CHAPTER 4 : THE PRICE OF A LIFE
977 Words
Silence shattered inside the penthouse as the words on the screen refused to disappear.
WE HAVE THE BOY.
Elena felt like the floor had been ripped away beneath her.
“No…”
Her voice came out broken as cold fear flooded her entire body so quickly she could barely breathe.
Daniel.
Her little brother.
Gone.
Lucien’s arms tightened around her instantly when her knees weakened.
He didn’t let her fall.
He never let her fall completely.
“Breathe,” he said sharply near her ear.
But Elena couldn’t.
Her hands clutched the front of his shirt like it was the only thing keeping her anchored to reality.
“They took him,” she whispered. “Lucien, they took him.”
His jaw tightened.
“I know.”
That answer shocked her.
“You know?”
Lucien didn’t look away from the screen.
“I suspected it the moment they accessed your apartment.”
His voice was controlled.
Too controlled.
Like a man holding back something violent.
Elena pulled back slightly to look at him.
“You’re not surprised.”
“No.”
The honesty unsettled her.
“Then why didn’t you stop it?”
His eyes flicked to hers.
“Because I didn’t know they would find him first.”
That sentence hit harder than it should have.
Lucien Vale didn’t miss things.
Men like him didn’t get surprised.
And yet—
he looked angry.
Not at her.
At himself.
That realization twisted something strange in her chest.
Lucien turned sharply toward the security console.
“Trace the signal.”
“Yes, sir.”
Keys clacked rapidly.
Monitors flickered.
Elena stood frozen, watching everything happen too fast as the room that had felt so large moments ago now felt suffocating again.
“They want me,” she whispered.
Lucien didn’t respond immediately, and that silence told her everything.
“Yes,” he said finally.
The word landed like a confession.
Elena stepped back.
“Why?”
Lucien turned slowly, and for the first time since she had met him, he looked uncertain.
“I don’t know.”
That scared her more than anything else.
Because Lucien Vale always knew.
Always.
A sharp alert sounded again from the monitors.
NEW MESSAGE RECEIVED.
Lucien opened it immediately.
A video appeared.
Elena’s breath caught violently.
Daniel.
Bound to a chair in a dim warehouse.
Alive.
But terrified.
“Elena!” he shouted. “Don’t—don’t come here—”
A hand grabbed his hair and yanked his head back as the video tilted and a masked man leaned into frame.
“Good evening, Mr. Vale,” the man said.
Lucien went completely still.
The man smiled behind the mask.
“We’ve heard a lot about you.”
Elena grabbed Lucien’s arm.
“Please—”
Lucien didn’t look at her, his entire focus locked on the screen.
The man continued.
“You take something from us… we take something from you.”
A pause.
“But tonight, we’ll give you a choice.”
The screen flickered as the masked man leaned closer.
“The girl.”
Elena froze.
“Or the boy.”
Lucien’s expression darkened.
Deadly calm.
“You don’t get to negotiate with me,” he said quietly.
The man laughed.
“You don’t understand yet.”
A beat.
“We already have her location.”
Elena’s blood turned cold.
“What?” she whispered.
Lucien’s eyes snapped to her instantly.
The message continued.
“She’s not just bait.”
The man tilted his head.
“She’s the key.”
The video cut.
Silence.
Then—
the system shut down.
Every screen went black.
Emergency lights flickered on as red glow filled the penthouse.
Elena stepped back.
“No…”
Lucien moved instantly, grabbing her wrist and pulling her behind him, not gently this time but protectively, possessively.
“Stay behind me,” he ordered.
Her heart pounded.
“What’s happening?”
Lucien was already moving toward a hidden panel in the wall.
“They’ve breached my internal network.”
Elena’s voice shook.
“What does that mean?”
“It means,” he said coldly, “this building is no longer secure.”
A loud explosion echoed somewhere below as the entire penthouse trembled.
Elena screamed softly.
Lucien grabbed her immediately again, pulling her into his chest as the contact became instinctive, protective, and familiar now in a way that terrified her.
“They’re inside,” she whispered.
“Yes.”
His voice was dangerously calm.
“But they made one mistake.”
Elena looked up at him.
“What mistake?”
Lucien looked down at her.
And something shifted in his expression.
Cold possession.
“They came into my territory.”
Another explosion shook the building.
Glass rattled.
Sirens began blaring.
Elena’s breathing turned uneven.
“This isn’t normal,” she said.
Lucien’s hand moved to her waist, steadying her.
“No,” he agreed.
His voice dropped lower.
“This is personal.”
A loud knock exploded against the penthouse doors.
Then another.
Then voices.
“Security! Open up!”
Lucien didn’t move.
Elena’s heart hammered.
“They’re here,” she whispered.
Lucien leaned slightly closer to her, so close she could feel his breath.
“If anything happens,” he said quietly, “you stay with me.”
“That’s not comforting.”
“It’s not meant to be.”
The doors burst open.
Smoke flooded in.
Armed men poured into the penthouse.
Elena froze in terror.
Lucien stepped forward.
Just one step.
And the entire room changed.
The air shifted.
Pressure dropped.
Danger became tangible.
The lead intruder raised his weapon.
“Elena Marrow,” he said.
Lucien’s voice cut through the room like ice.
“Touch her,” he said calmly.
The man hesitated.
Lucien lifted his gaze.
And smiled faintly.
“And I’ll make sure you regret being born.”
- Writer
