Chapter 3 The Ride to Ruin

Emily🌹

His black car moved through the city in a smooth and silent way. Not fast, but certain. Like it knew where it was going. Like it didn't need to rush.

I sat on the far end of the backseat, curled in on myself without realizing it-arms crossed tightly, hands gripping my sides, trying to hold something in. Or maybe keep something out. The leather beneath me was too soft, the air too still, as if even the car didn't dare disturb the man beside me.

I didn't look at him.

Wouldn't.

Couldn't.

Instead, I stared out the window, watching the city smear across the glass. Lights bled into each other-pink neon, green traffic lights, golden storefronts. All of it blurred and faded as we passed. Too fast to hold onto. Too far to reach.

Already gone.

The deeper we went, the more the world shifted. The storefronts disappeared, replaced by blank-faced buildings and dark alleyways. Then those gave way to fences and trees and long, winding roads lit only by the occasional flicker of a streetlamp. The kind that looked like it could burn out at any second.

My chest tightened. A slow, creeping pressure that started beneath my ribs and climbed higher with every turn of the wheel. The kind of fear that didn't scream-but whispered. Constant and cold. I tried to breathe through it, slow and steady, like that would make a difference.

It didn't.

I dug my nails into my arms, pressing harder, leaving tiny crescents beneath my sleeves. My stomach turned in on itself. I didn't want to know where we were going. I already knew it wasn't anywhere I could escape from.

The car slowed. A slight shift in momentum. A rumble beneath my feet.

I looked up.

Iron gates rose in front of us. Massive. Twisting black metal with a crest etched into the center. Sharp lines and a symbol I didn't recognize. They parted without a sound, swinging inward like they'd been expecting us.

Of course they had.

Everything here belonged to him.

The road beyond the gates was lined with trees-tall, skeletal things that reached toward the sky like claws. Their branches tangled above us, moonlight slipping through in slivers, slicing the pavement below into pieces. The deeper we drove, the darker it got. The silence pressed tighter against my skin.

And then I saw it.

The house.

No-not a house.

A fortress.

It rose from the earth like it had been carved out of it. Dark stone walls stretched wide, windows like slabs of black glass, sharp angles that looked more like weapons than architecture. There was nothing warm about it. Nothing welcoming. It was cold and intentional. Designed to intimidate.

And it did.

The car eased to a stop in front of the wide, arched entryway. The engine clicked off. The silence afterward was louder than the noise.

For a moment, no one moved.

Then the driver stepped out, closing the door with a soft click. Footsteps crunched across gravel. He opened the door on Marco's side first.

Marco stepped out like this was just another night. No urgency. No tension. No acknowledgment that he'd just stolen me from my world and brought me here like a possession.

Then, my door opened.

I didn't move.

The driver didn't speak. He just waited, stoic.

Then I felt it.

Eyes on me.

Marco had turned to look.

No expression. No words. Just that gaze-sharp, unreadable, a command wrapped in silence.

He wasn't going to help me out.

Wasn't going to ask.

This was a choice-but only in theory.

If I stayed, I'd lose. If I ran, I'd lose faster.

I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek, the sting of it sharp, metallic. Blood coated my tongue.

Good.

Pain was something I could use.

I stepped out.

One foot. Then the other. I straightened my spine, lifted my chin. Met his gaze, even if it lasted only a second.

If he wanted a show of obedience, he wasn't getting it.

If this was a game, I wasn't folding.

His mouth twitched-barely. A shift I couldn't read.

Then he turned. "Follow me."

I did.

I hated myself for it.

The entrance doors swung open before he reached them, revealing a foyer that looked like it had been stolen from a cathedral. Marble floors gleamed beneath soft recessed lighting. Everything was cool shades of grey and silver. No warmth. No softness. Just expensive silence.

A maid waited inside. Perfect posture. Pale uniform. Eyes cast downward.

"Sir."

Marco didn't slow. "Show her to her room."

Her room.

Not mine.

The maid turned to me. "Follow me, miss."

I hesitated. Only a second.

Then followed.

Marco disappeared down a hallway to the right, his footsteps already vanishing.

He didn't look back.

Because he didn't need to.

Because in his mind, I was already his.

The stairs curved upward like a spine, carpeted in cream and bordered by polished steel. We climbed in silence. The air felt different up here-thinner, colder, laced with something unspoken.

We passed doors. All closed. Identical. Not one of them with any personal touch. No names. No signs of life.

Just rows of secrets, tucked neatly behind gold handles.

The maid stopped at the end of the hall and opened the last door.

"This is your room."

I stepped inside.

The first thing that hit me was the stillness. The kind that didn't feel peaceful-just empty.

The room was beautiful. Oversized. Carefully curated. Like something out of a high-end hotel magazine. White and silver tones. Clean lines. Plush rugs and expensive lighting.

A fireplace. A velvet chaise. A bed big enough to swallow me whole.

Floor-to-ceiling windows looked out over nothing. Just blackness.

The kind of room anyone else might envy.

To me?

It was a cage.

The maid gestured. "The bathroom is through there. Clothes have been provided. If you need anything, there's a bell."

A bell.

I didn't respond.

She lingered for a heartbeat, then dipped her head and stepped out.

The door clicked shut behind her.

I stood there for a moment, frozen.

And then I sat on the edge of the bed, the mattress barely giving under my weight. My hands stayed clenched. My heart kept pounding. The silence filled my ears.

This was happening.

This was real.

And I was alone.

But not safe.

Never safe.