The Devil's Forbidden Secretary

Chapter Two : His Rules

Elena

By Monday morning, Elena Vale had convinced herself that she had imagined everything.

The look in Lucien Voss's eyes when he saw her pendant.

The sudden change in his voice.

The strange accusation that she reminded him of someone.

She had spent the entire weekend trying to make sense of it.

She failed.

So she did what intelligent people did when emotions threatened to interfere with logic.

She ignored them.

At precisely 7:42 a.m., Elena stepped through the revolving doors of Voss International.

Her first official day.

The receptionist recognized her immediately.

"Good morning, Miss Vale."

"Good morning."

"Mr. Voss is already upstairs."

Of course he was.

Elena entered the elevator.

She stared at her reflection in the mirrored wall.

Black trousers.

White blouse.

Dark blazer.

Hair neatly pulled back.

Professional.

Untouchable.

Exactly what she needed to be.

The elevator opened on the forty-second floor.

Mara was waiting.

"You're early."

"Seven minutes."

Mara's eyebrow lifted.

"Most people are terrified enough to arrive thirty minutes early."

"I don't like wasting time."

Something resembling approval crossed Mara's face.

"Good."

She handed Elena a tablet.

"His schedule."

Elena glanced down.

The list was absurd.

Three board meetings.

Two investor calls.

A private lunch.

An interview with a foreign delegation.

Four internal meetings.

A press conference.

And a flight to the northern district at 11:00 p.m.

Elena looked up.

"Is this today's schedule?"

"Yes."

"All of it?"

"Unfortunately."

Elena stared at the screen again.

"Does he sleep?"

"Rarely."

"And eat?"

"Less than rarely."

Mara started walking.

"One more thing."

Elena followed.

"Mr. Voss hates surprises."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"He also hates people who question his decisions."

"Understood."

"And he really hates being disobeyed."

Elena nodded.

Mara stopped in front of the office.

"And don't touch anything on his desk."

Elena frowned.

"Why?"

Mara's expression became serious.

"Because nobody touches anything on his desk."

Before Elena could ask another question, Mara walked away.

Elena knocked.

"Come in."

The voice was unmistakable.

She entered.

Lucien was standing beside the window, speaking on the phone.

He wore a black suit without a tie, his sleeves slightly rolled up.

He looked younger than he had during the interview.

Not softer.

Just more dangerous.

His eyes met hers briefly before returning to the city.

"No."

A pause.

"I don't care what the board wants."

Another pause.

"Then tell the board they can find another CEO."

He ended the call.

Elena stood silently.

Lucien turned.

"You're late."

She glanced at the clock.

"By forty-three seconds."

His eyebrow lifted.

"You counted?"

"You mentioned yesterday that you dislike wasting time."

For several seconds, he simply stared at her.

Then he walked toward his desk.

"Sit."

Elena sat.

He placed a thick folder in front of her.

"Your first assignment."

She opened it.

"Three hundred and twelve pages?"

"Three hundred and fourteen."

She looked up.

"There are two appendices."

Elena blinked.

"You've read it?"

"Twice."

Of course.

Lucien leaned against his desk.

"I want a summary before noon."

"That gives me two hours."

"Correct."

"And you expect me to read all of it?"

"No."

She frowned.

"Then what do you expect?"

"I expect you to determine what's important."

A challenge.

Elena looked back at the folder.

"Understood."

She stood.

"That's all?"

"Yes."

She walked toward the door.

"Elena."

She stopped.

It was the first time he'd said her first name.

She turned.

Lucien's expression was unreadable.

"The pendant."

Her fingers instinctively moved toward her neck.

"What about it?"

"Don't wear it to work."

Elena's stomach tightened.

"Why?"

"Because I said so."

She stared at him.

"That's not an explanation."

Something dark flashed in his eyes.

"It wasn't meant to be."

Elena held his gaze.

"Then I'll continue wearing it."

Silence.

Lucien slowly straightened.

For the first time that morning, the controlled mask slipped.

Not much.

Just enough.

