Bound by Desire: A Devil's Love

Ashley's POV

Rain was rare in Los Angeles tonight. I stepped out of my car carefully, walking half my usual speed. People called me a whirlwind for how fast I moved through life.

But today was different. I was pregnant.

Today marked our dating anniversary. Telling Julio about the pregnancy on our special day would make him the happiest man alive.

I opened the front door, slipping off my heels while calling inside. "Julio, I'm home! I have good news for you!"

Then I saw it. Blood covered the living room floor in dark, spreading pools. The metallic smell hit me immediately, making my stomach lurch.

My parents, Alva and Emma, lay motionless on the ground near the coffee table. Their eyes were wide open, filled with the final moment of fear before death claimed them.

My mind went completely blank. Horror crashed over me in waves, followed by crushing pain that made my chest feel like it was caving in.

My fiancé Julio stood beside my parents' bodies. He turned toward me slowly, blood staining his face in dark streaks. His white T-shirt was now a canvas of red.

A fruit knife gleamed in his grip.

Julio flashed me a maniacal smile. I looked at him and began trembling with fear.

"Surprise! Ashley, do you like the anniversary gift I prepared for you?"

His voice was cheerful, almost playful, as if discussing dinner plans instead of the carnage before us.

I understood everything in that horrible moment. A scream tore from my throat.

"Julio, you killed them?"

I prayed this wasn't real. This had to be some nightmare brought on by pregnancy hormones or work stress. This couldn't be happening.

Julio frowned, tilting his head like a confused child. "Ashley, don't you like all this? I prepared this gift for a long time. Why don't you like it?"

"You're insane!" I screamed, my voice cracking as my world collapsed. "Why did you do this? They were my parents! They were always good to you!"

Julio's face lit up with a demented grin, his eyes sparkling with unhinged joy that made my blood turn to ice. "Bingo! You got it right! I'm completely and utterly insane! So come to hell with this madman!"

Julio charged toward me, the knife raised high.

He wanted to kill me too. The realization hit like a physical blow.

Terror froze my legs as I stumbled backward, hands reaching blindly for the doorframe. I wanted to run, but my body wouldn't obey. My legs felt like lead, breath coming in panicked gasps.

Thank God I heard voices outside. Through the rain, I saw our neighbor Mary and her husband Barton rushing across the yard, faces filled with concern.

"We heard screaming!" Mary shouted as they burst through the door.

Barton tackled Julio, pinning him to the blood-soaked floor. Julio kept roaring and struggling like a wild animal, his eyes never leaving mine, trying desperately to reach me.

“Ashley！Ashley！”Julio yell at me.

"Call the police!" Barton yelled, sweat beading on his forehead.

Sharp pain shot through my stomach. I felt something warm trickling down my legs.

"The baby," I whispered, hands clutching my abdomen.

Darkness swallowed everything.

White walls. The antiseptic smell of disinfectant. An IV drip beside my bed. I knew I was in the hospital before I opened my eyes. The fluorescent lights were too bright.

My brother James sat in the uncomfortable plastic chair next to my bed, watching over me with red-rimmed eyes. His usually neat hair was disheveled, and he still wore yesterday's clothes, wrinkled and coffee-stained.

"James," I whispered, my throat dry. "Alva and Emma... are they really..."

I couldn't finish. Part of me hoped this was all a terrible dream.

James nodded slowly, his face crumpling with grief. "I'm so sorry, Ashley. They're gone."

The words hit like a physical blow.

"That bastard Julio!" James's voice cracked with rage. "He planned this from the beginning. He's been lying to us the whole time, Ashley. Everything we knew about him was a lie."

James stood and began pacing the small room, hands clenched into fists. "Julio was never a gas station attendant. He's the heir to Adam Corporation. He got close to you to avenge his sister Laura!"

The name hit me like ice water. Laura.

Memories flooded back. Years ago, Alva and Emma found Laura separated from her family at the mall. She was just a scared little girl. They brought her home, took care of her, helped search for her parents. But suddenly, one day, Laura died in our basement. Then the police showed up.

I remembered what happened next. The cops said our parents kidnapped Laura and demanded ransom from her parents, the CEO couple of Adam Corporation. Alva and Emma tried to explain, but all evidence pointed to them as killers. So our parents served seven years in prison for something they didn't do.

"How do you know all this?" I managed through tears.

"That bastard Julio admitted it himself!" James gritted his teeth. "That's exactly what he told the police when they arrested him! He bragged about it, Ashley. He was proud."

My heart shattered. My lover had deceived me from the start and murdered the two people who meant everything to me.

"He's going down for this!" Hatred burned in my chest. "James, who's the prosecutor? I'm a lawyer. I can testify and provide professional help. I know the system."

James cut me off, his face growing more pained. "Ashley, Julio's been released."

The words didn't make sense. I stared blankly.

"That's impossible! No, it can't be! Julio killed people! I saw him with the knife!"

"Julio denied everything," James said, sinking back into his chair. "He claimed he found the bodies and was trying to help them."

James rubbed his face hard. "The knife had no fingerprints. He passed the lie detector test. And His psychiatrist says he has multiple personalities."

"The legal system can't prosecute someone who wasn't mentally present during the crime."