The Devil's Contractual Bride-Chapter 30: Poor Lucian

Lucian’s POV

My fists clenched and unclenched at my sides as I stormed toward the elevators. I needed to see his face and to wipe that smug smile off it with my knuckles, consequences be damned.

The elevator doors after what seemed like the longest elevator ride slid open on the ground floor with a soft ding. I stepped out and froze.

Through the wide glass doors of the main entrance, I saw him.

Ethan stood on the hospital steps like some polished politician at a press conference, flanked by two security men in dark suits. Cameras flashed in rapid bursts and microphones thrust forward like spears. Reporters shouted over each other, their voices muffled but insistent through the glass.

"Mr. Caldwell! Is it true you’re claiming paternity?"

"Any comment on the accident? Sources say the truck was no coincidence!"

"Is Aria Voss stable? Will she wake up?"

Ethan raised a hand gently,His voice carrying just enough to reach me even through the doors.

"I’m here as family," he said smoothly. "Aria and I share a complicated history, but right now, my only concern is her health and the health of the child she was carrying. The paternity dating test speaks for itself so I’m praying only for her recovery."

"Praying" This dude is nothing but a hypocrite. I pity him though,he didn’t know the child he is fighting over was already dead.

He spotted me then. Our eyes locked through the glass and his smile widened a bit, but enough to make my blood roar.

I shoved through the doors before I could think better of it.

And almost immediately,the crowd turned as one. The lights blinded me and their voices exploded.

"Mr. Voss!"

"Lucian! Over here!"

"Is it true your wife was fleeing your home when the accident happened?"

"Comment on the miscarriage—did the stress from your marriage contribute?"

"Sources say Ethan Caldwell is the real father. Do you have any response?"

Microphones jabbed toward my face like knives. Someone shoved a recorder so close I could smell the coffee on their breath.

I opened my mouth trying to speak but nothing came out.

My throat closed, Panic clawing up my chest. I’d faced boardrooms full of sharks, hostile takeovers with men twice my size trying to break me but this swarm of strangers feeding on my wife’s pain and our loss was different. It was personal,invasive even and I had no armor left.

Ethan watched from the steps with his arms crossed with a satisfied smile.

He was winning again without even lifting a finger.

I spun on my heel and bolted back inside.

The doors whooshed shut behind me, cutting off the roar to a dull thrum.

My heart hammered against my ribs so hard I thought I might collapse from a heart attack. I leaned against the nearest wall, palms flat on the cool tile trying to breathe.

People stared,nurses, visitors and a janitor with his mop paused mid-swipe but no one approached. That was good because I didn’t trust myself to speak without snarling.

I pushed off the wall and walked fast and aimlessly until I found the waiting room down a quieter corridor. The one near the ICU elevators. Thank God it was empty,just rows of stiff plastic chairs, a coffee machine humming in the corner and outdated magazines fanned across a low table.

A television mounted high on the wall played some late-night tv shows l no one was watching.

I dropped into the chair farthest from the door with my head bent facing the floor.

I couldn’t go in there yet. I couldn’t face her like this, not when she looks pale, still with tubes snaking from her arms and nose and monitors beeping their steady, indifferent rhythm.

What if she looked smaller than I remembered? My heart will break if I see the woman who’d stared down a doctor and chosen our baby over her own life was gone and now replaced by something frail?

My mind spiraled again, reminding me of how this is all my fault. I pushed her into the path of that stupid truck.

A sob tried to escape but I swallowed it down,I had to be strong for Aria. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Footsteps approached. I didn’t look up,it was probably another nurse with their death defining clipboard or another vague update that meant nothing.

Something light landed in my lap. A folded piece of paper.

I jerked upright and no one was in sight.

The corridor stretched empty in both directions. All I could hear was the faint squeak of rubber soles somewhere far off.

A shadow moved at the far end but it was gone before I could focus.

My pulse kicked up again.

I unfolded the note with shaking fingers.

*Go to the scene of the accident. Aria had a USB that will bring Ethan down.You need to get it before someone else sees it.*

My mind raced as I read the note,the accident site was out on the coastal highway. The police had cordoned it off, probably still investigating what happened and if there was a USB they must have found it

A USB.

Aria had something on Ethan,something big enough to "bring him down" and was probably running to me that night or away from him.

But who the hell had dropped this note?

I stared at the words until they blurred.

If this was real,an evidence that could bury Ethan for good,I had to get it tonight before his people or the police swept the site clean.

But leaving Aria... even for an hour...

I glanced toward the ICU doors. She was stable like the doctor had said. Nurses checked every fifteen minutes and I should be back before dawn.

I folded the note and shoved it into my pocket.

I walked to the ICU entrance, badged the security panel with the visitor pass they’d given me earlier and the doors hissed open.

Her room was dim, lit only by the soft blue glow of machines. Aria lay in the center bed, sheets pulled to her chest. A ventilator hissed rhythmically. The image I saw was worse than I had imagined,her face—God, her face was bruised along one cheekbone and a large cut taped above her eyebrow.

I crossed to her side,took her hand and placed a gentle kiss on it.

"Aria," I whispered. "I’m going to fix this. Whatever you had on him, I’m getting it. Your pain won’t be in vain when I can help."

Her fingers didn’t move. Not even a flutter of eyelids.

I leaned down and pressed my lips to her forehead.

"I love you," I said against her skin. "Don’t you dare leave me here alone."

As I was about to leave,her hand grabbed mine gently,I turned to see her struggling to speak.

I panicked and yelled across the room"Nurse!!!Doctor!!!"

She pulled me closer to her face, struggling to raise her back" Don’t go,it’s a trap" she mouthed and fell back into the bed.