Chapter 84 A Pact With Darkness
Carmen’s POV
I woke up to the pounding in my head before I even opened my eyes.
My body ached everywhere. Bruises bloomed along my arms and legs, and every time I moved, it felt like someone had hammered nails into my ribs.
I blinked, trying to focus, and realized I was in Daniel’s apartment.
The sunlight slanted through the blinds, painting stripes across the floor.
I tried to sit up. Pain shot through my side, sharp enough to make me gasp. I leaned on my elbows, groaning.
My mouth was dry. My throat felt raw, probably from screaming the night before.
And of course, my luck had to be terrible. I wasn’t alone.
The door clicked. My stomach dropped.
“Get up, Carmen.”
I froze.
Daniel Simmons stepped in, and I felt my knees weaken. He was dressed in one of those perfect suits, the kind that made you want to punch him in the face and kiss him at the same time.
Hair perfectly combed.
“You belong to me now,” he said,
I wanted to throw up or scream. Or do both at the same time.
This wasn't the agreement.
“If my brother gets to know about what you're doing to me,” I groaned.
“Really?” He chuckled, “is it the same brother that locked you uo and you had to call for my help?” Hrme paced around in circles slowly.
“Or the one that isn't interested in where his sister is for days…His entire existence is cloated by that silly lover of his and the time you realized that, the better for you,”
I swallowed hard, he wasn't lying. It was just a bitter truth I was tol scared to admit.
Mark hadn't given up on me… Has he?
I tried to stand, but my legs shook violently. He stepped closer, hand reaching out as if he could read my fear and pleasure both at the same time. I flinched.
“Easy,” he said. “I’m not here to hurt you… more than you already are.”
He crouched slightly, just enough to be at my eye level. “You’re safe with me. For now.”
I wanted to laugh bitterly. Safe. That word meant nothing coming from him.
He led me through a hallway I hadn’t noticed before, into a private office.
Big desk, leather chairs, walls lined with books and screens. Everything screamed control. Everything screamed Daniel.
He gestured to the chair. “Sit.”
I hesitated. My body was still weak. My pride shredded.
My heart twisted in anger and disgust, but I knew I had no choice. I sat, hands clenching the arms of the chair.
He pulled out a folder and placed it in front of me. My eyes scanned the cover.
Confidentiality Agreement.
I swallowed. “I… I can’t.”
“You can,” he said, leaning closer, resting one hand on the desk and letting the other brush against my chin. “Mark threw you away. I’ll make you powerful.”
“Powerful enough that he would come crawling to your feet,”
His baits was as perfect as the devil's own.
But then my life was broken.
My options were gone.
So I had no option than to make an agreement with teg devil.
I forced my hands to stop shaking. I picked up the pen.
And then, I signed.
The ink on the paper felt like burning. But there was no turning back now.
He smiled with satisfaction written all over his face“Good girl.”
I wanted to hate him so badly. But the truth settled like lead in my stomach. He was saviour at the moment.
The next hours blurred together.
He taught me what I needed to know. How to access files.
How to crack passwords. How to move silently, think faster than anyone expected.
And then… he asked the impossible.
“The Simmons file,” he said casually, like he wasn’t asking me to betray my own blood.
I froze.
My heart dropped into my stomach.
That file he needed contained alot of Mark's past crimes especially his drugs addiction
“I… I can’t,” I whispered, shaking my head. “I shouldn’t..”
“You can,” he interrupted sharply, the calm disappearing for a heartbeat. “You’re the only one who knows the password. You’re the only one who can do this.”
“Do this to save yourself,”
I swallowed hard. My chest was tight. My throat dry. Every instinct screamed to refuse. To throw the folder in his face.
But… I couldn’t.
Not if I wanted to survive.
I pressed my fingers to the keys. Memorized the sequence. Opened the file.
My hands trembled. The screen lit up with names, dates, accounts.
My stomach churned. I hated every second. I hated that I was helping him. But my options had run out long ago.
He watched me like a predator, calm again.
“Upload it,” he said softly. “Make it public. Crush his ego,”
I hesitated. My finger hovered over the button. Every ounce of me wanted to scream, to run, to punch the screen.
But… my only chance of surviving this storm was to obey.
I clicked.
The file went live.
My chest collapsed. My stomach dropped. I wanted to throw up.
On the screens across every device in the room, in every corner of the city… in every phone… the words blazed in bright red:
MARK SIMMONS; DRUG ADDICT CEO.
I swallowed, dry and bitter. My hands shook. I couldn’t breathe.
Daniel leaned back, folding his hands together like a king watching his empire expand. His gaze was on me, sharp, calculating, unreadable.
“You did well,” he whispered. His voice was silk and steel all at once. “Welcome to the winning side.”
I wanted to vomit. I wanted to scream. I wanted to hit him.
Instead, I sat there, frozen to the spot.