The night I saved a devil

I’m not going with you

Elena felt every pair of eyes in the room shift to her. Her heart hammered.

She looked straight at Damiano and said, “No. I’m not coming with you.”

The word landed heavy in the quiet room.

Damiano stared at her for a long second. Then he simply nodded once.

“Okay,” he said, voice calm and even.

Isabella’s head snapped toward him, surprise flashing across her face, but she stayed silent.

Damiano turned to the nearest bodyguard.

“Help me up.”

Two men stepped forward at once. They slid their arms under his shoulders and lifted him carefully from the bed. Damiano winced but kept his face blank as they guided him toward the door.

He paused right in front of Elena.

“Thank you again,” he said quietly, eyes locked on hers. “For everything you did tonight. I won’t forget it.”

Elena gave a small nod, saying nothing.

Isabella moved to his other side, slipping her arm around his waist possessively. She shot Elena one last disdainful look over her shoulder as they stepped into the hallway.

The bodyguards fell in behind them like a dark wall.

Mrs. Clara and the other caretakers moved aside quickly, watching the procession in stunned silence.

Outside, the line of black cars waited, engines already purring. Doors opened. Damiano was helped into the back seat of the lead car. Isabella slid in right beside him.

Before the door closed, Isabella turned her head one more time and gave Elena that same cold, superior stare.

Then the doors shut.

The rest of the bodyguards climbed into the other vehicles. Engines revved. The entire convoy pulled away smoothly and zoomed off into the night, red taillights disappearing down the dark road.

Elena let out a long breath.

“So much in one night,” she whispered.

Lucia was beside her in an instant. She grabbed Elena’s hand and tugged her gently.

“Come on,” Lucia said softly. “Let’s go to my room. You look like you’re about to fall over.”

Elena let herself be pulled down the hallway. When they stepped inside Lucia’s small room and the door clicked shut, Lucia turned to her immediately.

“What did the man offer you?” she asked, eyes wide with worry. “I saw the way he looked at you. And all those cars… Elena, what happened in there?”

Elena sank onto the edge of the bed.

“He said he wasn’t going to leave me here to figure things out alone,” she answered. “He offered to take me with him. Said things would change for me quickly if I said yes.”

Lucia frowned deeply.

“And you said no?”

“I said no,” Elena confirmed. “I don’t know him. I just walked out of one hell. I’m not walking into another one with a stranger.”

Lucia sat beside her and squeezed her hand.

“Good. You did the right thing.” She paused, then brightened a little. “Listen, I sell barbecue down this street every evening. It’s nothing fancy, but the owner knows me. I can talk to him tomorrow. You can start working there as soon as possible. We’ll figure out the rest together, okay?”

Elena’s eyes lit up. She nodded excitedly.

“Really? You’d do that for me?”

“Of course I would,” Lucia said, smiling. “You’re my sister. We’ve always looked out for each other.”

Elena’s shoulders relaxed for the first time in hours.

“Thank you, sissy. I’d love that.”

Lucia glanced at the empty space on the small table.

“You still haven’t eaten anything,” she said, frowning again. “I brought food earlier, remember?”

Before Elena could reply, Lucia jumped up.

“Wait here. I’ll go get the tray from the room he was in. Don’t move.”

She rushed out. A minute later she came back carrying the tray, the food still warm.

“Here,” Lucia said, setting it on Elena’s lap. “Eat. You need it.”

Elena looked down at the simple meal—rice, stew, and a piece of fried plantain. Seeing Lucia move so quickly, so protectively, made her eyes well up with tears. She blinked hard, refusing to let them fall.

Lucia noticed anyway. She reached out and patted Elena’s head gently, the way she used to when they were little.

“Eat up and rest,” she said softly. “You’re safe now. No more DeLucas. No more strangers with fancy cars. Just you and me, like old times.”

Elena smiled, the tears still shining in her eyes.

“Thank you, Lucia. Really.”

She picked up the spoon and started eating. The food was warm and simple, and for the first time in years it tasted like home.

When she finished, Lucia took the empty plate from her hands.

“I’ll drop this in the kitchen,” she said. “You lie down. I’ll be right back.”

Lucia slipped out again, leaving Elena alone with the quiet creak of the old wooden floor.

Meanwhile, inside the lead car speeding through the dark streets, Damiano sat in the back seat, one hand resting lightly over his bandaged stomach. Isabella was pressed close beside him, but he barely looked at her.

He turned his head toward the bodyguard riding in the front passenger seat.

“I want you to find every detail about the lady who saved me,” he said, voice low and commanding. “Her full name, where she came from, what happened at that house she ran from—everything. I want the files on my desk by tomorrow morning.”

The bodyguard nodded sharply.

“Yes, Boss. I’ll handle it personally.”

Isabella’s head turned slowly.

“Why do you want to know about a nobody?” she asked, her tone light but edged with irritation. “She’s just some girl from the orphanage. You don’t owe her anything.”

Damiano shot her a single, cold look. He said nothing.

Isabella opened her mouth, then closed it again. She could read the warning in his eyes. She kept quiet for the rest of the ride home, staring out the window while the city lights blurred past.