Vows Written In Betrayal

CHAPTER 5

Rain hammered against the windshield as Damian’s black SUV sped through the streets of New York City.

Evelyn sat rigid in the passenger seat, Sophia’s terrified voice replaying endlessly inside her head.

I think someone’s following me.

Then the scream.

Then silence.

Her fingers tightened around her phone. She had already tried calling Sophia six more times.

Nothing.

“What if she’s hurt?” Evelyn whispered.

Damian kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead. “Panicking won’t help her.”

Easy for him to say.

The man looked unnaturally calm under pressure, one hand steady on the steering wheel while rain blurred the city outside into streaks of silver and gold.

“How are you this composed?” Evelyn asked bitterly.

His jaw tightened slightly. “Practice.”

That answer unsettled her more than it should have.

Traffic lights reflected across Damian’s sharp features as the SUV turned into a private underground garage beneath one of Manhattan’s luxury towers.

Lucas’ building.

The moment the car stopped, Evelyn was already reaching for the door.

Damian caught her wrist instantly.

“Wait.”

Her pulse jumped violently at the contact.

“What now?”

“If something’s wrong upstairs, you stay behind me.”

“I’m not helpless.”

“I didn’t say you were.”

His dark eyes locked onto hers for one brief moment.

“But you’re emotional. Emotional people make reckless decisions.”

Evelyn yanked her hand away. “You’re unbelievably annoying.”

A faint shadow of amusement touched his face.

At least until his phone buzzed.

The amusement vanished immediately.

Damian glanced at the screen, expression hardening.

“What?”

He ignored the question and typed a quick response before slipping the phone back into his coat pocket.

“Stay close to me,” he said quietly.

Something cold slid down Evelyn’s spine.

—

The penthouse doors opened into silence.

Too much silence.

Normally Lucas’ apartment overlooked Manhattan like a palace in the sky—warm lights, music, expensive wine left half-finished across marble counters.

Tonight it felt wrong.

Dark.

Still.

Evelyn stepped cautiously inside while Damian moved ahead of her, scanning the massive living room carefully.

“Sophia?” Evelyn called out.

No answer.

Rain rattled softly against the enormous windows overlooking the city skyline.

A champagne glass lay shattered near the kitchen island.

Evelyn’s heartbeat quickened.

Then she noticed the overturned chair near the hallway.

“Oh my God.”

Damian moved toward it immediately, crouching briefly beside the broken glass on the floor.

“There was a struggle,” he muttered.

Fear surged violently through Evelyn’s chest.

“Sophia!”

Still nothing.

Evelyn hurried down the hallway before Damian could stop her.

The master bedroom door stood half-open.

Inside, drawers had been pulled out violently, clothes scattered across the floor like someone had searched the room in a hurry.

Evelyn froze.

“What the hell happened here?”

Damian entered behind her silently.

His expression darkened the moment he noticed the open wall safe hidden behind a painting.

Empty.

“Damian?”

He didn’t answer immediately.

That terrified her more than shouting would have.

Then his phone rang again.

This time he answered instantly.

“Yes.”

A pause.

His eyes shifted toward Evelyn.

“No. She’s with me.”

Another silence.

Then Damian’s expression became dangerously cold.

“I’ll handle it.”

He ended the call.

Evelyn stepped toward him. “Handle what?”

Instead of answering, Damian walked toward the safe slowly.

Inside it, a single folder remained untouched.

He pulled it out carefully.

Evelyn noticed the moment he read the name printed across the front.

Everything about him changed.

“What is it?”

Damian looked up sharply.

“You need to leave.”

Her frustration exploded instantly. “Stop doing that!”

“This isn’t a game anymore, Evelyn.”

“I know that!”

“Do you?” His voice cut through the room sharply now. “Because someone just broke into a penthouse protected by private security, Sophia Laurent is missing, and this—”

He lifted the folder slightly.

“—connects directly to your father.”

The room tilted around her.

Evelyn stared at the folder as panic crawled into her throat.

“What’s inside it?”

Damian hesitated.

And that hesitation told her enough.

“It’s evidence, isn’t it?”

His silence confirmed it.

Evelyn stepped forward immediately and snatched the folder from his hand before he could stop her.

“Evelyn”

But she was already opening it.

The first page contained financial documents she barely understood.

The second page made her stomach drop.

Photographs.

Old ones.

Her father shaking hands with Lucas’ father outside a corporate building years ago.

More photos followed.

Meetings.

Documents.

Signatures.

Then one image stopped her breathing entirely.

It showed her father standing beside Damian.

Not across from him.

Beside him.

Like allies.

“What…” Evelyn whispered.

Her hands trembled violently as she looked up at Damian.

“You lied to me.”

“No.”

“You let me believe you destroyed my family!”

His expression hardened. “Because your father asked me to.”

The words slammed into her chest.

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“It wasn’t supposed to.”

Evelyn backed away from him slowly, her entire world beginning to crack apart again.

“My father hated you.”

“No,” Damian said quietly. “He wanted you to hate me.”

Silence swallowed the room.

Evelyn couldn’t think properly anymore.

Nothing fit together.

Not the years of resentment.

Not Lucas.

Not her father.

Not Damian.

“What aren’t you telling me?” she demanded shakily.

Before Damian could answer,

A loud crash echoed from somewhere deeper inside the penthouse.

Both of them froze instantly.

Someone else was there.

Damian moved immediately, stepping in front of Evelyn protectively.

“Stay behind me.”

This time she didn’t argue.

The tension inside the penthouse thickened with every step they took toward the sound. Evelyn’s pulse thundered painfully while Damian reached inside his coat slowly.

Not for a weapon.

For his phone.

He opened a security app connected to the building cameras.

Then stopped walking completely.

Evelyn saw the exact moment his face lost color.

Fear.

Actual fear.

“What is it?”

Damian turned the screen toward her silently.

The security footage showed a hooded figure standing inside the penthouse elevator moments earlier.

Watching the camera directly.

Holding Sophia Laurent by the arm.

And before the footage cut out completely—

The figure looked up just enough for Evelyn to see his face.

Lucas Bennett.