"You're going to learn very quickly, Elena, that there are things in this company you don't challenge."

"And you're going to learn very quickly that I don't blindly follow orders."

The room went completely silent.

She immediately wondered whether she had gone too far.

Lucien walked toward her.

One step.

Then another.

He stopped a few feet away.

"Careful."

His voice was quiet.

Somehow, that made it worse.

Elena didn't move.

"Is that a threat?"

"No."

His eyes dropped briefly to her pendant.

"It's advice."

He turned away.

"Get to work."

Elena left.

The moment the doors closed, she released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

---

Lucien

Lucien waited until Elena was gone.

Then he walked to the desk and opened the drawer.

Inside was a photograph.

Old.

Faded.

Creased along the edges.

His father stood in front of the Voss estate.

Beside him was a woman.

Her face was missing.

Not blurred.

Not damaged by age.

Deliberately scratched away.

Lucien had spent seventeen years trying to discover who she was.

Now, after all this time, the answer had walked into his office wearing the same pendant.

He picked up the photograph.

His phone rang.

"Speak."

Adrian's voice came through.

"I found something."

Lucien's grip tightened.

"What?"

"Elena Vale's mother was named Isabella Vale."

Lucien froze.

The name hit him like a physical blow.

"You're certain?"

"Yes."

"Tell me everything."

"She disappeared seventeen years ago."

Lucien's eyes narrowed.

"Disappeared?"

"According to the records, she left Valeria shortly after your father's death."

"Where did she go?"

"We don't know."

"Keep digging."

"There is something else."

Lucien waited.

"Isabella Vale worked for your father."

The room seemed to shrink.

"Doing what?"

"Personal assistant."

Lucien's jaw tightened.

His father had employed dozens of people.

But Lucien remembered her.

Not her face.

Only fragments.

A woman's voice.

A perfume.

A silver pendant.

And blood on the marble floor.

"Adrian."

"Yes?"

"Find out whether Isabella had a daughter."

A pause.

"You mean Elena?"

Lucien stared at the photograph.

"Find out if Elena is really her daughter."

---

Elena

By 11:53 a.m., Elena had finished the report.

She placed it on Lucien's desk.

He looked at the clock.

"You have seven minutes."

"I know."

"You finished early."

"Yes."

He opened the report.

He read the first page.

Then the second.

Then the third.

His expression remained neutral.

Elena waited.

At page eight, he stopped.

"You identified the discrepancy."

"Yes."

"How?"

"The company's reported overseas revenue doesn't match the subsidiary filings."

Lucien looked up.

"Continue."

"The difference isn't large enough to attract attention during a standard audit. But it's consistent across three quarters."

"Meaning?"

"Someone is moving money."

His eyes sharpened.

"How much?"

"Approximately twenty-eight million."

Silence.

Lucien closed the folder.

"Who else knows?"

"Nobody."

"Good."

He stood.

"You're coming with me."

"Where?"

"Board meeting."

"I'm not a board member."

"No."

He walked past her.

"You're the only person in this building who noticed the missing money."

Elena followed.

"Are you saying someone on your board is stealing from you?"

"I'm saying I don't trust anyone."

They entered the elevator.

The doors closed.

For several seconds, neither spoke.

Then Lucien said quietly:

"That's the most important rule you'll learn here."

Elena looked at him.

"Trust nobody?"

"Trust me least of all."

She wasn't expecting that.

The elevator continued downward.

"Why?"

Lucien's gaze remained fixed on the doors.

"Because I'm capable of things you haven't seen yet."

---

Lucien

The boardroom was filled with men who had spent decades believing they were untouchable.

When Lucien entered, every conversation stopped.

Elena followed him.

Several executives looked at her.

One of them laughed.

"Lucien, since when do you bring assistants into board meetings?"

Lucien took his seat.

"Since my assistant became more useful than half this board."

The laughter died instantly.

Elena remained standing behind him.

The meeting began.

For forty minutes, nothing unusual happened.

Then Lucien placed Elena's report on the table.

