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Chapter 44 – Torn Between Devils
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2025-03-21 23:21:31“Put the gun down, Ethan.”
Elias’s voice was smooth and calculated like a snake slithering through the darkness, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. He stood in the doorway with the ease of a man who owned the world, his fingers lightly brushing against the frame. His other hand was tucked in his pocket, casual, almost lazy, but I knew better. Nothing about Elias Carter was ever lazy. Every move was deliberate. Every word, a weapon. Ethan, however, was a fortress. His stance was unwavering, shoulders squared, his gun aimed with lethal precision. He wasn’t just holding a weapon. He was a weapon. “You’re trespassing.” His voice was razor-sharp. Elias smirked. Smirked. Like none of this mattered, like he hadn’t just shattered the world I’d built with his sudden presence. “And you’re holding something that belongs to me.” The words sliced through the air, thick with meaning. My breath caught. Me. Ethan’s hold on the gun tightened. “She doesn’t belong to you.” Elias let out a slow, amused chuckle. “Is that right, sweetheart?” His gaze slid to me. He didn’t just look at me. He devoured me, eyes raking over every inch of my body as if he were memorizing what was his. My pulse pounded. This was Elias Carter. The man who had once kissed me like I was his salvation. The man who had once whispered forever into my skin. The man who had destroyed me. And now he was here. Ethan shifted, stepping fully in front of me, his body a shield, his presence a storm. “She’s not answering you.” Elias didn’t look away. His smirk deepened. “You really think you can keep her?” Ethan’s jaw clenched. “I already have.” For the first time, Elias’s expression hardened. His smirk faded, and something dangerous settled in his eyes. “You sound just like me.” The air in the room tightened. Ethan’s grip on the gun never faltered, but I could feel the way those words crawled under his skin. Then, Elias took a step forward. Slow. Measured. “You took something from me, Sinclair.” His voice was lower now, a quiet, simmering fury beneath the surface. “I’ve come to collect.” Ethan didn’t move. “You’ll have to kill me first.” The tension snapped like a live wire. Elias tilted his head. “Don’t tempt me.” The way he said it (calm, almost thoughtful) made my stomach twist. This wasn’t a threat. It was a promise. If someone didn’t speak, they were going to kill each other. I sucked in a breath. “Enough.” Both men turned to me. Their eyes (one a cold, calculating blue) the other a molten, unreadable storm pinned me in place. My hands trembled as I stepped out from behind Ethan. My voice was steadier than I felt. “I’m not a prize. I don’t belong to either of you.” Ethan’s gaze flickered. Elias smirked. “That’s cute, sweetheart. But we both know that’s not true.” My stomach twisted. I hated him. I hated how he could still look at me like he knew every secret I had ever kept. Ethan’s voice was lethal. “She’s not going anywhere with you.” Elias sighed. “See, that’s the problem. You think you have a say in this.” Then, with a flick of his wrist, he pulled something from his pocket and tossed it onto the coffee table. A flash drive. The small object landed with a soft clink against the glass, but the impact was deafening. Ethan didn’t move. But I saw it. The way his entire body went still. A subtle shift. A tightening of his jaw. Elias’s smirk widened. “Now I have your attention.” My heart pounded. “What’s on it?” My voice came out barely above a whisper. Elias’s gaze flicked to me, dark amusement flickering in his eyes. “Something that will make your little protector here rethink his position.” Ethan still hadn’t moved. His fingers flexed at his sides, but he didn’t reach for the flash drive. Elias arched a brow. “Go on, Sinclair. Let’s see how well you handle the truth.” A muscle in Ethan’s jaw ticked. Then, without a word, he lowered the gun. The room shifted. Not physically, but the energy inside it. The moment Ethan grabbed the flash drive and stalked to his desk, something changed. A few clicks. A file opened. And then Ethan froze. The reaction was immediate. Violent in its stillness. His entire body locked up, hands gripping the desk so tightly his knuckles went white. I couldn’t see the screen from where I stood, but whatever was on it had