The Wife He Never Meant to Love (Lila and Damon) novel Chapter 102

Chapter 102

Darkness swallowed them the moment the panel sealed shut

10 vouchers

For a few seconds, the only sounds were their footsteps and the distant, muffled chaos behind the wall

Then-

A soft click.

Dim emergency lights flickered on, casting the narrow passage in a cold blue glow.

70

Bryan adjusted his grip on the woman as they moved. “Hidden tunnels in a hospital,” he muttered. “You really don’t do anything halfway, sir.”

Damon walked ahead, unhurried, as if he had all the time in the world.

“I do what’s necessary,” he replied.

The woman glanced around, trying to steady her breathing. “This place… you planned this far ahead?”

Damon didn’t look back. “I plan for contingencies.”

Bryan let out a quiet scoff. “Including fake wives showing up?”

Damon’s voice turned flat. “Including enemies who think they’re smarter than they are.”

They turned a corner, the passage sloping slightly downward.

The air grew cooler.

Quieter.

Safer-but only for now.

“Talk,” Damon said again.

The woman hesitated. “I already told you what I know.”

Damon stopped walking.

Bryan nearly bumped into him. “Sir?”

Slowly, Damon turned.

“You told me why they sent you,” he said. “Not how they’re searching.”

The woman tensed.

“That matters.”

C70

Chapter 102

She looked away briefly, then back at him. “… They’re tracking patterns.”

“Explain.”

10 vouchers

“Financial movements. Old contacts. Places she used to go. People she trusted,” she said. “They’re rebuilding her life piece by piece-trying to predict where she’d resurface.”

Bryan frowned. “That’s a lot of ground.”

“They have resources,” she replied. “And time.”

Damon’s gaze sharpened. “Not anymore.”

She shook her head. “You don’t understand-this isn’t just Black Veil. Once word spread that she was missing…” Her voice dropped. “Others joined the hunt.”

“Who?” Bryan asked.

She hesitated again.

Damon took one slow step closer.

That was enough.

“… Syndicates. Private collectors. Information brokers,” she said quickly. “Lila isn’t just important to you.”

Damon’s expression darkened. “Careful.”

“I’m telling you the truth,” she insisted. “There’s something about her-something they all want.”

That stopped him.

Not visibly.

But enough.

“What do they want?” Damon asked quietly.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “They keep it compartmentalized. Even Black Veil doesn’t trust its own people with everything.”

Bryan looked at Damon. “That means whatever she has-or knows-is big.”

Damon didn’t respond immediately.

His mind was already moving ahead.

Connecting.

Calculating.

14:49 Mon, May 4 M

Chapter 102

Then-

“What was your role after stalling me?” he asked.

The woman blinked. “What?”

“If I believed you were Lila,” Damon continued, “what was the next step?”

Silence.

Her hesitation answered him.

Damon’s eyes hardened. “You were going to lead me somewhere.”

She exhaled slowly. “… Yes.”

“Where?”

“A secure site,” she said. “They wanted you contained. Controlled.”

Bryan’s grip tightened. “A trap inside a trap.”

Damon gave a faint nod. “Predictable.”

70

10 vouchers

The woman looked at him, something almost like disbelief in her eyes. “You really saw through all of it… from the start.”

Damon met her gaze.

“No.” he said.

A pause.

Then, colder-

“I just knew it wasn’t her.”

Silence settled again-but this time, it felt different.

He turned and resumed walking.

“Sir,” Bryan said after a moment, “where are we going?”

Damon didn’t slow down.

“Somewhere they’re not looking,” he replied.

The passage opened ahead into a reinforced door.

He pressed his hand against a concealed panel.

Mon, May)

Chapter 102

Another click.

The door slid open.

Inside-

A dimly lit underground garage.

Black vehicles lined the space, engines silent but ready.

Bryan let out a low whistle. “Of course.”

Damon walked toward one of the cars without hesitation.

“Get in,” he ordered.

Bryan guided the woman into the backseat, securing her quickly before sliding in beside her.

Damon took the driver’s seat.

The engine roared to life.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Then the woman leaned forward slightly.

10 vouchers

“If you’re going after her…” she said, voice quieter now, almost uncertain, “…you’re not just racing Black Veil.”

Damon’s hands tightened on the wheel.

“I know.”

She hesitated.

Then-

“They think you’ll fail,” she added.

Damon’s eyes lifted to the rearview mirror, locking onto hers.

For the briefest second-

something cold and absolute passed between them.

“Then they don’t know me,” he said.

He shifted gears.

The car sped forward-

disappearing into the dark exit tunnel.

14:49 Mon, May 4 M

Chapter 102

And somewhere out there…

Lila was alive and not yet found.

Which meant the hunt had just begun.

70

10 vouchers

The car descended through a secured entrance, disappearing beneath the towering structure of Blackthorne

Industries.

Layers of security cleared them instantly.

No questions asked.

No delays.

Because Damon Blackthorne was home.

The underground base came alive the moment they arrived-lights flickering on, personnel moving with quiet urgency, systems activating as if they had been waiting for this exact moment.

Damon stepped out first.

Bryan followed, pulling the woman with him.

She looked around, eyes widening slightly despite herself. “This is… your headquarters?”

Damon didn’t answer.

He simply walked ahead, expecting them to follow.

They moved through reinforced corridors until they reached a secured room-isolated, controlled.

Safe.

For now.

Damon stopped at the center and finally turned to her.

His gaze was sharp, unreadable.

“For now,” he said calmly, “I’ll call you Lila.”

The woman froze.

Bryan glanced at Damon but said nothing.

Damon continued, voice even:

“you’ll answer to that name and make them believe that the phase I is completed.”

The woman swallowed but nodded slowly. “… Understood.”

14:49 Mon, May 4 M…

Chapter 102

Damon held her gaze for one last second, then turned away.

“Get her cleaned up. Guarded. No mistakes,” he ordered.

Bryan nodded. “Yes, sir.”

As Damon walked out, his mind was already elsewhere-

on one thing.

Finding the real Lila.

23rd Floor – Executive Level

The atmosphere couldn’t have been more different.

Quiet.

Controlled.

But underneath-

70

10 vouchers

Tense.

Maddy stood near the glass wall, arms crossed tightly, eyes fixed on the city below.

Waiting.

Always waiting.

A staff member approached cautiously. “Ma’am… no confirmed location yet.”

Her jaw tightened.

“Keep looking,” she said coldly.

The staff member nodded quickly and left.

Maddy exhaled slowly, her fingers curling against her arms.

“They should have found something by now…” she murmured.

Her thoughts spiraled-fast, restless.

Damon was already moving.

She knew him.

Knew how he worked.

If there was even the slightest chance Lila was alive-

14:49 Mon, May 4 M

Chapter 102

he wouldn’t stop.

And that was the problem.

Maddy’s eyes darkened slightly.

“She should be the one to find her first…”

Not Damon.

Not anyone else.

Her lips pressed into a thin line.

“That bitch…I should’ve kille dher in the hospital” she muttered under her breath.

Whether it was the imposter-

Or the real Lila-

didn’t matter.

Because one thing was certain:

Maddy wasn’t going to be left behind in this.

Not this time.

70

10 vouchers