Chapter 3

Chapter Three

(The Devil’s Business)

The warehouse smelled like oil, metal, and fear.

Not the normal kind of fear.

Not the quiet nervousness I felt inside myself.

This fear was thick.

It crawled along the walls.

It clung to the air.

It had a sound.

Whispers.

Soft sobs.

The kind people make when they already know they’re going to die.

I stood beside Lucifer, my body stiff, my fingers curled into fists inside the pockets of my coat.

Two men were tied to metal chairs in the center of the empty warehouse.

Blood stained the concrete floor beneath them.

Fresh.

I swallowed hard.

Lucifer walked forward calmly, as if he were entering an office meeting.

One of the men looked up.

His face was swollen.

One eye completely shut.

“Please,” he cried. “We didn’t know it was yours. We swear.”

Lucifer crouched in front of him.

“You stole from me,” Lucifer said quietly.We were desperate.”

Lucifer tilted his head.

“So was I once.”

The man blinked.

Hope flickered.

Then Lucifer pulled out a gun.

The hope died.

I gasped softly.

Lucifer didn’t look back.

“You see this, Divya?” he asked.

I nodded weakly.

“This is what happens when someone mistakes my kindness for weakness.”

He stood and handed the gun to the man standing beside him.Do it.”

The shot echoed through the warehouse.

I screamed.

My knees buckled.

Strong arms caught me before I hit the floor.

Lucifer.

He held me against his chest.

Firm.

Unmoving.

My face pressed into his suit.

I could feel his heartbeat.

Slow.

Steady.

Nothing like mine.Breathe,” he murmured.

“I told you to watch.”

“I—I can’t—”

“Yes, you can.”

He lifted my chin so I was forced to look at him.

Those grey eyes locked onto mine.

“Because if you work for me,” he said, “you don’t get the luxury of innocence.”

Tears streamed down my face.

“I don’t want to be part of this.”

Lucifer’s thumb brushed a tear from my cheek.

A surprisingly gentle touch.

“You already are.”

Something twisted painfully inside my chest.Why bring me?” I whispered.

He studied my face.

“For two reasons.”

My heart pounded.

“One,” he said, “I need to know if you break easily.”

“And two?”

His gaze dropped to my lips.

Then back to my eyes.

“Because I wanted to see if you’d still look at me after this.”

Silence stretched between us.

I didn’t look away.

I didn’t know why.

Maybe because some damaged part of me understood him.Maybe because I saw loneliness beneath the cruelty.

Lucifer straightened.

“We’re done here.”

As he turned to leave, I noticed something strange.

He hadn’t pulled the trigger.

He hadn’t killed anyone.

He had ordered it.

But he himself hadn’t done it.

That realization stayed with me.Back at the mansion, I ran straight to my room.

I threw up.

My body shook violently.

I curled on the bathroom floor, hugging myself.

A knock came.

I didn’t answer.

The door opened anyway.

Lucifer.

He crouched beside me.

“Get up.”

I shook my head.

“I can’t.”

He sighed.

Not annoyed.Not angry.

Tired.

He lifted me into his arms like I weighed nothing.

I was too weak to resist.

He carried me to the bed and placed me gently on the mattress.

Gently.

“Drink,” he said, holding a glass of water to my lips.

I obeyed.

Silence filled the room.

“Most people run after seeing what you saw,” Lucifer said.

“I don’t feel brave,” I whispered.

“Good,” he replied. “Brave people are stupid.”

I let out a shaky laugh.It surprised both of us.

His eyes lingered on my face.

“You didn’t judge me,” he said.

“I don’t understand you,” I replied. “But I don’t think you’re pure evil either.”

Something dark flickered behind his eyes.

“Don’t make that mistake.”

He stood.

Before leaving, he said quietly—

“Sleep, Divya.”

At the door, he paused.

“No one will touch you here,” he added.Anyone who tries dies.”

The door closed.

I lay there staring at the ceiling.

Terrified.

Confused.

And painfully aware of one truth:

The devil had blood on his hands.

But when I was falling apart…

He was the one who held me.

Hope you are liking it byii😍😍~~~

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