The devil you know
960 Words
Dangerous Addiction
Chapter Three: The Devil You Know
Elena's thumb hovered over the final digit.
She could still hang up.
She could throw the card away, lock her apartment door, and pretend none of this had happened.
Instead, she pressed Call.
The phone rang only once.
"Miss Hart."
His deep voice answered immediately, as though he had been expecting her call.
"You said to call if something happened," Elena whispered, trying to keep her voice steady.
"What happened?"
"My apartment..."
She swallowed hard.
"Someone was inside."
Silence.
Then his tone changed.
"Are you alone?"
"I... I think so."
"Don't move."
"What?"
"Leave the lights exactly as they are. Don't touch anything."
"Damien—"
"I'm coming."
The line went dead.
---
Exactly twelve minutes later, headlights swept across the front of the apartment building.
The same black sedan stopped outside.
Damien stepped out, dressed in a charcoal suit despite the late hour. Two security men followed behind him, scanning the surroundings with practiced eyes.
He walked into the apartment as though he owned the building.
His gaze swept across the room—the unlocked window, the untouched furniture, the photograph on the table.
He picked it up.
His jaw tightened.
"Whoever did this wanted to scare you."
"It worked."
He turned the picture over, reading the message.
"Stay away, Elena."
She watched him carefully.
"You know who sent it, don't you?"
"I have an idea."
"Then tell me."
Instead of answering, Damien walked to the window.
"There are no signs of forced entry."
"You noticed that?"
"I notice everything."
He crouched near the windowsill.
"A lock pick."
He held up a tiny metal tool barely larger than a paperclip.
Elena stared.
"You found that in seconds."
"They wanted me to find it."
"What do you mean?"
He slipped the tool into his pocket.
"This wasn't random."
"You keep saying things without explaining them."
Damien looked at her.
His dark eyes were unreadable.
"The papers you saw at the restaurant..."
"I told you I didn't read them."
"I know."
"Then why is this happening?"
"Because someone believes you did."
---
For several long seconds neither of them spoke.
Finally, Elena folded her arms.
"Start talking."
He almost smiled.
"You're very brave."
"I'm very tired."
"Fair enough."
He sat opposite her.
"There are people in this city who would kill to protect their secrets."
"I don't understand."
"You don't have to."
"I do if they're breaking into my apartment."
Damien sighed quietly.
"The documents contained information about shipments worth millions."
"Illegal shipments?"
"I didn't say that."
"You didn't deny it either."
He remained silent.
That was answer enough.
"So why not tell those people I don't know anything?"
"They won't believe me."
"Why?"
"Because fear makes people irrational."
---
A knock sounded at the door.
One of Damien's men entered.
"Sir."
"What is it?"
"We found a camera."
Elena frowned.
"A camera?"
The bodyguard handed over a device no larger than a coin.
"It was hidden beneath the bookshelf."
Her blood ran cold.
"They were watching me?"
"For at least several days," the guard replied.
Elena slowly sat down.
"This can't be real."
Damien dismissed the guard with a nod.
As the door closed, he crushed the tiny camera beneath his shoe.
"They won't be watching anymore."
---
"Why are you helping me?" Elena asked quietly.
He looked toward the shattered device.
"Because this started with me."
"So it's your fault."
His silence confirmed it.
Anger replaced fear.
"You should have left me alone that night."
"I know."
"You should never have asked my name."
"I know."
"You should never have given me that card."
Again...
"I know."
She stared at him.
"If you knew all that, why did you do it?"
For the first time since they'd met, Damien looked... human.
"Because I wanted to know the woman who wasn't afraid to look me in the eye."
The confession caught her off guard.
She quickly looked away.
"This is insane."
"It usually is."
---
The following morning, Damien insisted on driving her to campus.
"I can take a bus."
"No."
"You don't control my life."
"No."
She blinked.
"...No?"
"I don't control your life."
"Then why can't I take the bus?"
"Because whoever entered your apartment now knows your routine."
"I refuse to live in fear."
"I refuse to let you die."
The words settled heavily between them.
Eventually, she climbed into the car.
Not because she trusted him.
Because she wasn't foolish enough to ignore the danger anymore.
---
Campus felt strangely normal.
Students hurried to lectures, laughed with friends, and complained about assignments.
It was hard to believe that only hours earlier someone had secretly entered her home.
As Elena left class that afternoon, a young man bumped into her.
"I'm so sorry."
"It's okay."
He smiled apologetically before disappearing into the crowd.
She continued walking.
Five minutes later, her phone vibrated.
Unknown Number:
Check your bag.
Her heartbeat quickened.
She opened her backpack.
Inside, beneath her textbooks, was a plain white envelope.
She hadn't put it there.
Hands trembling, she opened it.
Inside was a single photograph.
It showed Damien standing beside a man she had never seen before.
Across the image, someone had written in red ink:
He lies to everyone. Don't become his next victim.
Before she could process it, another message appeared on her phone.
Ask him what happened to his brother.
Elena froze.
His brother?
Damien had never mentioned a brother.
As she looked up, she had the unmistakable feeling that someone, somewhere, was watching her reaction.
The game had changed.
And for the first time, Elena realized she wasn't caught between right and wrong.
She was caught between two dangerous truths—and she had no idea which one would destroy her first.
- Writer
