The rain fell just as Damian said the three words that shattered Lila's composure.
“From me, Lila.”
From me.
The words echoed in Lila's head even as she stood frozen under the narrow eaves of the building. People milled about on the sidewalk, busy with their own affairs, opening umbrellas, hanging up coats, and complaining about the ever-gloomy sky. London was moving along as usual, but Lila's world had stopped.
He stared at Damian or rather, Damian's shadow because something about the man didn't make sense.
“From you?” Lila’s voice barely came out. “Why should I be afraid of you?”
Damian didn't answer immediately. He stood still, simply letting the rain splash on the tips of his leather shoes. That small movement alone felt calculated. As if every detail he allowed to happen had been planned.
“I'm not a good man, Lila,” he said softly.
“You should stay away from me.”
“Too late,” Lila replied dryly. “You came to me.”
Damian lifted his face slightly, looking at Lila with a look in his eyes that was hard to describe: not angry, not sad, not concerned… but like someone caught between doing the right thing or destroying something fragile.
“Right,” he said flatly.
“I am stupid.”
Lila felt her chest tighten. It was the first time she'd seen a small crack in Damian's usually cold and untouchable demeanor. But that crack was even more frightening.
He didn't understand this man.
And that is actually dangerous.
“Lila!”
Clara's voice came from the building door. She ran in holding an umbrella, staring at Lila and Damian in turn with great suspicion.
“Is everything okay?” Clara asked, her eyes immediately evaluating Damian from head to toe.
Damian instantly changed—cold, level, professional. It was as if all the intensity had been wiped away by a button.
“We’re done talking,” he said curtly. “Miss Bennett, stay out of that case. Consider this a warning.”
Then he opened the door of his black car.
But before entering, Damian turned his head slightly, just enough for Lila to see his eyes.
And that… was the look of a man holding himself back from doing something very bad.
The car was gone in seconds.
Clara looked at Lila, her face a mix of confusion and worry.
“Lila Bennett. You owe me a big explanation.”
Lila took a deep breath. “That’s… a long story.”
Clara narrowed her eyes. “You’re shaking.”
“I don’t,” Lila looked at her hands, and sure enough, they were shaking.
Clara immediately took his hand. “Come in. You need some hot tea before I interrogate you.”
“So,” Clara said as she placed a cup of tea in front of Lila.
“Name. All. From. The. Beginning.”
Lila rubbed her temples as she recounted what happened at the party, Damian's domineering voice, the warning earlier, and the last sentence that made her heart feel like it was being gripped.
Clara listened without interrupting. But her expression changed little by little. From curiosity to tension, then…
"You know he's not an ordinary person, right?" Clara finally said.
Lila raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
Clara leaned forward. “I saw him yesterday. At the party. Just for a moment. And I immediately felt like he was… not normal.”
“There's no way you can tell just by looking.”
Clara mengangkat bahu. “I have instincts. And my instincts say he’s dangerous. The kind that doesn’t just break hearts. He breaks people.”
Lila bit her lower lip. “But he warned me.”
“Lila. The most dangerous people are those who feel the need to protect someone. Do you know why? Because they know exactly what kind of monsters they are.”
The speech was piercing.
Too deep.
Lila stood up. “I have to get back to the investigation.”
“No, you need to rest!” Clara stood up as well. “Holton gave you the case because he trusts you, not because he wants you dead!”
Lila paused. The sentence echoed strangely in her mind.
“Why did you say dead?”
Clara bit her lip. “You really have to be careful.”
For the next few hours, Lila decided to work in the town library instead of the office. She needed a neutral atmosphere, away from Clara's worried gaze and Damian's harsh warnings.
He turned on his laptop, placed the file The Disappearance of Four Community Figures on the table, and began to do a deeper dive.
One pattern emerges clearly:
All the victims had links to one large European company, Valtieri Industries.
Lila tensed.
Walter.
Same name as Damian.
He pressed the pen repeatedly. “Don’t tell me…”
It seeks further.
Damian Valtieri, a shadowy CEO who never appears in the media, leads Europe's largest technology and security company. He has connections to politicians, businesspeople, and intelligence agencies. There's very little public information about him. Too little.
