Blood on His Cufflinks
1572 Words
The mansion was impossibly quiet.
Elena stood just inside the grand entrance, her damp clothes clinging to her skin as she took in the lavish surroundings. Crystal chandeliers cast warm light across polished marble floors, while sweeping staircases curved toward the second floor like something out of an old palace.
Nothing about this place looked like the headquarters of the most feared man in the underworld.
It looked… refined.
Expensive.
Deadly.
A middle-aged woman dressed in an elegant black uniform approached with a polite smile.
“Welcome home, Miss Carter.”
Elena frowned.
“I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else.”
The woman bowed her head slightly.
“I never make that mistake.”
“I’m not staying.”
“We’ll prepare a room for you.”
“I said I’m not staying.”
The woman only smiled again before disappearing down the hallway.
Elena turned to find Lucien removing his black leather gloves with slow, deliberate movements.
One glove.
Then the other.
As he peeled them away, her eyes landed on the silver wolf cufflinks fastening the sleeves of his crisp white shirt.
Only now did she notice the dark crimson stains splattered across them.
Blood.
Fresh blood.
Her stomach tightened.
She looked up at him.
“You’re bleeding.”
Lucien glanced at his cufflinks as though he’d forgotten they were there.
“It’s not mine.”
The calmness in his voice made her skin crawl.
Before she could respond, another man hurried into the foyer.
He looked to be in his early thirties, with sandy blond hair, sharp blue eyes, and the easy confidence of someone who had survived in dangerous circles for years.
“Boss.”
His gaze shifted to Elena.
“So this is the famous daughter.”
Lucien’s expression hardened.
“Careful, Adrian.”
Adrian raised both hands in surrender.
“I was only looking.”
“Then stop.”
Elena folded her arms.
“Does everyone here speak in riddles?”
Adrian laughed.
“No. We usually speak in bullets.”
Lucien shot him a warning glance.
“Enough.”
Adrian’s smile faded instantly.
“Sorry.”
The sudden change caught Elena off guard.
Even someone as relaxed as Adrian obeyed Lucien without question.
A young maid appeared carrying a silver tray.
On it rested a crystal glass filled with amber liquid.
Lucien accepted it with a nod but never took his eyes off Elena.
“You haven’t eaten.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“That’s a lie.”
“I’ll survive.”
“So will a starving wolf.”
He took a sip from his glass before setting it aside untouched.
“You’ll eat.”
“I’m not taking orders from you.”
Lucien walked toward her until only a step separated them.
“You confuse concern with control.”
“And you confuse kindness with ownership.”
For a brief moment, silence hung between them.
Then…
A loud crash echoed from somewhere deeper inside the mansion.
Every guard in the room reached for a weapon.
Adrian pulled a pistol from beneath his jacket.
Lucien didn’t move.
Instead, he listened.
Another crash.
Followed by shouting.
A guard rushed into the foyer, breathing heavily.
“Boss!”
Lucien’s voice remained calm.
“Report.”
“We caught one.”
Elena blinked.
“Caught who?”
The guard swallowed.
“The intruder.”
Adrian frowned.
“There shouldn’t be anyone inside the perimeter.”
The guard nodded.
“He was already inside before the gates closed.”
A dangerous silence settled over the room.
Lucien slowly fastened his bloodstained cufflinks back into place.
His gray eyes turned colder than steel.
“Bring him to the interrogation room.”
The guard hesitated.
“There’s… one more thing.”
“What?”
“He keeps asking for Miss Carter.”
Every eye in the foyer turned toward Elena.
Her pulse thundered in her ears.
“I’ve never been here before,” she whispered. “How could anyone inside this house know my name?”
Lucien studied her face carefully, searching for the slightest hint of deception.
He found none.
That troubled him more than if she had lied.
Without another word, he looked toward Adrian.
“Lock the mansion down.”
Adrian nodded.
“No one leaves.”
Lucien’s gaze returned to Elena.
“And no one gets near her.”
For the first time since entering the mansion, Elena realized something terrifying.
She wasn’t just a hostage.
She was the reason danger had followed them through the gates.
Lucien turned on his heel and strode toward the east wing of the mansion. His long, confident steps echoed against the marble floor.
