The Devil Chose Me

Chapter5

The Target

His words settled over me like a storm, suffocating every thought that tried to make sense of them. I searched his face for even the slightest hint that he was lying, that this was another twisted excuse to justify keeping me here, but the terrifying part was that he didn't look like a man trying to convince me of anything. He looked like someone stating an unavoidable fact.

I let out a shaky laugh, more from fear than amusement, and folded my arms across my chest as if they could somehow hold me together.

"You expect me to believe that?"

"I don't expect anything"

His voice remained calm.

"I'm telling you the truth"

I shook my head.

"No you're trying to scare me"

"If I wanted to scare you"

He slipped both hands into his pockets.

"I would have done a much better job"

The room fell silent again.

I hated how composed he was. I wanted him to lose his temper, to shout, to show me that he was just another cruel man hiding behind power, but he didn't. Every word he spoke was calculated, every movement deliberate, and somehow that frightened me more than violence ever could.

"I don't understand"

"You don't have to"

"I do"

My voice cracked despite my efforts to stay calm.

"You dragged me here, took away my freedom, and now you're telling me people I don't even know want to kill me. None of this makes sense"

Lucien studied me for a long moment before walking toward the fireplace. The flames gazed in his gray eyes as he stared into the fire.

"The man you saw tonight"

He paused.

"wasn't just another criminal"

I waited.

"He betrayed my organization"

I frowned.

"So?"

"So he sold information"

His gaze shifted back to me.

"He wasn't working alone"

A knot formed in my stomach.

"What does that have to do with me?"

"They don't know what you heard"

I blinked.

"They don't know what you saw"

I still didn't understand.

"If they believe you know something"

His voice grew quieter.

"they'll eliminate you before they take the chance"

The blood drained from my face.

"So"

I swallowed hard.

"I'm being hunted because I happened to be in the wrong place?"

"Yes"

The simplicity of his answer made it even worse. I sank into the nearest chair, my legs no longer able to support me. This couldn't be happening. Just yesterday my biggest concern had been an upcoming anatomy exam. Now I was sitting in the office of a mafia boss discussing why strangers wanted me dead.

I rubbed my temples, hoping I would wake up from this nightmare.

"I didn't ask for this"

"No"

"I don't even know your world"

"I know"

"I have nothing to do with any of you"

"I know"

Frustration finally boiled over.

"Then why me?"

Lucien didn't answer immediately.

Instead, he walked to his desk and picked up a thin file before placing it in front of me.

"Open it"

My hands hesitated.

Slowly, I reached for the folder.

Inside were photographs.

My apartment.

The small café near the hospital.

My university.

Even pictures of my grandmother watering flowers outside our building.

My heart stopped.

"What"

My voice barely existed.

"what is this?"

"Surveillance"

I looked up at him in horror.

"You've been watching me?"

"No"

His answer came instantly.

"They have"

A cold shiver ran through my body.

I flipped through more pictures, each one making my breathing more uneven. Some had been taken earlier that day. Others were from weeks ago. Someone had been following me. Someone I had never noticed.

Tears blurred my vision.

"My grandmother"

I whispered.

"Is she in danger?"

Lucien's expression hardened.

"Not while you're here"

The words should have comforted me.

Instead, they terrified me the more.

"So if I leave"

"They'll use her to get to you"

I covered my mouth as a sob escaped before I could stop it. My grandmother was all I had left. The thought of anyone hurting her because of me made my chest ache.

Lucien remained silent, giving me the space to process everything.

After several moments, I looked up at him through tear filled eyes.

"What do you want from me?"

"Nothing"

"There has to be something"

"There isn't"

"You don't keep people in your house out of kindness"

"No"

"Then why?"

For the first time since meeting him, his gaze softened only slightly, almost imperceptibly, but enough for me to notice.

"Because I made a choice”

"What choice?"

"When I looked at you in that parking garage"

His jaw tightened.

"I decided you weren't going to die"

Before I could respond, a sharp knock echoed through the office.

One of the guards entered without waiting.

"Boss"

Lucien turned toward him.

"What is it?"

The guard's face was unusually tense.

"We caught one of Romano's men outside the east gate"

My heart skipped.

"He wasn't alone"

Lucien's expression darkened.

"How many?"

"We're still searching the grounds"

The room suddenly felt colder.

The guard hesitated before adding the words that sent ice through my veins.

"They weren't trying to get insi

de"

Lucien's eyes narrowed.

"They were watching the windows"

The guard looked directly at me.

"They know she's here"