turned Ethan Sinclair into something terrifyingly unreadable. I took a step forward. “Ethan…?” Silence. My pulse hammered. “Ethan.” My voice was sharper this time. Nothing. Not even a flicker. Elias let out a quiet chuckle. “Go ahead, sweetheart. Take a look.” A chill curled down my spine. I swallowed hard and moved closer. And then My breath stopped. The screen flickered with grainy security footage. A hospital hallway. A man in a suit walking into a room. Theo’s hospital room. And then A blurred figure stepping out of the shadows. A gun. A silencer. The man never saw it coming. A single, clean shot to the head. His body crumpled to the floor, blood pooling around him. I gasped. My hands flew to my mouth. Then The camera caught the killer’s face as he turned. I staggered back. No. No. No. The man holding the gun Was Ethan. A broken, choked sound clawed out of my throat. Ethan slowly turned to face me. I took another step back. Away from him. Away from the man I thought I knew. His expression was unreadable. Cold. Stiff. Like a statue carved from ice. “Isabella,” he finally said, his voice lower, quieter. But I couldn’t hear him over the blood roaring in my ears. “You…” My voice cracked. “You killed him.” Ethan’s jaw tightened. “It’s not what you think.” Elias chuckled darkly. “Oh, it’s exactly what she thinks.” I spun to Elias. “You knew.” His smirk was slow. “Of course I knew.” My stomach churned. This was a game. A sick, twisted game between devils. And I was the one trapped between them. Elias took a slow step toward me. “You see, sweetheart…” He leaned in, his breath brushing my ear. “You never really escaped me.”
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The room felt like it was closing in. The walls seemed narrower, the air thick with something I couldn’t name. The grainy video on the screen played in an endless loop, the scene burned into my mind. Ethan. A silencer. A body collapsing to the floor. Blood spreading like ink across white tiles. My breath came fast, uneven. It was like my brain refused to process what I’d just seen. “Tell me that wasn’t you.” My voice barely sounded like mine. It was strained and fragile on the verge of breaking. Ethan didn’t move. He didn’t speak. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes… God, his eyes. I had seen them dark before, filled with anger, with lust, with unspoken emotions I never had the courage to name. But this? This was different. His gaze was a void. Hollow. As if the man I thought I knew was locked somewhere inside, just out of reach. Something inside me cracked. I stepped back, shaking my head. “Say something.” Ethan finally exhaled, slow and control
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“Let go of me, Ethan.” I kept my voice steady, but my body betrayed me. My hands trembled. My pulse hammered against my ribs, each beat screaming at me to run. Ethan’s grip on my wrist didn’t tighten, but it didn’t loosen either. His fingers, warm and solid, were the only thing anchoring me in place. He stood rigid, his jaw ticking, his body wound so tight it looked like he might snap. “I can’t.” A shiver rippled down my spine. Elias let out a low whistle. “Oh, this is getting good. What’s next, Sinclair? You gonna lock her up in your penthouse?” Ethan didn’t even spare him a glance. His gaze was locked on mine, intense and unyielding. “If that’s what it takes to keep her safe.” A sharp, bitter laugh escaped me. “You don’t get to decide that.” His grip flexed. Just a twitch of his fingers but I felt it everywhere. “I do when Damien Cross is hunting you.” Elias exhaled dramatically. “And there it is. The Sinclair control complex.” He smirked, shifting against the des
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The room felt like it was closing in. The walls seemed narrower, the air thick with something I couldn’t name. The grainy video on the screen played in an endless loop, the scene burned into my mind. Ethan. A silencer. A body collapsing to the floor. Blood spreading like ink across white tiles. My breath came fast, uneven. It was like my brain refused to process what I’d just seen. “Tell me that wasn’t you.” My voice barely sounded like mine. It was strained and fragile on the verge of breaking. Ethan didn’t move. He didn’t speak. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes… God, his eyes. I had seen them dark before, filled with anger, with lust, with unspoken emotions I never had the courage to name. But this? This was different. His gaze was a void. Hollow. As if the man I thought I knew was locked somewhere inside, just out of reach. Something inside me cracked. I stepped back, shaking my head. “Say something.” Ethan finally exhaled, slow and control
