Chapter Five: Dinner With the Devil
213 Words
Ivy
At 7:00 sharp, I was told to meet him downstairs. No explanation. Just a one-line message on my phone: Be ready.
The SUV was black, windowless, and silent. Lucian didn’t speak the entire drive.
We arrived at an upscale restaurant—empty, closed to the public. Of course it was.
A private room. No menus. No music. Just chilled wine, thick silence, and the slow ticking of a clock I couldn’t see.
He didn’t speak until a man joined us—nervous, well-dressed, with the look of someone who knew this wasn’t just dinner.
“You moved five million,” Lucian said calmly. “And you did it sloppily.”
The man stammered excuses. Lucian listened like a priest at confession.
Then he smiled. Slowly.
“Next time you move money, make sure it doesn’t bleed.”
“Or I’ll cut off the hand that moved it.”
The man paled. Nodded. Left without touching his drink.
I stared at my wine glass, my appetite gone.
“Still think I’m just a businessman?” Lucian asked.
“No,” I whispered.
“Good.”
He leaned back, watching me.
“You learn fast, Miss Hart.”
But I wasn’t sure if he meant the rules…
Or the danger I’d just walked into.
- Writer
