I was sent as an hunter

LUCIAN'S POV

I step into Elena's office and I can sense the tension. The air is thick, charged with something dark and unspoken.

Elena is at her desk, staring at her laptop screen, her fingers gripping the edge as if holding herself together. Across from her, Samantha Price is pacing, her usual sharp confidence replaced with cold fury.

I could see the fear and tension in Elena's eyes and my gut tightened. I wasn't supposed to feel this way, wasn't supposed to care but I just couldn't.

"This isn't just a bad headline, Elena. This is deliberate. Samantha's voice jolts me out of my train of thoughts as she turns the screen towards me. I frown and step closer to see what she was talking about. The headline glares back at me.

"Elena Hart Under Investigation for Financial Misconduct – Board Members Demand Her Resignation."

I knew this was coming but seeing it unfold like this made it feel different. Wrong.

Elena's expression was carefully composed, but I saw through it. The way her shoulders tensed, the way her breathing was controlled but just a little too shallow –she was holding herself together by sheer force of will.

Before I could say anything, Samantha turned sharply toward me.

"Why are you even here?"

Her voice was sharp, cutting through the thick silence. Her eyes dark with suspicion, locked onto mine like she was waiting for me to slip.

I didn't flinch. I couldn't.

"I wanted to check on her," I said smoothly, shifting my gaze back to Elena. "To see if she's okay."

Samantha let out a bitter laugh. "Oh she's fantastic. You know, having your entire reputation dragged through the mud really does wonders to a person's mood."

Elena exhaled slowly, cutting Samantha off with a look. "Enough Sam."

For a brief moment our eyes met. And in that moment, I hated what I saw –she wasn't broken, not yet, but she was tired. Worn out. Trying to keep up the fight when she'd just been blindsided.

"This isn't going to break me," Elena said, her voice steady. But I saw the flicker of doubt beneath it.

And that's what killed me.

Samantha still wasn't convinced. She folded her arms and took a step towards me, her sharp eyes narrowing.

"You always show up at the worst possible moments," she said. "Like how Elena nearly died in that accident. Or now, when this article just happens to drop."

My pulse ticked. She wasn't completely wrong, and that was a problem. Samantha was sharp –too sharp.

I kept my tone even. "And what exactly are you suggesting?"

She scoffed. "I don't know Lucian, maybe you are not who you pretend you are."

Elena tensed at that, her fingers tightening around the edge of the desk. But before she could say anything, Samantha's phone buzzed.

She glanced down at the screen, and her expression shifted –her lips pressing into a thin line. When she looked up at Elena, there was something dark in her eyes.

"We might have a bigger problem."

Elena frowned. "What is it?"

Samantha hesitated before handing her phone to her, showing Elena something. I caught a glimpse of an email, the sender's name unfamiliar. But whatever was in it made Elena's expression darken.

"It's from someone inside the media," Samantha said, her voice tight. "They're saying someone inside Hart Enterprises is leaking information. That's how they got this article out so fast."

Elena's jaw clenched. "A mole."

Samantha nodded. "And not just any mole. Someone high up. This wasn't just a lucky break for the media. This was planned.

I stayed silent, letting the words sink in. A mole. That complicated things. If someone inside Hart Enterprises was working against Elena, it meant she wasn't just up against outside forces –she was fighting a war on all sides.

She pushed the laptop away from her, rubbing her temples. "This just keeps getting better and better."

Her voice was calm, but I could see the way her hands trembled slightly.

I clenched my jaw. This was probably Damon's work. I knew it. He didn't just want her embarrassed –he wanted her crushed.

And she was standing in the center of the storm, refusing to break.

Elena shot me a wry glance, and for the first time, doubt flickered in her eyes. "I don't know yet."

That admission seemed to frustrate her more than anything. She wasn't the type to sit back and let things happen to her. But this was bigger than she anticipated.

Samantha, however, was far from uncertain.

"We find the mole," she said firmly. "And when we do, we make sure they regret ever doing this."

There was something cold in her voice, something ruthless. It was the first time I truly saw how dangerous Samantha could be when Elena was under attack.

Elena sighed, rubbing her forehead. "For now, let's focus on damage control. We need to release a statement, get ahead of this before it spirals out of control."

I nodded but the weight in my chest wouldn't leave.

Then, my phone vibrated. I pulled it out, and the moment I saw the message the weight in my chest became cold and heavier.

Gabriel Harper: "Consider this a personal warning, Lucian. You took something from me. Now I take something from you."

My blood ran cold.

Gabriel. I thought this was Damon's doing.

This wasn't business for Gabriel. This was revenge.

But revenge for what?

I stared at the screen and a random memory hit me like a bullet –an old conversation between my father and Damon.

One I hadn't thought about in years.

"Edward Hart was a problem," Richard Blackwood had said, his voice devoid of any remorse. "And problems get handled."

Handled.

My chest went tight. I had known my family was ruthless, but I had never questioned the true nature of Elena's father's death.

Now, it was undeniable.

They killed him.

And I had been sent to destroy his daughter.

I swallowed, my pulse hammering. Elena was speaking to Samantha, strategizing, trying to salvage her name, and I—

I was drowning in the weight of the truth.

Gabriel's revenge. My family's crimes. Elena's fight.

This wasn't a game anymore.

This was war.