Chapter 2

Elara POV:

I didn't leave my room for the rest of the day. I ignored the maid's gentle knocks and the text from Dante that simply said, "Dinner. 8."He expected obedience. He always got it.

Tonight would be different. Tonight, I began to act.

At 7:55, he opened the bedroom door without knocking. It was a subtle reminder that I had no privacy, no space that wasn't his. He was dressed in a tailored black suit, his power a physical presence in the room, sucking the air from my lungs. He ruled this city's underworld with an iron fist, a legacy of violence passed down through generations.

He held a small, steaming cup. "You missed dinner. Drink this. It's an herbal blend from my sister. She says it's good for you."

His eyes, the color of storm clouds, were fixed on me. There was no warmth in them, only assessment. He was looking at his investment, checking on his property.

The steam carried a bitter, earthy scent. "I'm not thirsty," I said, my voice barely a whisper.

His jaw tightened. It was a minuscule movement, but I knew it was a sign of his patience wearing thin. He walked closer, the scent of expensive cologne and something dangerous filling the space between us.

"I said, drink it." It wasn't a request. It was an order, backed by the unspoken threat of what he was capable of.

"No," I said, a flicker of defiance I hadn't known I possessed rising within me. This was for my baby. I wouldn't consume anything I hadn't prepared myself.

His expression didn't change, but the air grew thick with menace. He set the cup down, and in one swift movement, he grabbed my chin, his fingers digging into my jaw. He forced my head back, his strength overwhelming. With his other hand, he picked up the cup and brought it to my lips.

"You will learn to obey, Elara," he whispered, his voice a cold promise. He tilted the cup, and the hot, bitter liquid flooded my mouth. I choked, trying to spit it out, but he held my jaw shut until I was forced to swallow.

He released me, and I collapsed back onto the bed, coughing and sputtering. He watched me, his face an unreadable mask. "That wasn't so difficult, was it?"

A wave of dizziness washed over me almost instantly. The edges of the room began to blur. Dante's imposing figure wavered, splitting into two, then three. A heavy, numbing sensation spread through my limbs.

The last thing I saw before my eyes slid shut was the faint, satisfied curl of his lips.

I woke up hours later to a throbbing headache and a dry, foul taste in my mouth. Darkness pressed in on me. My body felt heavy, violated.

Panic clawed at my throat, but I forced it down. I remembered the pinhole camera I'd hidden in the bookshelf weeks ago, a desperate act of self-preservation.

My hands trembled as I retrieved the small memory card and slipped it into my tablet. I huddled under the covers, the screen's glow illuminating my face. I fast-forwarded through hours of an empty room until I found the moment after I passed out.

The video showed Dante standing over me. Isabella entered the room.

"Is she out?" she asked, her voice sharp.

"Completely," Dante replied. "The dosage was perfect."

My heart felt like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand. Dosage. He had been drugging me.

Isabella walked over to the bed and looked down at my unconscious form with pure contempt. "She fought you on the tea? The little bitch is getting bold."

"It's the pregnancy hormones," Dante said dismissively. "It doesn't matter. A few more weeks of this, and she'll be perfectly docile. Compliant. Just like she was supposed to be from the start."

The breath I was holding escaped in a ragged gasp. He wanted to drug me into submission for the duration of my pregnancy.

Isabella laughed, a sound like shattering glass. "And at the anniversary party, we'll have our fun. After we make her drink the celebratory champagne, she won't remember a thing. We can finally show everyone what happens to a bride who doesn't know her place."

Dante didn't answer. He just looked down at me, his expression cold, calculating. He was a monster, but not the kind that hides in the shadows. He was the kind that builds empires and quietly destroys lives in the comfort of his own home.

I shut the tablet, the screen going dark. The rage inside me was a silent, cold thing. He didn't just want an heir. He wanted to break the vessel that carried it.

And I would let him think he was winning, right up until the moment I took his legacy and vanished forever.