Donovan had sensed it for weeks—something off about Lucas. Small inconsistencies, late nights, whispered phone calls that stopped when he entered the room. He had watched, waited, and investigated quietly, until finally the truth revealed itself: Lucas was feeding information to Silvio, mapping Donovan's movements, and preparing an ambush to capture Adeline.He didn't confront Lucas immediately. Donovan was patient, calculating. He would use Lucas's betrayal against the enemy, turning the traitor into the weapon he deserved to be.Earlier that evening, Lucas met with Silvio's men in a dimly lit warehouse. Donovan's surveillance team, hidden in the shadows, tracked every movement. Cameras and hidden microphones relayed each word to Donovan. Lucas gave detailed reports—escape routes, guard rotations, and Adeline's routines. Silvio's excitement was palpable; he finally believed the young, clever traitor would deliver the prize he'd been hunting.Donovan's jaw tightened as he listened. "You'll regret this," he muttered under his breath, eyes glinting in the dark. He had already begun planning. The city streets would be the battlefield. Lucas would lead Silvio straight into his trap.By midnight, the streets became a war zone. Donovan's men moved silently, surrounding Silvio's heavily armed convoy as Lucas, unaware of the full extent of Donovan's planning, guided them to the meeting point.Bullets tore through the night, ricocheting off walls and shattered windows. The rain-slicked pavement became a dangerous battlefield, puddles reflecting chaos in fractured patterns. Silvio's men opened fire, but Donovan's team responded with lethal precision.Donovan himself was in the center, every movement deliberate, every shot precise. Silvio, realizing too late that he had been deceived, tried to escape, but the alleys twisted like a trap designed specifically for him.Lucas watched, panic rising, as his plan unraveled. Donovan had anticipated everything—every route, every weak point, every misstep. Silvio's men fell one by one, incapacitated or eliminated. Donovan cornered Silvio in a dead-end alley, the night silent except for the heavy rain and the faint groans of the defeated."You thought you could take her from me," Donovan said, voice low and terrifying. Silvio's attempt to plead failed. Donovan's hand moved with lethal precision, and Silvio fell, his obsession ended by the man he had tried to outsmart.Lucas, trembling, realized his own end had come. Donovan turned to him, dark eyes piercing. "Your betrayal could have killed her. Now, you will pay the price." Lucas tried to run, but Donovan's men intercepted him. The trap was complete—the traitor was no longer a weapon, only a casualty of his own treachery.After the battle, Donovan returned to the estate with Adeline, silent and commanding. She was waiting, unaware of the night's full chaos. His hands brushed hers, warm and possessive, grounding her after the tension of the mission."Do you feel safe?" he asked softly, pulling her close.She nodded, trembling. "With you… I feel protected."Donovan's lips found hers, gentle at first, then more insistent. The danger, the fear, and the adrenaline of the night surged between them. In the privacy of the estate, they shared a passionate, intimate connection—their first true moment together, a claiming and surrender born of trust, power, and desire.Hours passed in that intimacy, each touch and glance a silent promise. Donovan's darkness enveloped her, but she did not flee. She was his, in mind, body, and soul.The city outside remained dangerous, Silvio's obsession defeated but far from gone, Lucas dead, leaving only the shadow of vengeance lingering. And in that moment, Adeline understood: being with Donovan meant living in darkness, but also in a passion and power she had never imagined.
