Chapter 2: The Devil Appears
949 Words
Chapter 2: The Devil Appears
Ariana couldn’t stop shaking.
The elevator doors slid open into the employee lobby, and she stumbled out as though the ground beneath her feet had vanished. Every breath came in short, uneven gasps.
She had just witnessed a murder.
No.
Not just a murder.
An execution.
Her trembling hands fumbled for her phone as she rushed into the staff locker room. She splashed cold water on her face, hoping it would wash away the horrifying image burned into her mind.
It didn’t.
Those cold gray eyes…
They followed her like a shadow.
“Hey!”
Nicole hurried inside, startled by Ariana’s pale face.
“Ari, what’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
Ariana opened her mouth but no words came out.
“I… I…”
Nicole grabbed her shoulders.
“What happened?”
For a moment, Ariana almost told her everything.
But then she remembered the gun.
The men.
The lifeless body on the floor.
And the leader whose expression never changed.
She swallowed hard.
“I… I think someone was fighting upstairs.”
Nicole frowned.
“Should we call security?”
Ariana hesitated.
Would security even survive if those men returned?
Before she could answer, the hotel manager entered.
“Ariana, your shift is over. You don’t look well.”
“I’m fine, sir.”
“No, you’re not. Go home and get some rest.”
She nodded weakly.
Rest.
The word sounded impossible.
Across the city…
The top floor of De Luca Holdings pierced the night sky.
Inside the executive office, silence ruled.
Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the glittering skyline while expensive artwork decorated the black marble walls.
Everything was immaculate.
Everything was under control.
Except one thing.
Damien Alessandro De Luca.
He stood before the window, one hand tucked into his pocket, the other holding a crystal glass of whiskey.
His tailored charcoal suit fit him perfectly.
His expression remained unreadable.
The city feared him as the brilliant CEO who had built De Luca Holdings into one of the most powerful corporations in the country.
The underworld knew a different truth.
He wasn’t just a businessman.
He was the king of an empire built in blood.
A soft knock interrupted the silence.
“Come in.”
Luca Romano stepped inside.
Tall, disciplined, and impeccably dressed, he had served Damien for nearly a decade.
“The body has been disposed of.”
Damien didn’t respond.
“The warehouse has been cleaned. There are no traces left.”
Still nothing.
Luca hesitated.
“There is only one problem.”
Damien slowly turned around.
“The witness.”
The room became noticeably colder.
Luca continued carefully.
“Hotel security footage confirms she works at the Grand Celestia Hotel.”
Damien placed his whiskey on the desk.
“What do we know?”
“Female.”
“Approximately twenty-two years old.”
“Employee.”
“Name still being verified.”
Damien walked toward the enormous window again.
His polished shoes echoed against the marble floor.
He wasn’t angry.
He wasn’t worried.
He was thinking.
The image of the frightened girl replayed in his mind.
Wide brown eyes.
Long dark hair.
Fear written across her face.
Yet…
She hadn’t screamed.
She’d run.
Smart.
Most people froze.
She survived because she moved.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
Interesting.
Luca noticed it immediately.
In ten years, he had rarely seen Damien smile.
“Boss?”
Damien’s voice was calm.
“Did she see everything?”
“Yes.”
“My face?”
“…Yes.”
Silence stretched across the room.
Luca already knew what came next.
Every witness who had ever seen Damien’s face had disappeared.
Without exception.
Damien picked up a file from his desk before setting it aside without reading it.
Then he spoke.
“Find the girl.”
Only four words.
Softly spoken.
But every man in the room understood their weight.
Luca lowered his head.
“Yes, Boss.”
He left immediately.
Within minutes, encrypted messages spread across the De Luca Organization.
Every security team.
Every intelligence network.
Every private investigator.
One photograph.
One target.
Find the hotel employee.
No mistakes.
No delays.
Meanwhile…
Ariana finally reached the small apartment she shared with her family.
Her mother smiled from the kitchen.
“You’re home.”
Ariana forced a smile.
“I’m home.”
Her younger sister, Sofia, rushed out of her bedroom.
“Ate! You’re late again.”
“I had overtime.”
Miguel Castillo looked up from the old couch.
“You work too hard.”
“It’s okay, Dad.”
She hugged each of them a little tighter than usual.
They noticed.
But no one asked why.
Later that night, Ariana lay awake staring at the ceiling.
Every time she closed her eyes…
She saw him.
The man in the black suit.
Those piercing gray eyes.
She whispered to herself,
“I’ll never see him again.”
She didn’t know that at that exact moment…
More than fifty armed men were searching every corner of the city for her.
Back inside De Luca Holdings…
Damien sat alone in his office.
The lights were dim.
Rain tapped softly against the glass.
He opened the surveillance photo his men had recovered from the hotel.
A young woman in a hotel uniform smiled politely at a guest.
Simple.
Beautiful.
Ordinary.
Her name was printed beneath the photograph.
ARIANA ISABELLA CASTILLO.
Damien stared at it for several long seconds.
Then, with the same calm expression he wore while signing million-dollar business deals, he closed the file.
“Let’s see how long you can hide, Miss Castillo.”
Outside, thunder rolled across the city.
The hunt had officially begun.
- Writer
