Episode 2: Taken
1214 Words
Lia Knox couldn’t breathe.
His words echoed in her head like a sentence she couldn’t escape.
You belong to me.
No.
No, that wasn’t possible.
This wasn’t some twisted fantasy. This was real.
Too real.
“I don’t belong to anyone,” she said, her voice shaking but firm.
Adrian Volkov’s eyes darkened slightly, a flicker of something dangerous passing through them.
“You will learn,” he said calmly.
The way he spoke—so certain, so controlled—sent chills down her spine.
“Let me go,” Lia demanded, pushing against his chest.
It was like trying to move a wall.
He didn’t budge.
Instead, his hand tightened around her wrist, not painfully, but with enough force to remind her who was in control.
“You’re in no position to make demands,” he said.
“I’m not staying with you!” she snapped, panic rising again. “I’ll scream—”
“Go ahead.”
The challenge in his voice made her pause.
Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she stared at him.
“Try it.”
For a second, she considered it.
Really considered it.
But something in his gaze stopped her.
Cold.
Unbothered.
Certain.
No one would come.
Or worse…
No one would help.
“Good,” Adrian murmured, noticing her hesitation.
Lia clenched her fists.
“I hate you,” she whispered.
A faint smirk touched his lips.
“You don’t even know me yet.”
“I don’t need to,” she shot back. “I saw what you did.”
That wiped the smirk away.
Silence fell between them.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
Then his grip tightened slightly.
“And that’s exactly why you’re coming with me.”
Before she could react, he pulled her forward.
“Wait—!”
Lia struggled, trying to pull free, but it was useless. His strength overwhelmed hers completely.
“Let go of me!”
Her voice echoed down the empty street, but it only made her panic worse.
No one was there.
No one cared.
No one was coming.
A sleek black car pulled up beside them.
The door opened.
Another man stepped out.
Tall.
Cold.
Watching her like she was a problem.
“Boss,” he said, glancing briefly at Lia. “Is she the witness?”
Lia’s stomach dropped.
Witness.
That word sealed her fate.
“Yes,” Adrian replied simply.
The man’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Then why is she still alive?”
Lia froze.
Her heart pounded violently as fear gripped her throat.
Adrian didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, his gaze remained on her.
Calculating.
Possessive.
“Because I decided so,” he said finally.
The other man didn’t look convinced.
“She’s a risk.”
“I know.”
“Then we should eliminate the risk.”
Lia’s breath hitched.
“No—!”
Adrian raised a hand slightly, silencing her without even looking away.
“She’s not going anywhere,” he said firmly.
Something in his tone made it clear—
This wasn’t a discussion.
The man—Viktor, Lia assumed—studied her for a moment longer before stepping aside.
“Your decision,” he said. “But if she causes problems—”
“She won’t.”
Lia almost laughed.
Did he really believe that?
Or did he just not care?
Adrian turned back to her.
“Get in the car.”
“No.”
The word slipped out before she could stop herself.
His expression didn’t change.
But something in the air did.
A shift.
A warning.
“Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” she said, her voice shaking but stubborn.
For a moment, he just looked at her.
Then—
He moved.
Lia gasped as he suddenly lifted her off the ground.
“Put me down!” she shouted, struggling in his grip.
But it was useless.
He carried her like she weighed nothing.
Like she was already his.
“Stop—!”
Her fists hit his chest, but it didn’t even slow him down.
He opened the car door and placed her inside.
Before she could scramble out—
He was already there.
The door slammed shut.
Locked.
Lia’s chest heaved as she pressed herself against the opposite side of the car.
Her heart was racing.
Her hands trembling.
This was real.
She had been taken.
Kidnapped.
Trapped.
The car started moving.
Her stomach dropped as the city lights blurred past the window.
“No…” she whispered.
Tears burned in her eyes, but she forced them back.
She wasn’t going to cry.
Not in front of him.
Adrian sat beside her, calm as ever.
Like this was normal.
Like kidnapping a girl was just another part of his night.
“You’re quiet now,” he said.
Lia glared at him.
“What do you want from me?”
“A lot of things.”
Her heart skipped.
“I’m not giving you anything.”
“We’ll see.”
His confidence made her stomach twist.
“Where are you taking me?” she demanded.
He didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he looked at her again—that same intense, unreadable gaze.
“To a place where you’ll be safe.”
She almost laughed.
“Safe? With you?”
“Yes.”
The certainty in his voice unsettled her more than anything else.
“You’re the danger,” she said.
A pause.
Then—
“Exactly.”
Lia swallowed hard.
Something about him was… different.
He wasn’t just dangerous.
He knew it.
Owned it.
Controlled it.
And now—
She was trapped inside it.
Minutes passed in silence.
Then the car slowed.
The gates ahead opened slowly, revealing something massive beyond them.
A mansion.
No—
A fortress.
High walls.
Security everywhere.
No way in.
No way out.
Lia’s heart sank.
This was it.
Wherever he was taking her—
This was where she’d be kept.
The car stopped.
Adrian stepped out first, then turned to her.
“Get out.”
Lia didn’t move.
“Lia.”
Her name on his lips sent a strange shiver through her.
“How do you know my name?”
“I know everything I need to.”
Fear tightened in her chest.
“Get out,” he repeated.
This time, she slowly obeyed.
Her legs felt weak as she stepped out of the car.
The gates closed behind them with a heavy sound.
Final.
Permanent.
Adrian stepped closer, his presence overwhelming again.
“You’ll stay here,” he said.
“For how long?”
His gaze darkened slightly.
“As long as I want.”
Her breath caught.
“No…” she whispered.
But deep down—
She already knew.
She wasn’t leaving anytime soon.
Adrian leaned slightly closer, his voice dropping low again.
“You should stop thinking about escape,” he murmured.
Her heart pounded.
“Why?”
His lips curved faintly.
“Because no one leaves my world…”
He paused.
Then finished—
“…unless I let them.”
Lia’s stomach dropped.
And for the first time since this started—
She realized something terrifying.
This wasn’t just about survival anymore.
This was about him.
And whatever he wanted from her…
He wasn’t letting go.
- Writer
