monitor lit up.

The recording showed the underground archives beneath Blackwood Manor.

Two armed guards stood outside a reinforced steel door.

Everything appeared normal.

Then...

The lights flickered.

One second.

Two seconds.

When the power returned...

Both guards were lying unconscious.

The prison door stood wide open.

The cell...

Was empty.

Ethan replayed the footage.

Again.

And again.

There was no sign of anyone entering.

No sign of anyone leaving.

It was as if the prisoner had vanished into thin air.

Nerisse frowned.

"That's impossible."

Lucien's expression darkened.

"Nothing is impossible."

"Not anymore."

Before anyone could speak again, one of the guards burst into the study.

He was out of breath.

"Sir!"

"We found this inside the empty cell."

He handed Lucien a small wooden box.

It was old.

Covered in dust.

A strange symbol had been carved into the lid.

Nerisse froze.

She had seen that symbol before.

It was engraved on the silver key her mother had left behind.

Lucien carefully opened the box.

Inside...

Was an old pocket watch.

A faded family photograph.

And a folded letter.

The photograph showed three smiling men standing together.

Nerisse recognized two of them instantly.

Her father.

Lucien.

The third face...

Was Damien.

But someone had written a single sentence across the picture in red ink.

**One of us betrayed the others.**

Nerisse's hands trembled.

Lucien slowly unfolded the letter.

It contained only one line.

**The wrong man died that night.**

The words struck the room like thunder.

Nerisse looked at Lucien.

"What does that mean?"

Lucien remained silent.

Ethan's phone suddenly rang.

He answered immediately.

His face lost all color.

"Sir..."

"We've located the escaped prisoner."

Lucien's eyes sharpened.

"Where?"

Ethan swallowed.

"He's walking toward Blackwood Manor."

"Alone."

"He refuses to stop."

Lucien reached for his gun.

"Everyone stays inside."

"I'm ending this tonight."

"No."

Nerisse stepped in front of him.

Lucien frowned.

"Move."

She shook her head.

"I've spent my whole life hiding from the truth."

"Not anymore."

"If the man knows what happened to my family..."

"...I deserve to hear it."

Lucien looked into her determined eyes.

He knew he couldn't change her mind.

Finally, he nodded.

"You stay beside me."

"No matter what happens."

"Promise me."

Nerisse hesitated.

Then nodded.

"I promise."

Minutes later...

The massive gates of Blackwood Manor slowly opened.

A lonely figure emerged through the thick mist.

His clothes were torn.

His gray hair hung over his face.

He walked with slow, uneven steps, as though every movement caused him pain.

The guards aimed their weapons.

"Don't move!"

The old man ignored them.

His eyes searched the crowd until they stopped on Nerisse.

Tears filled them.

His lips trembled.

"Little... Neri..."

Nerisse froze.

No one had called her that since she was a child.

The old man smiled sadly.

"You..."

"...you look just like your mother."

Before anyone could react—

A single gunshot echoed across the estate.

Bang!

The bullet tore through the night.

It struck the old man squarely in the chest.

His body collapsed onto the stone pathway.

Nerisse screamed.

"No!"

She ran toward him despite Lucien's warning.

The old man struggled to breathe.

With blood staining his shirt, he reached into his coat and pressed a small bronze key into Nerisse's trembling hand.

His final words were barely a whisper.

"Don't..."

"...open the last door..."

His hand fell limp.

The old man was gone.

Nerisse stared at the bronze key in horror.

Then she noticed something engraved on it.

Three simple words.

**Room 13. Phoenix.**

End of chapter 10

When The Devil Chose Love