CHAPTER 15:SHE SAW WHAT HE BECAME FOR HER
931 Words
Gunfire exploded downstairs.
The entire warehouse shook violently as shouting echoed through the building beneath them.
Anik pulled Elara tightly behind him while moving quickly through the hallway toward the security room.
Every movement felt sharp.
Focused.
Violent beneath the surface.
And somehow—
That terrified her less than the look on his face.
Because Anik didn’t look afraid.
He looked furious.
Not reckless fury.
Controlled destruction.
The kind of rage built from restraint finally breaking apart.
“Who are they?” Elara asked breathlessly as they turned another corner.
Anik checked the gun in his hand smoothly.
“Not random attackers.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
His jaw tightened.
“They work for a man named Lucien Moreau.”
Cold fear slid through her chest.
The name sounded familiar.
Too familiar.
Then realization hit.
“The billionaire?”
“Yes.”
Her pulse stumbled violently.
Lucien Moreau wasn’t just rich.
He was untouchable.
Powerful.
Connected to politicians, corporations, international headlines—
The kind of man the world publicly admired.
And somehow that terrified her more.
Because monsters hiding behind respectability always felt more dangerous.
“Why is he after us?”
Anik’s expression darkened immediately.
“Because he thinks you belong to him now.”
The words sent chills down her spine.
Belong.
Again.
That same possessive language.
Elara’s heartbeat accelerated.
“What does that even mean?”
Anik stopped abruptly outside the security room doors before looking back at her.
And for the first time since this nightmare started—
She saw something dangerously close to guilt in his eyes.
“It means you became leverage the second he realized how much I care about you.”
The confession hit like a punch to the chest.
No hesitation.
No denial.
Care.
He said it openly this time.
And judging by the look on his face—
He regretted it.
Not because it wasn’t true.
Because it was.
Gunshots echoed closer downstairs.
Anik opened the security room door quickly before guiding her inside.
Massive monitors covered the walls, displaying camera feeds from every angle of the warehouse.
Chaos flashed across the screens.
Armed men moving through lower corridors.
Guards firing back.
Blood.
Smoke.
Violence.
Elara’s stomach tightened.
“This is insane.”
“Yes.”
Anik locked the door behind them.
Then immediately started issuing commands through an earpiece.
“Seal the lower west corridor.”
Pause.
“No survivors if they push further inside.”
The coldness in his voice sent a chill through her.
This was the version of him Luca warned her about.
The man built for war.
The terrifying part?
She still couldn’t make herself afraid of him.
Anik noticed her staring.
His eyes held hers briefly.
“You should hate seeing this side of me.”
“But I don’t.”
The honesty slipped out too quickly.
Too honestly.
And the second the words landed—
Something inside him shifted visibly.
Dangerously.
“Elara.”
Her pulse jumped immediately.
“You keep saying things that make this harder.”
“Maybe I’m tired of pretending it isn’t already hard.”
Silence filled the room.
Heavy.
Charged.
Then suddenly another explosion rocked the building.
One of the security monitors cut to static instantly.
Anik cursed under his breath.
“They’re getting closer.”
A voice suddenly crackled through his earpiece:
«“Sir—they’re pushing toward your floor.”»
The atmosphere changed instantly.
Anik grabbed another weapon from the table nearby before looking at Elara again.
“You stay here.”
“No.”
His expression hardened immediately.
“Elara—”
“I’m not hiding while people die for me.”
The frustration in his eyes mixed dangerously with something warmer.
Something almost proud.
“You really don’t know how to obey orders.”
“You really don’t know how to stop giving them.”
A sharp sound escaped him.
Almost a laugh.
Almost.
Then his attention shifted back toward the monitors.
And suddenly—
Everything inside the room went still.
Because one camera feed showed a familiar face entering the building.
Elara’s breath caught.
“Luca…”
Her brother walked calmly through the smoke-filled lower corridor beside armed men dressed in black.
But this time—
He wasn’t restrained.
He was leading them.
Anik’s expression turned lethal instantly.
“He escaped.”
Fear tightened around her chest.
“He brought them here?”
“Yes.”
The answer came cold.
Immediate.
Elara stared at the screen in horror while Luca spoke calmly to someone beside him.
Then—
As if sensing the camera—
He looked directly into it.
And smiled.
A second later every monitor inside the room shut off completely.
Darkness swallowed them.
“What happened?” Elara whispered.
Then—
A voice echoed through hidden speakers somewhere inside the warehouse.
Smooth.
Male.
Terrifyingly calm.
«“Mr. Varren.”»
Elara froze instantly.
Anik’s jaw tightened hard.
The voice continued:
«“You’ve made this much more complicated than necessary.”»
Cold fear slid through the room.
Lucien Moreau.
Anik slowly stepped in front of Elara protectively.
“What do you want?”
A soft laugh echoed through the speakers.
«“The girl.”»
Elara’s pulse exploded violently.
Anik’s expression darkened into something almost monstrous.
“No.”
The answer came instantly.
Deadly.
Possessive.
Absolute.
And somehow the way he said it made her heartbeat stumble harder than fear itself.
Because he didn’t sound like a man protecting someone temporary anymore.
He sounded like a man defending something that already belonged to him.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD