The devil's vow

“You have twenty-four hours.” Those were the last words the man said before hanging up. My hands trembled around my phone as I stood frozen in the middle of our tiny kitchen, staring at the empty doorway my father had walked through three days ago. Three days. Three whole days without a single call. At first, I thought he had disappeared because of gambling again. It wasn’t unusual. My father had spent years drowning himself in debt and alcohol after my mother died, leaving me alone to clean up the mess every single time, but this felt different. The fear sitting heavily in my chest told me something was terribly wrong. I slowly lowered the phone from my ear just as another loud knock echoed through the apartment. Bang. Bang. Bang. It's not normal knocking. The kind that made your heart stop. My breathing hitched. “Dad?” I called weakly, already knowing it wasn’t him. Silence. Then another knock. Harder this time. I swallowed nervously before walking toward the door. Every instinct in my body screamed at me not to open it, but I had no choice. If rent collectors came again, the neighbours would start another round of gossip. I unlocked the door carefully. And immediately wished I hadn’t. Three men dressed in black suits stood outside the apartment like something out of a nightmare. The tallest one stepped forward first, his cold eyes scanning me from head to toe. “You’re Amelia Laurent?” My throat went dry. “Yes…” Without another word, he handed me a black envelope. I stared at it nervously. “What is this?” “A message from Mr Luca.” The name alone made my stomach twist. Everybody knew Luca. Rich. Powerful. Untouchable. Dangerous. People whisper his name quietly in this city, like saying it too loudly could summon death itself. “I think you have the wrong person,” I said quickly, trying to hand the envelope back. The man didn’t move. “Your father stole from Mr Luca.” The world around me suddenly felt too small. “No,” I whispered instantly. “No, he wouldn’t—” “He owes twenty million dollars.” I almost laughed from shock. Twenty million? We could barely afford groceries. “There has to be some mistake.” “There isn’t.” My chest tightened painfully as panic began crawling through me. My father had done stupid things before, but this? This was insane. The man looked at me expressionlessly. “You should read the letter.” With shaking hands, I slowly opened the envelope. Inside was a single sheet of paper. One sentence. Bring Amelia Laurent to me. — Lorenzo Luca. That was it. No explanation. No threat. Which somehow felt even more terrifying. “I’m not going anywhere with you people,” I said immediately, stepping backwards. The men exchanged glances. Then, the tallest one spoke again. “Miss Laurent… this was not a request.” Before I could react, another voice suddenly filled the hallway behind them. “Let her breathe, idiots.” Every man instantly stepped aside. And that’s when I saw him. Black suit. Cold expression. Dark eyes capable of destroying lives. Lorenzo Luca himself. The devil people whispered about. And for some reason… He was staring at me like he already owned me.