Chapter 3

Jack POV

"Henceforth, you will live here. You belong to me now." Ryan declared, his deep voice slicing through my defenses.

I knew this wasn't a rich man's house.

It was an empire.

You can feel the power when you're inside it. It presses against your skin. It moves quietly through the corridors. It hides in the silence.

I walked the halls slowly that morning, pretending to be curious, pretending to be confused. I was studying. Watching.

Men in suits stood at corners without speaking. They wore earpieces. Carried themselves like soldiers.

Their eyes followed movement without turning their heads. Cameras were placed high in each corridor, small and discreet but impossible to miss once you noticed one.

The windows were thick.

The doors required codes.

Even the air felt guarded.

That afternoon I passed a large office downstairs. The door was slightly open. I shouldn't have stopped,. I did.

Inside Ryan stood near a desk made of polished wood. Two men faced him. One of them looked familiar. I had seen his face on newspaper pages pasted outside shops.

Shipping businesses. Construction contracts. Port control.

They spoke in tones.

"The shipment arrives tonight " one man said.

"No delays, " Ryan replied calmly. "No mistakes."

There was something in his voice that made both men straighten instantly.

"Yes, sir."

The word echoed in my mind.

When they left I moved quickly before I was noticed. My heart pounded so loudly I was certain someone could hear it.

Mafia.

The word formed slowly but clearly inside my head.

Not a rumor. Not exaggeration.

This house was protected like a fortress because it needed to be.

I was inside it.

My stomach twisted.

I went back to my room. Shut the door quietly. My hands felt cold even though the air was warm.

I paced the length of the room.

What had I stepped into?

No.

What had I been pulled into?

I moved to the window again. Looked down at the gates. Armed guards. Cameras rotating in patterns. Vehicles are parked strategically.

You don't just walk out of a place like this.

You escape it.

Escape means planning.

By evening my fear had grown.

Servants brought food, rice, meat, fruit, and warm bread. More than I could have dreamed of when I was hiding behind shops for leftovers.

"I'm not hungry " I told the woman gently.

She hesitated. "Sir will not be pleased."

"That's not your problem " I said.

She left the tray anyway.

I didn't touch it.

If I ate it meant I was settling in.

I wasn't staying.

That night I waited.

I listened to footsteps in the hallway. Counted seconds between patrol passes. Watched the red blink of the camera outside my door.

When the corridor quieted I moved.

Barefoot. Silent.

I opened the door slowly. Slipped into the hall.

My pulse felt alive in my throat.

Left corridor first. Two guards are posted near the staircase. I retreated before they saw me and took the direction.

There was a service stairwell I had noticed earlier. Used by staff. Fewer cameras.

I moved down carefully.

Each step felt louder than it was.

At the bottom I paused. The kitchen was to the right. Garage corridor to the left.

Garage meant cars.

Cars meant exits.

I turned left.

The hallway was dimmer. The hum of generators echoed faintly. I moved along the wall keeping my head low.

The large garage doors were ahead. Beyond them the gate.

One guard stood near the control panel. Another leaned against a vehicle checking his phone.

I needed a distraction.

My eyes scanned the space. A metal tool cart stood near the wall.

I moved toward it slowly heart racing. If I could push it hard down the opposite side-

My elbow brushed against a hanging wrench.

It clattered to the floor.

The sound rang like a gunshot.

The guard near the panel looked up immediately.

"Hey!"

I ran.

Instinct took over.

I sprinted toward the side exit instead hoping it might be less monitored. I heard footsteps

behind me.

"Stop!"

I didn't.

I burst through the side door and found myself face-to-face with two guards outside.

They didn't tackle me.

They didn't need to.

One of them simply stepped into my path. Blocked it completely.

I backed up breath wild and turned-

Ryan stood at the end of the corridor.

He wasn't out of breath.

He wasn't angry.

He looked… disappointed.

The guards stepped away leaving space between us.

I felt small again.

"I see " he said quietly.

I swallowed.

"I can't stay here " I said. My voice shook,. I forced the words out. "I know what this is. I heard

you. I saw the men. I'm not stupid."

"No " he agreed calmly. "You are not."

"I don't belong in this world."

His gaze sharpened slightly.

"You were starving in another one."

"That was my choice " I snapped.

"Was it?" he asked.

Silence fell.

The guards withdrew further giving us privacy but not distance.

"I want to leave, " I said again, softer this time.

Ryan stepped closer.

"You cannot."

The certainty in his voice felt heavier than chains.

My chest tightened.

"Why?" I demanded. "Why me?"

He studied my face carefully as if searching for something he did not want to damage.

"You were dying," he said simply. "You still would be, if I had driven past."

"I would have survived."

"You were surviving " he corrected. "There is a difference."

His eyes moved briefly over my frame as if assessing the weight I had not yet regained.

"You have not eaten " he added.

"That's my decision."

He tilted his head slightly.

"No."

Something in his tone changed. Not louder,. Firmer.

"You will not use hunger as rebellion."

My breath caught.

"It's my body " I said.

"While you are under my protection," he replied evenly, "it is my responsibility."

Responsibility.

The word felt dangerous in his mouth.

He gestured toward the stairs.

"Come."

I didn't move.

His gaze hardened, not cruel but immovable.

"Now Jack."

I followed.

Back upstairs. Back to my room.

The untouched tray still sat on the table.

He closed the door behind us.

The click of the lock echoed loudly.

"I won't eat " I said immediately.

He walked to the table, lifted the tray, and set it down on the desk near the bed.

"You mistake this for punishment " he said quietly. "It is not."

"Then what is it?"

"Care."

The word almost made me laugh.

"This isn't care. This is control."

He looked at me directly.

"Yes."

The honesty startled me.

"I control what enters this house. I control who harms what is mine.. I control whether you weaken yourself out of fear."

"I'm not yours " I whispered.

His expression shifted. Not anger, not softness. Something complicated.

"You are here " he said. "That is enough."

He stepped closer.

I instinctively stepped back until the bed hit the back of my knees.

My hands trembled.

"Are you going to eat or should I get you to eat by force?" He spat. I could feel him already

getting pissed off.

"I'm not hungry " I said stubbornly. He rushed me in that instant and, with his manly power he chained me to the bed.

I failed to grasp how fast he was able to get these chains and what he does with them.

Within a minute my autonomy was lost. "You will not starve here Jack. You will eat when I tell you to."

I complyingly ate, trembling as I realized my power was lost.