His Hands, Her Rules
1414 Words
The words on the monitor refused to disappear.
NOW SEND US THE GIRL… OR WE RELEASE THE REST OF THE RECORDINGS.
The communications room fell deathly quiet.
Every pair of eyes turned toward Lucien.
His expression remained unreadable, but Elena noticed the subtle tightening of his jaw.
“They were listening,” Adrian said grimly.
Lucien nodded.
“They’ve been inside our network longer than we realized.”
One of the technicians rushed to the keyboard.
“I’m trying to trace the transmission.”
Another shook his head.
“They’re bouncing the signal through dozens of servers.”
“They planned this.”
Lucien didn’t respond.
He was already thinking several moves ahead.
Elena stepped closer to the glowing monitor.
“They have more recordings.”
Amelia’s face paled.
“Marcus made backups.”
Lucien looked at her sharply.
“You knew?”
“I knew he kept a journal.”
“You never mentioned recordings.”
“I didn’t know they existed.”
Elena felt another wave of frustration.
More secrets.
Always more secrets.
She turned toward Lucien.
“I’m done hiding.”
“No.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
“If they want me—”
“They’re not getting you.”
His answer came without hesitation.
She folded her arms.
“You don’t get to decide that.”
“I do.”
“Why?”
“Because keeping you alive is my responsibility.”
She took another step toward him until they were barely an arm’s length apart.
“I’m not your responsibility.”
His gray eyes locked onto hers.
“You became my responsibility the day your father placed your future in my hands.”
“I never agreed to that.”
“I know.”
“Then stop treating me like I belong to you.”
A flicker of something crossed Lucien’s face.
Regret.
Perhaps even guilt.
“I’ve never believed you belonged to me.”
“Then why won’t you let me make my own choices?”
He was silent for several seconds.
Finally, he answered.
“Because every choice you make right now affects people who are willing to kill for what you don’t yet understand.”
Elena looked away.
She hated that part of her believed him.
Lucien reached into his jacket and removed the old contract Marcus had signed.
Without a word, he placed it on the conference table.
Then he drew a fountain pen from his pocket.
Adrian frowned.
“Boss?”
Lucien ignored him.
He uncapped the pen.
With one deliberate stroke…
He signed the bottom of the document.
Then, to everyone’s astonishment—
He tore the contract cleanly in half.
Once.
Twice.
Again.
Until the papers lay in scattered pieces across the table.
Elena stared in disbelief.
“What are you doing?”
Lucien looked directly at her.
“Ending it.”
He let the torn fragments fall from his hand.
“The debt.”
“The agreement.”
“The obligation.”
“It’s over.”
Amelia let out a slow breath.
Adrian blinked in surprise.
“You’ve just destroyed the only legal claim protecting her.”
Lucien nodded.
“I know.”
Elena couldn’t tear her eyes away from the shredded contract.
“You… released me.”
“I was never trying to keep you.”
She looked up slowly.
“Then why does it still feel like I’m trapped?”
Lucien’s voice softened.
“Because paper was never the prison.”
Before she could ask what he meant, the emergency lights dimmed.
The monitor flashed again.
A new message appeared.
THE CONTRACT IS GONE.
A pause.
Then another line.
GOOD. NOW WE’LL TAKE HER WITHOUT IT.
The screen went black.
At the exact same moment, the lights throughout the mansion failed.
Darkness swallowed the room.
Someone screamed in the hallway.
Then came the unmistakable sound of shattering glass.
Followed by gunfire.
Lucien instinctively reached for Elena in the darkness.
His hand found hers.
He held it firmly, steadying her as chaos erupted outside.
For a brief second, she considered pulling away.
Instead…
She tightened her grip around his hand.
Lucien glanced toward her, surprised.
She met his eyes in the faint glow of the emergency lights.
“I’m not following because you ordered me.”
Her voice was calm despite the gunfire echoing through the mansion.
“I’m choosing to trust you.”
The corner of Lucien’s mouth lifted almost imperceptibly.
“Good.”
Elena took a slow breath.
“But don’t get used to it.”
A gunshot exploded just outside the door.
Lucien stepped in front of her, shielding her from the entrance.
Without looking back, he spoke quietly.
“My hands.”
He drew his pistol.
“Your rules.”
Then the communications room door burst inward.
The shattered door crashed against the wall.
Three masked men rushed into the communications room with rifles raised.
They barely crossed the threshold.
Lucien fired first.
The sharp c***k of his pistol echoed through the darkness.
The lead attacker dropped instantly.
Adrian rolled behind an overturned table, returning fire with practiced precision.
“Get down!” he shouted.
Elena and Amelia crouched behind the conference table as bullets tore through computer monitors, sending sparks flying across the room.
The emergency lights flickered red, bathing everything in an eerie glow.
Another attacker threw a flash grenade.
Lucien reacted without hesitation.
“Close your eyes!”
The device exploded with a blinding burst of white light.
Even with her eyes shut, Elena could feel the intensity of it.
Her ears rang.
Shouts filled the room.
Furniture scraped across the floor.
When her vision finally cleared, she saw Lucien grappling with one of the intruders.
The attacker swung a combat knife.
Lucien caught the man’s wrist, twisted sharply, and the blade clattered onto the marble floor.
A single punch ended the fight.
The attacker collapsed unconscious.
“Left!” Adrian warned.
Lucien spun just as another gunman appeared in the doorway.
Two shots rang out.
The attacker stumbled backward and disappeared into the hallway.
Silence lasted only a heartbeat.
Then footsteps echoed from outside.
More of them.
“They’re sending another team,” Adrian said.
Lucien glanced around the damaged room.
“They’re not trying to kill us.”
Elena looked at him in confusion.
“What?”
“They’ve had clear shots.”
He reloaded calmly.
“They’re forcing us to move.”
Realization spread across Adrian’s face.
“They want us out of the communications wing.”
“So they can reach something else.”
Lucien nodded.
“The archives.”
Amelia’s eyes widened.
“If they get into the archives…”
“They’ll find every remaining file connected to Project Lycan.”
Before anyone could move, a faint voice drifted from the hallway.
“Boss!”
One of Lucien’s guards staggered through the smoke, blood staining the front of his uniform.
“They’re heading for the vault.”
Lucien caught him before he fell.
“How many?”
“Too many…”
The guard struggled for breath.
“They have… someone with them.”
Lucien frowned.
“Who?”
The guard looked directly at Elena.
“A woman.”
Amelia stiffened beside her.
“What woman?”
The guard swallowed painfully.
“She said…”
His voice faltered.
“…she’s Elena’s aunt.”
The room went still.
Elena stared at him.
“My mother didn’t have a sister.”
The guard managed a weak shake of his head.
“That’s… what she told us.”
His eyes closed as the medics rushed forward.
Lucien slowly rose to his feet.
He looked at Amelia.
“You recognize the name?”
Amelia’s face had turned pale.
“I prayed I’d never hear it again.”
Elena stepped closer.
“You know her?”
Amelia closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
A heavy silence followed.
Then she whispered words that made even Lucien’s expression darken.
“If she’s here…”
Amelia looked toward the smoke-filled hallway.
“…then Sophia’s past has finally come to collect her daughter.”
Outside the communications room, a woman’s calm voice echoed through the mansion.
“Elena.”
The voice was warm.
Almost affectionate.
“You’ve spent your whole life with strangers.”
A pause.
“It’s time you came home.”
Elena felt a chill crawl down her spine.
She had never heard that voice before.
Yet somehow…
It sounded as though it had been waiting for her all her life.
- Writer