Lila swallowed hard.
“Clara is right… she is not an ordinary person.”
He continued his search.
But suddenly… the laptop screen flickered.
Bzzzt
Bzzz
Access restricted.
“Huh?”
The page he opened… turned black.
Then a row of words appeared:
STOP.
THIS FILE IS RESTRICTED.
LEAVE THIS. NOW.
Lila's heart was beating fast.
"What is this?"
He tried again...
but what appeared was another sentence:
YOU’RE BEING WATCHED.
Lila pushed her chair back, panicked. She glanced quickly around the library. But everyone was busy with their own books and computers.
“No… it can’t be…” Lila held her head. “Someone’s been watching my laptop?”
Or worse...
...watching him.
She quickly closed her laptop, put it in her bag, and left the library, gasping for breath. The rain grew heavier as she stepped outside.
But she had only walked a few meters when someone pulled her into a narrow alley. Lila screamed, but the sound of the rain drowned out her thoughts. Her back hit the wall. Someone's hands were on either side of her head. Hot breath touched her cheek.
“Lila.”
That voice...
dark. Too close. Too familiar.
Damian.
“L- Let go of me!” Lila tried to push him away, but Damian held her waist to keep her from escaping.
“I told you to stop probing,” he said, his gaze piercing like steel. “Why don’t you ever listen?”
“There’s no reason for me to obey you! Who do you think you are!?” Lila retorted, holding back her fear with anger.
Damian clenched his jaw.
“I am someone who is trying to save your life.”
“It’s not your right!”
“Yes, that’s my right,” Damian replied quickly. “Because you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.”
Lila stared at him sharply.
“That case has something to do with you, right?”
Damian froze.
Just a moment.
But enough.
“Answer me!” Lila demanded.
“Stop it.”
Damian's voice was low, almost a growl.
“Too many people have died from touching this line.”
“So it's true?!”
Damian closed his eyes for a moment, as if fighting back the urge to punch the wall or scream. When he opened them, his eyes were darker than before.
“Leave London tonight, Lila.”
I am not kidding."
Lila smiled bitterly. “Is that a threat?”
"Warning."
“Why do you care?”
The question just slipped out.
But Damian… stared at her for a long time. Lila could almost feel something stirring behind his dark eyes, something he was desperately trying to hide.
"Because…"
Damian stopped.
His jaw tightened.
“You made me… forget.”
“Forgot what?”
Damian approached.
It was certain that Lila felt the heat of her body even though the rain wet everything.
“Forget that I'm not a good person. Forget that I'm dangerous.”
Damian's voice was barely a whisper.
“You make me want to do things I shouldn't do.”
The words made Lila's stomach turn.
Fear.
Interested.
Scared again.
“Damian…”
He wanted to get away.
He had to stay away.
But Damian was like a dark gravity that swallowed logic.
Suddenly, the sound of heavy footsteps was heard from the end of the hall.
Damian turned around quickly, standing slightly in front of Lila like a living shield.
The man's eyes turned cold, sharp, deadly.
Like a hunter who smells a threat.
“Stay behind me,” he whispered.
“Why? Who is there…”
“Shut up.”
The steps stopped right at the entrance to the hallway.
Someone is standing there.
Tall. His dark body was covered by a coat. His face was not clearly visible.
But his low voice cut through the air:
“Valtieri… you finally came out of the nest.”
Damian whispered to Lila without turning around:
“Don’t move.”
Lila felt her heart hit her ribs.
The stranger's gaze shifted to him.
“So this is… your reason for breaking the rules?”
Damian scowled sharply. “He has nothing to do with it.”
“Oh, I think he has a lot to do with it,” the figure said as he stepped closer.
“And Director Nero wants to make sure he doesn't interfere with our affairs.”
That name...
Nero Dragons
...appeared like lightning in his head.
Nero… the same person from the investigation list.
Damian hunched his shoulders, his body tense.
“If you touch her, I'll make you regret it.”
The man laughed briefly.
“Then make it, Valtieri.”
The rain is getting heavier.
The hallway was getting darker.
And Lila just understood something:
This is not just a missing person case.
This is not just journalism.
This is war.
And he was just standing right in the middle between the two monsters.