CHAPTER 1: TAKEN
I didn’t scream when they came for me.
Not when the engines of three black SUVs growled to a stop outside our small house, their headlights slicing through the quiet evening like blades. Not when the doors opened in perfect sync and men in dark suits stepped out—too precise, too controlled to be anything ordinary.
And definitely not when my mother dropped the tray in her hands.
The crash echoed through the room, sharp and fragile, like the life we had been pretending to live.
“Chloe…” her voice trembled.
I didn’t look at her.
Because if I did, I might see the truth I had been avoiding for years.
This life was never mine.
A firm knock came at the door. Not hesitant. Not unsure.
Certain.
Like they already owned everything inside.
My father moved first, his steps slow, reluctant. But I caught it—the slight shake in his hands, the tension in his shoulders.
Fear.
Not confusion. Not anger.
Fear.
That was when I knew.
This wasn’t a mistake.
It was a retrieval.
The door opened.
A man stepped in without waiting to be invited. Tall. Composed. His sharp eyes scanned the room once before landing on me like he had been expecting this moment his entire life.
“Chloe,” he said, voice smooth but carrying an authority that pressed against the walls. “You’re coming with us.”
Silence swallowed the room.
I leaned back slightly against the table, crossing my arms. “That’s not how this works,” I replied calmly. “You don’t just walk into someone’s house and take them.”
A flicker of amusement crossed his face.
“This house,” he said, glancing around briefly, “was never yours.”
My mother let out a soft sob behind me.
I still didn’t turn.
“Who sent you?” I asked.
The man stepped closer, his polished shoes barely making a sound against the floor.
“Your real family.”
The words hit—but not the way he expected.
No shock. No denial.
Just confirmation.
So it was true.
All those years… the strange looks, the whispers, the feeling that I didn’t quite belong—even in my own skin.
I exhaled slowly, pushing myself off the table.
“Finally,” I muttered under my breath.
My father stepped forward then, desperation breaking through. “Please… she’s just a child—”
“I’m not,” I cut in sharply.
My gaze met his, steady and cold. For a moment, something like guilt flickered in his eyes.
Good.
At least one of us felt something.
“I’ll go,” I said, stepping toward the door.
The men shifted instantly.
Subtle.
But I noticed.
Hands hovering near weapons. Eyes sharpening. Bodies tensing.
They weren’t here to escort me.
They were here to control me.
A mistake.
Because if I wanted to fight…
None of them would walk out of this house.
But I didn’t move.
Not yet.
Because this?
This was bigger than a fight.
As I passed the man, he tilted his head slightly, studying me like I was something… unexpected.
“You’re calmer than we anticipated,” he said.
I paused at the doorway, glancing at him from the corner of my eye.
“Then you anticipated wrong.”
Outside, the night air was colder than I expected, wrapping around me like a warning. The men opened the car door, waiting.
I slid in without hesitation.
The door shut.
Locked.
Sealed.
And just like that—
My old life ended.
The car moved in silence.
Streetlights blurred past the window, casting shadows that danced across my reflection. I studied it carefully.
Same face.
Same eyes.
But something had already changed.
“What happens now?” I asked.
The man sitting across from me didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he watched me—carefully, calculating.
“You return to where you belong,” he finally said.
I let out a quiet laugh.
“Funny,” I replied. “I’ve never belonged anywhere.”
His expression didn’t change.
“You will.”
The way he said it sent something cold down my spine.
Not reassurance.
A warning.
I leaned back, crossing my legs casually.
“And what does my ‘real family’ want from me?”
This time, he didn’t hesitate.
“To correct a mistake.”
I smiled faintly.
“Let me guess,” I said softly. “I’m the mistake.”
A pause.
Then—
“No.”
His eyes darkened slightly.
“You’re the solution.”
Silence filled the car again, heavier this time.
I turned my gaze back to the window, watching the darkness swallow the road ahead.
Solution.
That word meant one thing.
They needed something.
And people like me?
We were never brought back for love.
Only for use.
An hour later, the car slowed.
The gates appeared first.
Massive. Iron. Guarded.
Beyond them… a world completely different from the one I had just left behind.
Lights. Power. Wealth.
And something darker.
Something that made the air feel heavier the moment the gates opened.
As the car rolled inside, I felt it.
That invisible pressure.
Like stepping into a territory ruled by something… not entirely human.
Interesting.
The car stopped.
The door opened.
I stepped out slowly, my eyes scanning everything—the guards, the structure, the shadows.
And then—
I felt it.
A presence.
Watching.
Heavy. Dominant. Dangerous.
My instincts sharpened instantly.
Whoever it was… they weren’t ordinary.
I didn’t look up.
Not yet.
But a small smile curved at my lips.
So this is it.
No more pretending.
No more hiding.
If they brought me here thinking I was weak…
Then they had just made their first mistake.
And as I took my first step forward into that world—
I made a silent promise.
I won’t be the one who breaks.
They will.