Bound by deception Chapter 44 – Torn Between Devils
“Put the gun down, Ethan.” Elias’s voice was smooth and calculated like a snake slithering through the darkness, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. He stood in the doorway with the ease of a man who owned the world, his fingers lightly brushing against the frame. His other hand was tucked in his pocket, casual, almost lazy, but I knew better. Nothing about Elias Carter was ever lazy. Every move was deliberate. Every word, a weapon. Ethan, however, was a fortress. His stance was unwavering, shoulders squared, his gun aimed with lethal precision. He wasn’t just holding a weapon. He was a weapon. “You’re trespassing.” His voice was razor-sharp. Elias smirked. Smirked. Like none of this mattered, like he hadn’t just shattered the world I’d built with his sudden presence. “And you’re holding something that belongs to me.” The words sliced through the air, thick with meaning. My breath caught. Me. Ethan’s hold on the gun tightened. “She doesn’t belong to you.”
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I shook my head, my chest rising and falling too fast. “No.” Ethan didn’t move. Didn’t blink. “Yes.” My pulse pounded against my ribs like a trapped animal. I took a step back, needing distance, but Ethan was relentless, closing in, his presence thick like a storm cloud about to break. “Elias is gone,” I whispered. “He has to be gone.” Ethan tilted his head slightly, studying me like he was waiting for me to figure out the truth on my own. “Do you really believe that?” I wanted to. God, I wanted to. But Ethan’s voice carried the weight of something inevitable, something unshakable. I clenched my fists at my sides. “He used me. Lied to me. Left me.” I swallowed against the tightness in my throat. “Why the hell would he want me back?” Ethan’s eyes flickered with something unreadable before he spoke. “Because you’re the only thing he ever lost.” The words slammed into me. For a moment, the room faded, replaced by the ghosts of memories I had fought to bury. Elias’s hands
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I stumbled back, shaking my head, my breath coming too fast. My heartbeat slammed against my ribs, a wild, frantic rhythm that made my chest ache. “You’re lying.” Ethan didn’t move, didn’t blink. “Am I?” His voice was maddeningly calm, like he was talking about the weather and not completely tearing my world apart. I wanted to believe that. Needed to believe that. But the video kept replaying in my mind, every detail slicing through me like a serrated knife Elias smirking, rolling that damn cigarette between his fingers like I had been nothing more than a business deal, an asset. A job. My stomach lurched. “How long have you known?” My voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper. Ethan exhaled slowly, rubbing a hand over his jaw like he was debating how much to say. “Long enough.” I let out a sharp, bitter laugh. “And you just let me keep believing he cared?” He arched a brow. “Would you have believed me if I told you earlier?” I opened my mouth, ready to snap ba
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The walls of Ethan’s hidden room closed in around me, suffocating, too full of secrets I wasn’t ready to face. My pulse pounded in my ears as his words echoed inside my skull. “You were a job.” It wasn’t possible. It wasn’t real. I took a step back, gripping the edge of the desk to steady myself. The folder with my name on it sat between us like a loaded gun. My life, reduced to paper. Dates. Records. A complete history. Ethan watched me with maddening patience, as if waiting for me to process the truth or waiting for me to break. I wouldn’t. I lifted my chin. “You’re lying.” He sighed, rubbing a hand along his jaw. “I don’t lie, Isabella.” Something in his voice made my stomach churn. He sounded tired, almost resigned, but there was an underlying certainty that terrified me. I turned my back to him, gripping the folder so tightly my knuckles ached. I flipped through the pages again, my eyes scanning too fast, desperate for something. Anything to prove him wrong
