Chapter 2 KEEP RUNNING

Isla

I'd imagined this moment a thousand times.

Walking into Knight Industries, standing face-to-face with Adrian Knight, and telling him the truth.

None of my versions ended with me being thrown out by security.

The second the words left my mouth, "I'm pregnant." the entire lobby froze. Heads turned, whispers rippled through the air, and the receptionist's smug expression faltered.

Adrian stopped mid-stride.

His tall, imposing figure towered over the rest of the room. Dressed in a crisp black suit, he looked every bit the powerful billionaire, completely untouchable. His sharp blue eyes locked onto me, unreadable, calculating.

For a moment, I thought, hoped, I saw something flicker in them. But then his gaze darkened.

"Take her out," he ordered.

Two guards stepped forward.

I took a shaky step back, pressing a hand to my stomach. "You can't just ignore this," I said, voice unsteady but determined. "This is your child."

Silence.

Then, in the coldest voice I'd ever heard, he said, "I don't know you."

My heart dropped.

He was really going to pretend I didn't exist? After that night?

I clenched my fists. "Adrian...."

"Out," he snapped, turning away.

I should've expected this. Of course he wasn't going to accept it just like that. He was Adrian Knight-the man who built an empire by shutting people out.

But I wasn't leaving without a fight.

"Fine," I said, lifting my chin. "If you won't listen to me, maybe the press will."

That made him stop.

Slowly, he turned back, eyes glinting with something dangerous.

The guards hesitated, waiting for his next command.

A tense silence stretched between us before he finally spoke. "My office. Now."

*******

Adrian

I slammed the door shut behind us. "You have five minutes."

She crossed her arms. "I don't need five minutes. Just one."

She was exactly how I remembered her. Soft and Stunning.

Too bad that didn't change the fact that she'd just upended my entire life.

I leaned against my desk, arms folded. "Go on, then. Lie to me."

Her jaw tightened. "It's not a lie."

I arched my brow. "We slept together once. One reckless night, and I haven't seen you since. Now, months later, you show up out of nowhere, claiming you're pregnant?"

She swallowed hard. "I didn't plan this."

"That makes two of us."

Her hands trembled slightly, but she clenched them into fists. "I tried to tell you sooner."

"Did you?" I tilted my head. "Because it looks to me like you waited until it was convenient."

Her eyes flashed. "You're an arrogant bastard, you know that?"

I smirked. "I've been told."

She exhaled sharply. "I don't want your money, Adrian."

"Good. Because you're not getting any."

Her face hardened. "I came here because I thought you deserved to know. I thought..." She stopped herself, shaking her head. "You know what? Forget it. I don't know why I expected anything different from you."

I pushed off the desk, closing the distance between us in two steps. "I don't trust people who show up out of nowhere demanding things."

Her chin lifted. "I'm not demanding anything."

"Then why are you here?"

She hesitated.

And in that hesitation, I saw something I hadn't noticed before.

Fear.

Not of me...but of something else.

My gaze narrowed. "Who are you running from?"

She stiffened. "What?"

I took another step closer. "You're scared. And not just of me."

She forced a laugh. "I'm not scared."

Liar.

Something about this didn't add up.

I studied her carefully, noting the tension in her shoulders, the way she kept glancing at the door. She wasn't just here for me. She was hiding.

And suddenly, I wasn't just pissed, I was curious.

Because if this lady was running...

I wanted to know who the hell was chasing her, and why she thinks I will be her saviour if she pretends to be pregnant.

*******

Victor Morelli

"She's close by around the knights estate."

The words sent a sharp thrill through me.

I leaned back in my chair, tapping my fingers against the polished wood of my desk. "Where exactly?"

My informant hesitated. "That... we're still tracking."

I exhaled slowly, forcing patience. Isla thought she was clever. But she was wrong.

I had men everywhere.

She couldn't hide from me forever.

I poured myself a drink, swirling the amber liquid before taking a sip. "Find her. And when you do..." I smiled darkly. "Bring her back."

She belonged to me.

And no one, not even Adrian Knight was going to take her away.

*********

UNKNOWN

I watched the news footage again, a slow smile spreading across my lips.

Isla Carter, standing in the middle of Knight Industries, shouting that she was pregnant.

Oh, this was perfect.

Adrian had always been untouchable. Too cold. Too controlled.

But this? This was chaos.

And if there was one thing I thrived on, it was tearing apart the lives of men who thought they were invincible.

I traced a red-painted nail down the screen, my smile widening.

Adrian, darling... You have no idea what's coming.

***********

Elena Russo

The private jet hummed beneath me, slicing through the clouds as we neared New York City. The skyline stretched ahead, glowing with the endless lights of the city that never slept.

Adrian.

I hadn't seen him in three years.

Not since I left for Milan, not since we last spoke, not since he refused to stop me from leaving.

But things are different now.

Adrian was mine. He always had been, even if he didn't realize it.

I glanced at my phone, scrolling through the latest headlines.

"Mysterious Woman Storms Knight Industries, Claims to Be Pregnant With Adrian Knight's Child."

I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

Isla Carter.

I'd done my research the moment I saw her name pop up. She was nobody. A struggling woman with nothing to her name, nothing to offer, yet she thought she could walk into Adrian's life and demand something from him?

Pathetic.

Adrian didn't do relationships. He didn't do love.

He was cold. Controlled. Unshakable.

And yet...

Something about the way he looked at her in the security footage just for a split second made my stomach twist.

I clenched my jaw.

I had no intention of letting anyone take Adrian from me.

Not a random girl.

Not a baby.

Not fate.

"Ms. Russo," the flight attendant approached with a polite smile. "We'll be landing in twenty minutes."

I nodded, adjusting my designer sunglasses. "Good."

Because it was time to remind Adrian Knight exactly who I was.

And why I was the only woman who would ever belong by his side.

************

Victor Morelli

I gripped the phone so tightly my knuckles turned white.

"She escaped."

The words kept repeating in my head, over and over again, each time sharper than the last.

My jaw clenched as I exhaled slowly, forcing my temper under control. Isla had always been a trouble. Always too wild, too untamed, too stubborn.

But she was mine.

No one ran from me.

No one left me.

And now, not only had she escaped, but she'd gone to him.

Adrian Knight.

That name burned in my throat like poison.

I turned to the man standing before me, one of my most trusted enforcers. "You're telling me she made it all the way to Manhattan?"

"Yes, sir," he said stiffly. "She went straight to Knight Industries."

Of course she did.

She was desperate. And desperate people made stupid mistakes.

I leaned back in my chair, tapping a finger against my desk. "Find her. Watch her. Don't let her out of your sight."

He nodded. "And if she tries to run again?"

I smiled coldly. "She won't."

Because the next time I got my hands on Isla Carter...

She wouldn't be running anywhere.

SHE WILL BE FOREVER TRAPPED WITH ME

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