The Obsession

Taken

Chapter Ten – Taken

The day had stretched long and uneventful, the kind that dragged her down into exhaustion. By the time Isabella left the office, the sky was painted in bruised shades of purple and gold. She longed only for her bed, for silence, for escape from the storm inside her mind.

The parking garage was nearly empty, her heels clicking against the concrete as she hurried to her car. She fumbled with her keys, glancing over her shoulder—uneasy, though she told herself it was nothing. Just shadows. Just her imagination.

Then the world shifted.

A hand closed over her wrist, firm, unyielding. She gasped, spinning, but before her scream could escape, another hand pressed against her mouth.

Her heart slammed into her ribs as she fought, kicking, twisting. But her attacker was strong, controlled. Familiar.

“Shh, bella,” Matteo’s voice murmured against her ear. Smooth. Calm. Terrifying. “It’s me.”

Her eyes widened, fury and fear colliding. She tried to bite his hand, but he only chuckled, dark amusement lacing his tone.

“I warned you, didn’t I?” His breath brushed her skin as he tightened his hold, guiding her backward. “That you would end up with me, no matter where you ran.”

She shook her head violently, muffled pleas spilling against his palm.

The black car waited, sleek and menacing, its doors already open. Two men in tailored suits stood like shadows beside it, silent witnesses to her capture.

“No—no!” Isabella’s scream finally tore free as he released her mouth to shove her into the leather interior. She lunged for the opposite door, but Matteo was faster, sliding in beside her, his body a wall of heat and steel.

“Drive,” he commanded.

The vehicle surged forward, the city lights blurring into streaks. Isabella clawed at the door handle, her chest heaving, but Matteo’s hand closed over hers, pinning it down with quiet strength.

“Calm yourself,” he said softly, almost tenderly. “I won’t hurt you. Not unless you force me to.”

“Let me go!” she spat, her voice trembling with rage.

Matteo leaned closer, his dark gaze locking onto hers with unnerving certainty. “I told you, Isabella. You are mine. I will give you time to accept it. A year, if that’s what it takes. But you will not leave me. Not now. Not ever.”

Her breath caught, horror and disbelief flooding her veins. “You’re insane.”

He smiled then, a slow, dangerous curve of his lips. “Perhaps. But madness has a way of giving life meaning, don’t you think?”

The city fell away behind them as the car devoured the road, carrying her deeper into his world, into his obsession.

And for the first time, Isabella realized the truth: she wasn’t dreaming of Matteo anymore. She was trapped with him.