"Twenty-eight million."

Silence.

One executive immediately looked offended.

"That's impossible."

"Is it?"

Lucien slid the report across the table.

"Explain the discrepancy."

Nobody spoke.

Then a man named Victor Hale leaned forward.

"Perhaps your new assistant made a mistake."

Elena looked at him.

"Perhaps."

Victor smiled.

"Then perhaps she shouldn't be analyzing financial records."

Lucien's voice cut through the room.

"Perhaps you should answer the question."

Victor's smile vanished.

"I have nothing to explain."

Lucien leaned back.

"Interesting."

He tapped the table.

"Because the missing funds passed through an account belonging to one of your subsidiaries."

Victor went pale.

Elena watched carefully.

Lucien had known.

The report hadn't revealed the theft.

It had confirmed what he already suspected.

The meeting descended into chaos.

Accusations.

Denials.

Threats.

Elena remained silent.

Until Victor suddenly turned toward her.

"You."

She looked at him.

"Yes?"

"How did you know?"

"I read the documents."

"You couldn't possibly have discovered that in one morning."

"I did."

Victor stared at her.

Then he smiled.

It wasn't friendly.

"You should be careful, Miss Vale."

Lucien stood.

"That's enough."

Victor ignored him.

"People who dig too deeply into the Voss family tend to regret it."

Elena's blood ran cold.

Lucien's expression changed.

"Get out."

Victor laughed.

"Lucien—"

"Get. Out."

The room fell silent.

Victor gathered his papers and left.

The others followed soon after.

Within minutes, only Elena and Lucien remained.

She turned toward him.

"What did he mean?"

Lucien didn't answer.

"Mr. Voss."

"Nothing."

"That wasn't nothing."

He walked toward her.

"You have a habit of asking questions."

"I have a habit of noticing when people threaten me."

His jaw tightened.

"Then notice this."

He stopped in front of her.

"If you want to survive here, stay away from my family."

Elena's heart pounded.

"What are you hiding?"

Lucien's eyes darkened.

"More than you could survive knowing."

He walked away.

Elena watched him.

And for the first time since accepting the job, she understood something terrifying.

She hadn't entered Voss International to uncover a secret.

She had entered a battlefield.

And somehow—

she had become part of the war.

---

Elena

That evening, Elena sat alone in her apartment.

The city lights flickered beyond her window.

On the table lay the photograph she had secretly copied months earlier.

Lucien's father.

The mysterious woman.

The silver pendant.

She turned the photograph over.

There was handwriting on the back.

Words she had memorized long ago.

If they ever discover who you are, run.

Elena stared at the sentence.

Her mother had written it.

She knew that now.

But there was something she hadn't noticed before.

Beneath the warning was a date.

Seventeen years ago.

The exact day Lucien Voss's father died.

Her phone suddenly rang.

Unknown number.

Elena answered cautiously.

"Hello?"

No one spoke.

"Who is this?"

A man's breathing came through the receiver.

Then a whisper.

"You're working for him."

Elena froze.

"Who are you?"

"Leave Voss International."

"Why?"

A pause.

Then:

"Because Lucien Voss isn't the man you think he is."

The line went dead.

Elena slowly lowered the phone.

Across the city, inside a dark office on the forty-second floor, Lucien stood by his window.

His phone rang.

Adrian.

He answered.

"Did you find out?"

Adrian hesitated.

"Yes."

Lucien's expression hardened.

"Is Elena Isabella Vale's daughter?"

"No."

Lucien went still.

"What?"

Adrian's voice lowered.

"That's the problem."

A pause.

"Elena Vale isn't Isabella Vale's biological daughter."

Lucien stared into the darkness.

"Then whose daughter is she?"

Adrian breathed out.

"We're still trying to find out."

Lucien looked toward the city.

For the first time in seventeen years, he felt something dangerously close to fear.

Because if Elena wasn't Isabella's daughter...

then the pendant hadn't brought her to him by accident.

Someone had sent her.

And whoever had done it knew exactly what they were doing.