The Devil's Seed

The Devil's Seed

I woke to the sound of the front gates buzzing.
I blinked against the gray morning light filtering through the window. Marco was gone, his side of the bed cold already. A note sat on her nightstand in his unmistakable scrawl: Went to meet Giovanni. Stay in with Alyssa today. Lock the doors.
Typical. No goodbye. No tenderness from the man who held her so gently in the dark just hours before.
I swung my legs out of bed, already hearing Alyssa’s laughter somewhere in the hallway. My heart warmed, I made my way to freshen up. And when I came out, the gate buzzed again. The security system I'm the house was built in such a way that the occupants inside were alerted by a buzzing sound if there was someone at the gate.
Then, I heard the gates buzzed again, followed by the sharp bark of a guard’s voice outside.
Something felt off.
By the time I reached the front door to investigate what was going on, Matteo had already stepped inside with a hand on his holstered gun.
“It’s your cousin,” he said tersely. “Refused to wait. She said it’s urgent.”
My heart sank. Something was wrong.

Lucia stumbled in moments later, pale as a ghost beneath a heavy black hoodie and oversized sunglasses. Her skin glistened with sweat despite the chilly air.
“Lucia, what the hell?” I rushed forward as Lucia sagged against her.
“I need to sit,” she breathed, clutching her stomach.
I led her to the living room, barking orders for water and a blanket. Alyssa watched from a distance, concern wrinkling her small brows.
“I’m okay, sweetheart,” I called softly. “Go stay with Clara, alright?”
As soon as Alyssa was gone, Lucia tugged off her sunglasses. Her eyes were bloodshot, makeup smudged, lips dry.
She looked like a woman running from something no one could see.
I crouched in front of her. “Lucia. What’s going on?”

Lucia stared at me for a long moment, then her lips trembled. “I… I didn’t know who else to come to.”
“Are you hurt?” I looked all over her. She was scaring me. She didn't even inform me that she would be coming, not that it was a bad thing that she came.
“I think I’m pregnant,” Lucia whispered. She thought of it, and changed her statement. “No, I know I am. Two months.”
My heart skipped. “Lucia, who?”
The silence was answer enough.
I tried my luck and guessed.
“Kristoff?”
Lucia burst into tears.
My eyes widened in shock. So I had been right all along. Kristoff was the secret man that Lucia has been seeing
I sat back on my heels, stunned.
“You told me you didn’t even know his name. You lied.”
“I had to lie,” Lucia cried. “You don’t understand. He said if I told anyone, he’d find out. And now,.he knows. He always knows.”
“You need to leave him,” I said, heart thudding with horror. “Lucia, you can’t stay near him. He’s dangerous. You don’t know half of it.”

“I do,” Lucia choked out. “He told me. All of it. About you. About the debt. About your marriage.”
I froze. “What?”
“He said you were promised to him. That you were his before Marco stole you. He didn’t want my baby to punish me, he wanted it to punish you.”
I stood abruptly, pacing the room.
This wasn’t just an obsession anymore.
Kristoff was orchestrating something. A slow, calculated dismantling. He wasn’t trying to win, he was trying to ruin.
Lucia sobbed into her hands. “I didn’t know who he was when it started. He was kind at first. Mysterious. Intense. I thought I was special.”
I knelt beside her again, gripping my cousin’s shaking hands.
“You are special, Lucia. But not to him. Not to a man like that.”
“What do I do?” she whispered.
“You leave him. You disappear. You let Marco handle this, or, ” she stopped herself. “Or we find another way.”
Lucia’s eyes widened in fear. “You don’t get it. There is no way. He’ll never let me go.”

My stomach twisted.
I understand now. Kristoff wasn’t just targeting her from a distance.
He was weaving his darkness into every corner of my life.
“Then we get ahead of him,” Sofia said quietly. “Before it’s too late.”

Lucia swayed as she stood, trying to follow me toward the kitchen.
“I just need water,” she muttered weakly.
But her knees buckled before she took a full step.
“Lucia!”
I barely caught her in time.
Lucia collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut, her skin clammy, her breathing rapid and shallow.
“Get Clara!” Sofia shouted. “Matteo! Now!”
Matteo was already on it. Within moments, the household was in motion, Clara running in with cold cloths, a guard rushing for the car. Lucia’s eyes fluttered, but she didn’t speak. Her lips moved without sound.
I rode with her to the hospital, hand wrapped tightly around Lucia’s wrist, feeling the frantic, fluttering beat of her pulse like a dying bird.

St. Celeste Private Clinic – Two Hours Later

Lucia lay in a hospital bed, pale beneath crisp white sheets. IVs trailed from her arms. Monitors beeped in a slow, steady rhythm that did little to ease Sofia’s pounding heart.
The doctor had called it a “stress-induced vasovagal collapse.” Not fatal, but serious. They were keeping her overnight.
I sat beside her, holding her hand.
“I’m so sorry,” Lucia whispered when she finally stirred awake. “I didn’t want to scare you. Or the baby.”
I blinked back tears. “You have to stop protecting him, Lucia.”
Lucia turned her face to the side. “He’s not the one I’m protecting.”
Before I could respond, the door opened, and Marco walked in.

He filled the room with his presence, sharp in a charcoal suit, eyes burning with questions. His gaze flicked from Lucia to me, scanning my face.
“She’s stable,” I said quickly.
Marco nodded once, stepping closer to the bed. His jaw clenched. “What happened?”
“She fainted. The doctor said it was stress and low blood pressure.”
Lucia looked at him, panic flickering across her features. “Please… don’t ask me anything right now. Just… don’t.”
I sensed it, the silent plea behind her words. Fear deeper than panic. Terror wrapped in guilt.
“She’s pregnant,” I said softly. “That’s why she came.”
It was better to let Marco in on the news, it was the only way to help Lucia.
“It's alright. I trust him.” I patted Lucia's hand that had latched on mine in confusion and panic.

Marco’s expression shifted slightly, but his voice remained unreadable. “Where is the father?”
Lucia’s hand tightened around mine.
I glanced at Lucia, then looked Marco square in the eyes. “She didn’t say.”
Marco’s brows drew together. He stared at me a moment too long. “You’re sure?”
“She asked me not to push her,” I said, steady. “And I won’t.”
Marco sighed and turned his gaze back to Lucia. “You’ll stay at the estate when they discharge you. No arguments.”
Lucia nodded slowly, her lips trembling. “Okay.”
He left a few minutes later to speak to the doctor, and as soon as the door clicked shut, Lucia turned to me, tears already welling.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “Please. Don’t tell him. Don’t tell anyone.”
My throat tightened. “Lucia… you’re not just protecting the baby. You’re protecting Kristoff.”

Lucia flinched.
“I know,” she said brokenly. “But if Marco finds out, he’ll use me. Or worse. And Kristoff will hurt someone. Maybe even you.”
I sat back, haunted by the truth: I was now carrying a secret that could burn them all.
I gently pressed my palm to Lucia’s belly. “You need to be strong for this baby. And you need to tell the truth, eventually. But not today.”
Lucia nodded, silent tears sliding down her cheeks.
Outside, Marco stood by the window, speaking quietly to the doctor, but his eyes never left the door.
He knew something was being kept from him.
And Sofia wasn’t sure how long she could protect everyone before the lies collapsed around them all.