All Chapters of Her Dark Obsession : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The surgery was scheduled for Tuesday morning at Memorial Medical Center. Bianca sat in the waiting room with Sophie, watching the clock tick toward hour three. The surgeon had said the transplant would take four to six hours. Every minute felt like an eternity. "She's going to be fine," Sophie said, squeezing her hand. "Memorial has the best transplant team in the country. Anna made sure of that." Bianca nodded, unable to speak past the knot in her throat. Her mother was on an operating table right now, being cut open, having a stranger's kidney placed inside her body. So many things could go wrong. "How did Anna even find a donor so fast?" Sophie asked. "The waiting list is usually years long." "I don't know. She just said she had connections." Bianca stared at her hands. "She made it happen in two weeks. Two weeks, Soph. People wait years and she did it in two weeks." "That's some serious power." It was. Anna had called in favors, pulled strings Bianca couldn't imagine. The d

Anna's expression shifted—satisfaction mixed with something warmer. "Good girl. Come here." She led Bianca to the bed, the one with restraints at each corner. Bianca's heart hammered as Anna gestured for her to sit on the edge. "We're going to start very simply," Anna said, her voice calm and instructive. "Silk restraints on your wrists only. A blindfold. Some basic sensation play to help you understand how your body responds when you can't see or move freely. Nothing painful. Nothing frightening. Understood?" "Yes, Miss." "At any point, you can use your safewords. Red stops everything immediately. Yellow means slow down or check in. Green means continue. I'll ask for your color periodically. You answer honestly. This only works if you communicate." Anna tilted Bianca's chin up. "What's your safeword to stop?" "Red." "And to slow down?" "Yellow." "Good." Anna walked to a drawer and pulled out several items—silk scarves in deep red, a soft black blindfold. "Stand up and remove y

Week One "Kneel." Bianca lowered herself to the plush rug in Anna's playroom, settling back on her heels the way Anna had taught her. Hands on thighs, palms up, eyes down. "Better," Anna said, circling her slowly. "Your posture is improving. Shoulders back." Bianca adjusted, feeling the stretch in her spine. "This position is called presentation. You'll assume it whenever I tell you to kneel, unless I specify otherwise." Anna's fingers touched the back of Bianca's neck. "How does it feel?" "Exposed. But also... calm?" "Good. Kneeling quiets the mind. Grounds you." Anna's hand moved to her hair, stroking gently. "Color?" "Green, Miss." They stayed like that for twenty minutes—Bianca kneeling, Anna standing beside her, occasionally touching her hair or shoulder. Just presence. Just breathing. Afterward, wrapped in a blanket with water, Bianca realized she'd stopped thinking about her mother's medical bills, about work stress, about anything except the feeling of Anna's hand in

"You're coming with me tonight," Anna announced Friday afternoon, not looking up from the design sketches spread across her desk.Bianca glanced up from her laptop where she'd been organizing Anna's calendar. "Where?""Fashion Week opening show. I need my assistant there." Anna finally met her eyes. "Marcus will bring appropriate attire to your apartment at four. The show starts at seven.""A fashion show? I don't know anything about fashion.""You don't need to. You just need to stand beside me, look professional, and hand me things when I ask." Anna's lips curved slightly. "Think you can manage that?""Yes, Ms. Adams.""Good. Wear your hair down. And Bianca?" Anna's voice dropped lower. "This is professional, not personal. We're boss and assistant tonight. Nothing more. Understood?"The distinction stung more than it should have. "Understood."---The dress Marcus delivered was the most beautiful thing Bianca had ever worn—deep emerald silk that hugged her curves and fell to just ab

The hospital corridors blurred past as Bianca ran toward her mother's room, Anna and Marcus flanking her on both sides. Her heart hammered so hard she thought it might explode.Room 304. The number she'd memorized months ago. The room where her mother had been recovering, getting stronger, finally living.Two security guards stood outside the door—Anna's people, already in position."Status?" Anna demanded."Room is secure, Ms. Adams. No one's been inside except medical staff, and we've verified all their credentials. Patient is safe."Relief flooded through Bianca so intensely her knees buckled. Anna caught her, holding her steady."Can I see her?" Bianca asked."Go." Anna nodded. "I'll wait here."Bianca pushed through the door. Elena sat up in bed, looking confused but unharmed, a book open in her lap."Bianca? What's wrong? Why are there security guards outside my room?"Bianca threw herself into her mother's arms, sobbing. "You're okay. Thank God, you're okay.""Of course I'm oka