Sold To The Devil's Heir

chapter 3

Zara

I didn't remember leaving the hallway.

One moment I was standing beneath the weight of a dozen shattered truths, staring at the stranger who claimed I would become his wife in seven days. The next, I found myself sitting on the cold stone bench in the garden behind the mansion, hugging my knees as the night air wrapped around me. The silence should have been comforting, but it only made the echo of everyone's words louder.

"Everyone knew."

Vanessa's voice refused to leave my head.

Everyone.

For an entire year, I had been the only person living inside a lie.

A bitter laugh escaped me before I could stop it. Looking back, the signs had always been there. Adrian's late-night meetings. Zoey's sudden disappearances. The awkward silence whenever I walked into a room. I had explained everything away because I trusted the people I loved.

Trust, What a cruel word. I wiped my face with the back of my hand, but the tears refused to stop. I wasn't crying because Adrian had betrayed me anymore. That pain was already turning numb. I was crying because my father had looked me in the eyes and chosen money over me without a second thought.

I had spent twenty-three years trying to become the daughter he could be proud of.

Good grades.

A respectable career.

Never causing trouble.

Never asking for too much.

Yet when his empire began to crumble, I was the first thing he was willing to sacrifice.

The realization hurt more than I wanted to admit.

The garden gate creaked open behind me.

I didn't turn around.

"Zara."

It was Adrian.

"Go away."

"I just want to explain."

"There isn't anything left to explain." His footsteps stopped beside the bench.

"I never wanted to hurt you."

I laughed quietly, unable to believe he had actually said those words.

"You cheated on me for a year."

"I know."

"You lied to me every single day."

"I know."

"You stood there while my father threw me out."

His silence answered that accusation.

I finally looked at him.

For the first time since we had met three years ago, I saw him exactly as he was. The man standing before me wasn't the kind, dependable fiancé I had imagined. He was simply someone who lacked the courage to tell the truth until he had no other choice.

"You don't love her," he said softly, I frowned at his words.

"What?"

"Damien De Luca." The name sounded strange coming from him.

"I don't even know him."

"Then don't go with him," I stared at Adrian in disbelief.

"You think I have a choice?"

"There has to be another way."

I stood up so quickly that he instinctively stepped back.

"You don't get to tell me what to do anymore."

"Zara..."

"No," I shook my head, my voice steadier than I felt.

"You lost that right when you chose my stepsister," i said. His shoulders slumped.

"I made the biggest mistake of my life."

"Then you'll have to live with it."

Without waiting for another apology, I walked away.

For once, I didn't look back. I packed my belongings in complete silence.

There wasn't much. A few suitcases filled with clothes, my laptop, several sketchbooks from university, and one small wooden jewelry box that had belonged to my mother.

Everything else in the room suddenly felt meaningless.

I opened the jewelry box carefully. Inside rested a silver necklace with a crescent moon pendant.

It was the only thing I had left of her.

According to my father, she had worn it every day until the night she died.

I traced my thumb across the cool metal.

"What are you telling me, Mom?" Damien's words echoed in my mind.

"Your mother's death wasn't as simple as you've been led to believe."

If that was true...

Then everything I believed about my childhood could be a lie.

A soft knock interrupted my thoughts.

Before I could answer, the door opened.

Richard Hale stood there.

For several seconds, neither of us spoke.

He looked older than he had earlier that evening.

His shoulders sagged beneath the weight of exhaustion.

"I came to talk." I closed the jewelry box.

"I'm listening."

He stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

"I'm sorry."

I waited. Nothing else followed. Just two empty words.

"That's it?" I asked quietly.

"I did what I thought was necessary."

"For your company?" i asked, my voice laced with sarcasm.

"For all of us," he said shamelessly.

"There is no 'us' anymore," my voice was steady. Pain flickered across his face.

"You'll understand someday," he said as he shook his head. I stared at him in disbelief.

"No." My voice remained calm.

"I don't think I ever will."

He sighed heavily before reaching into his pocket.

"This belonged to your mother," He placed an old envelope on my bed.

"I should have given it to you years ago."

Before I could ask another question, he turned and walked toward the door.

"Dad," i called him, He stopped.

"Did you ever love Mom?" His shoulders became rigid.

"I loved her more than I deserved."

"Then why does it feel like you've spent the last twenty years trying to erase her?" i asked looking at his back hoping maybe he would answer, but he didn't answer.

The door closed quietly behind him.

I looked at the envelope for a long time before finally picking it up.

My hands trembled as I opened it. Inside was a faded photograph.

A young woman with warm brown eyes smiled brightly into the camera while holding a little girl in her arms, Me.

My breath caught, I had never seen this picture before. On the back, written in elegant handwriting, were five simple words.

"Protect her. Trust no one." I frowned.

It wasn't addressed to my father. There wasn't even a name. Just those five words. A chill crept down my spine.

Someone knocked loudly downstairs. Then another knock. Followed by shouting. I frowned. it was nearly midnight.

Who could possibly....

A loud crash echoed through the mansion.

Glass shattered.

Someone screamed. I rushed toward the bedroom door and pulled it open.

The hallway was in chaos. Servants ran in every direction. One of the security guards stumbled backward, clutching his bleeding shoulder.

"What happened?" I shouted.

"No time!" he yelled. "Get out of here!"

Before I could react, every light in the mansion went out. Darkness swallowed everything.

My heart began hammering against my ribs.

The emergency lights flickered once before turning the hallway red.

Footsteps echoed somewhere below. Not running. Walking. Slow. Deliberate.

As though whoever had entered the mansion wasn't afraid of anyone inside. Another gunshot rang out. Someone cried for help.

My instincts screamed at me to run.

I hurried back into my room, locked the door, and searched frantically for my phone.

No signal. Of course. I grabbed the silver necklace, the photograph, and the envelope before slipping them into my bag.

Another crash sounded just outside my room.

The doorknob moved.

Once.

Twice.

Then stopped. I held my breath, staring at the closed door. Maybe they had gone. A deep voice spoke from the other side of the door.

"Miss Hale." Every muscle in my body tensed.

"We're here to take you." I backed away slowly.

"I don't know who you are."

"You don't need to," The voice remained eerily calm.

"You only need to open the door."

"I won't."

Silence. Then... A loud bang shook the entire door. The wood splintered. I looked around desperately.

The balcony. Without thinking, I rushed toward the glass doors and stepped outside.

The drop to the garden below was terrifying.

But staying wasn't an option.

Another blow landed against the bedroom door.

The lock wouldn't hold much longer.

I climbed over the railing, my hands trembling as I searched for somewhere to land.

A thick tree branch stretched close to the balcony.

It was my only chance. I took one deep breath.

"Please let this work." The bedroom door exploded inward.

I jumped. For one terrifying second, I thought I had misjudged the distance. Then my fingers caught the branch.

Pain shot through my shoulders as I struggled to pull myself forward.

Voices shouted behind me.

"There!"

"She's escaping!"

I didn't stop. I slid down the tree, scraped my palms against the rough bark, and landed hard on the wet grass.

Ignoring the pain in my ankle, I ran toward the back gate as fast as I could.

Branches whipped against my face while rain soaked my clothes.

I had no idea where I was going.

I only knew I couldn't let them catch me.

Just as I reached the gate, headlights flooded the darkness.

A black SUV screeched to a halt in front of me. The rear door swung open.

A man dressed entirely in black stepped out.

He smiled. It wasn't a kind smile. It was the smile of someone who had already won.

"Miss Hale," he said politely, raising a syringe in his gloved hand.

"Mr. Vitale has been waiting a very long time to meet you." he said, making me pale.