Chapter 1: The Night My World Burned
602 Words
“Please… don’t do this.”
My voice cracked as I stood in the middle of our mansion’s grand hallway, surrounded by men in black suits.
The same home where I celebrated birthdays.
The same home where my mother used to play the piano every Sunday evening.
The same home that now felt like a funeral.
Everything was being taken.
Paintings were removed from the walls.
Expensive furniture was tagged.
Our family staff cried quietly as they packed years of memories into boxes.
And standing in the center of my destruction—
was him.
Lucian Devereaux.
The man who ruined my family overnight.
Tall.
Cold.
Terrifyingly composed.
His black suit looked expensive enough to feed a village for years.
His expression remained unreadable as he watched my father being dragged down the staircase by authorities.
“Dad!” I screamed.
I ran forward, but one of the officers blocked me.
My father looked broken.
Blood stained the corner of his lips.
His expensive suit was wrinkled.
His hands were cuffed behind his back.
“Arabella!” he shouted.
Tears blurred my vision.
“Dad, what’s happening?!”
He looked at me like he wanted to say something.
Something important.
Something life-changing.
But before he could speak—
he was shoved forward.
“Take him.”
“No!” I screamed.
I fought against the officer’s grip.
“Please! He didn’t do anything!”
Then Lucian finally spoke.
His deep voice sliced through the chaos.
“Your father committed fraud, money laundering, and illegal corporate theft.”
I turned toward him.
My entire body shook with rage.
“You’re lying.”
His dark eyes met mine.
Cold.
Emotionless.
Dangerous.
“The evidence says otherwise.”
“You fabricated it!”
His jaw tightened slightly.
Interesting.
A reaction.
Good.
I stepped closer despite my trembling knees.
“You destroyed my family.”
He stared at me for a long moment.
Then he said words that shattered what remained of me.
“No.”
His voice remained calm.
“Your father destroyed himself.”
Before I could attack him—
my mother suddenly collapsed.
“Mom!”
I rushed toward her.
Her breathing became uneven.
Her face turned pale.
The paramedics shouted.
Everything blurred into screams.
My father yelling.
My mother unconscious.
The officers leaving.
The servants crying.
And Lucian—
watching everything like a king observing war.
I hated him.
I hated him more than I had ever hated anyone.
As paramedics carried my mother away—
I looked at him through tears.
“I swear…”
My voice trembled with fury.
“I will destroy you for this.”
For the first time—
Lucian’s cold expression shifted.
Not fear.
Not anger.
Something darker.
Almost regret.
Then he walked toward me.
Slowly.
Dangerously.
He leaned close enough for only me to hear.
And whispered:
“If you want revenge…”
His eyes darkened.
“Survive what’s coming tomorrow.”
My entire body froze.
“What?”
But he was already walking away.
The next morning—
I understood what he meant.
Because every bank account under my family’s name was frozen.
Our properties were seized.
My father was denied bail.
My mother remained in critical condition.
And I—
was officially homeless.
Then an unknown black envelope arrived.
Inside was a marriage contract.
And one message:
Marry Lucian Devereaux… or your father dies in prison.
Arabella loses everything in one night after Lucian destroys her family empire—but the true nightmare begins when he offers her an impossible deal: marry the man she hates most… or watch her father die behind bars.
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