“Stay with her,” he ordered without looking back.
Adrian nodded. “Understood.”
Two guards immediately positioned themselves beside Elena.
She frowned.
“I’m not a prisoner.”
“No,” Adrian said with a crooked smile. “Prisoners have fewer people trying to kill them.”
She shot him an irritated look.
“You’re not funny.”
“I wasn’t trying to be.”
Before she could argue, another servant appeared carrying a neatly folded set of clothes.
“For you, Miss Carter.”
Elena stared at the expensive-looking outfit.
“I didn’t ask for this.”
“The Boss did.”
“I’m not wearing anything he buys.”
The servant looked helplessly at Adrian.
He rubbed the back of his neck.
“You’ll have to forgive him. Lucien has a habit of making decisions before asking questions.”
“Does he ever ask?”
Adrian chuckled.
“Rarely.”
Elena crossed her arms.
“Then tell him he can return these.”
“You can tell him yourself.”
She glanced toward the hallway where Lucien had disappeared.
“I intend to.”
Adrian’s smile faded slightly.
“If you do, choose your words carefully.”
“Is that a threat?”
“It’s advice.”
She searched his face.
Unlike the others, Adrian didn’t seem afraid of Lucien. He respected him—deeply—but there was something else beneath it. Loyalty. The kind earned over years, not demanded overnight.
“How long have you worked for him?” she asked.
“Since I was nineteen.”
“And now?”
“Thirty-two.”
“Thirteen years.”
He nodded.
“He saved my life.”
Elena blinked.
“What do you mean?”
“I owed the wrong people money.” His expression darkened with the memory. “They were going to make an example out of me.”
“And Lucien?”
“He paid my debt.”
Her eyebrows rose.
“So he just… helped you?”
Adrian laughed quietly.
“Nothing is ever ‘just’ with Lucien.”
“What did he ask for in return?”
“Loyalty.”
“And you’ve given him thirteen years.”
“I’d give him thirteen more.”
Elena couldn’t understand it.
Everything she’d heard about Lucien painted him as ruthless, merciless, and impossible to please. Yet the people in this house spoke of him with unwavering devotion.
Either they were terrified…
Or the stories she’d been told were missing something.
A sharp scream echoed from somewhere below the mansion.
Elena flinched.
“What was that?”
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
“The interrogation room.”
Her stomach sank.
“The intruder?”
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he checked his watch.
“Lucien likes answers.”
Another scream pierced the silence, louder this time.
Elena wrapped her arms around herself.
“He’s hurting him.”
Adrian remained silent.
She looked at him in disbelief.
“How can you stand there like it’s normal?”
He met her gaze.
“Because the man downstairs came into this house with a weapon.”
“He could still be innocent.”
“No,” Adrian said quietly. “Innocent people don’t sneak into the Wolf’s den.”
The mansion fell silent once more.
Minutes crawled by.
Then footsteps echoed down the hallway.
Lucien emerged from the shadows.
His white shirt was spotless.
His black suit looked immaculate.
Only one thing had changed.
Fresh crimson drops stained the silver wolf cufflinks at his wrists.
Blood.
New blood.
He removed one cufflink with practiced ease, handed it to a waiting servant, and accepted a clean pair without a word.
It was such a routine gesture that no one around him reacted.
No one except Elena.
She stared at the red stains, unable to tear her eyes away.
Lucien noticed.
“The blood bothers you.”
She swallowed hard.
“It should bother you.”
For the first time, something unreadable crossed his face.
“It used to.”
A heavy silence settled between them.
Then Lucien looked directly into her eyes.
“The man downstairs is dead.”
Elena’s breath caught.
“He confessed before he died.”
Her voice came out barely above a whisper.
“Confessed to what?”
Lucien’s expression became as cold as winter.
“He wasn’t sent to kill me.”
He took one deliberate step closer.
“He was sent to bring you back.”
The words struck Elena harder than any weapon ever could.
“Back?” she whispered.
“I’ve never been here before.”
Lucien held her gaze.
“I know.”
His voice dropped to a dangerous calm.
“Which means someone has been waiting for you long before I found you.”
- Writer
