TAKEN BY LUCIFER

CHAPTER 1

"I know my Dad, Liam. He's not going to say no."

Adley Evans beamed at the handsome face on her phone screen. She was video calling Liam, her boyfriend, as the taxi sped towards her childhood home. Anticipation crackled in the air. She knew her surprise visit would stun her father, Liam, however, wasn't so sure.

"Maybe you should have told him beforehand, Ady," Liam said, concern etching lines on his forehead. "Keeping our relationship a secret might not go well."

Adley, confident in her plan, shook her head. "I couldn't just tell something like this from LA, Liam. I wanted to tell him about us in person."

"What if he doesn't like me or doesn't agree to the marriage?" Liam asked, his voice laced with worry.

"He'll love you," Adley declared, a confident smile playing on her lips. "Especially after he hears you're the man I've chosen to spend the rest of my life with."

Despite her reassurances, Liam's expression remained clouded with doubt.

Her eyes averted for a moment and she recognized the familiar surroundings. "Take the next right and go through the gates," she told the taxi driver.

A pang of nostalgia hit Adley as her eyes caught a familiar landmark. "Take the next right and through the gates," she instructed the driver. The scent of jasmine, a constant companion of her childhood summers, wafted in through the open window.

The sight of the familiar wrought iron gates, now taller and more imposing, brought a wave of memories crashing down. It had been well over a decade since she'd last stepped foot on this property. After her mother's passing, she'd been whisked away to LA to live with her aunt and uncle, who'd embraced her as their own. Her father preferred visiting her twice a year in California.

"Right here?" the taxi driver interrupted her reverie.

"No, please drive through the gates and stop in front of the house," she clarified.

The automatic gate system, a novelty from her childhood, was absent. The car came to a halt before a pair of uniformed, armed guards flanking the entrance. A frown creased Adley's brow. The only security she remembered was a single guard who doubled as the gardener when she was a kid. Her father's business had grown exponentially, she knew, but armed guards were a new development.

Her heart was pierced by a pang of guilt. While she was living a normal life in LA, her father was living a life that necessitated the use of armed security.

A pang of guilt pricked at her conscience. Here she was, living a carefree life in LA, while her father shouldered the burden of a life that necessitated such measures.

"Who are you?" one of the guards inquired curtly.

"Adley Evans," she replied.

The guard's eyes widened in recognition. "Mr. Evans' daughter?"

"Yes," she confirmed.

A flicker of uncertainty crossed the guard's face. "Please hold on a moment, ma'am." He disappeared into a small guardhouse and emerged a moment later. "Please enter," he said, his voice apologetic. "Apologies, ma'am. I haven't seen you before. Had to confirm."

"No worries," Adley replied, a touch of amusement in her voice.

The once familiar house loomed before her. While undeniably grand, it lacked the warmth of her childhood memories. A large portion of the original structure had been replaced by a modern extension, dwarfing the original footprint. Though beautiful, it felt foreign, a stark contrast to the playful echoes of her childhood laughter that seemed to linger in the air. Memories of her mother's laughter chasing her through the sprawling gardens and lazy afternoons spent swinging on the porch brought a bittersweet smile to her lips.