Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The silence in the room was suffocating, thick with unspoken threats and tension that felt like it might shatter at any moment. Dante stood there, just a few feet away from her, his presence as commanding as ever. Every inch of him screamed control, the power he wielded not just over people, but over the very air between them.

Izzy fought to steady her breathing, to push past the panic clawing at her chest. Her fists were still clenched at her sides, her nails digging into her palms as if the pain could ground her, could keep her from losing herself to the fear, the helplessness. She wasn’t going to let him see how much he affected her—she couldn’t.

“I didn’t ask for this,” she said, the words sharp, though they faltered when she spoke them. Her eyes burned with unshed tears, but she refused to cry. Not here. Not in front of him.

Dante’s gaze softened just a fraction, though it did nothing to lessen the intensity. It was as if he could read her, see the turmoil inside, and it only made him more insistent, more certain. “I know you didn’t, Izzy,” he said, his voice calm, the kind of calm that always preceded a storm. “But sometimes we don’t get to choose what happens to us. The world makes decisions for us, and all we can do is adapt.”

She recoiled at the implication. Adapt? Is that what he thought? She wasn’t some pawn he could move around at will, not anymore. The woman she had become—the mother, the fighter—she wasn’t the same person he once knew.

“I’m not going to adapt to this,” she spat, every word drenched in defiance. “You don’t own me, Dante.”

His lips twitched, the faintest flicker of amusement crossing his features. But the amusement faded quickly, replaced by a coldness that sent a shiver down her spine. “You never understood, did you?” His voice dropped to a whisper, but it carried an authority that made her heart skip. “I’ve never wanted to own you, Izzy. I’ve wanted you with me. Because that’s where you belong.”

Izzy’s chest tightened. The audacity, the arrogance—everything about him had changed. But her mind clung to one thing: Maya. Her daughter. She couldn’t afford to get caught up in this, in whatever Dante’s twisted version of “want” meant.

“I’ll never belong to you,” she said, this time with more conviction. “And you know it.”

Dante’s eyes flickered, a momentary flash of something—something darker—crossing his features. He took a step closer, and despite herself, Izzy took a step back. Her heart pounded harder as she realized she had nowhere to go.

“You think you have a choice?” Dante’s voice was barely above a whisper now, his words sinking into the very marrow of her bones. “You’re already here, Izzy. You’ve always been here. The moment you walked into my world, there was no escaping it. No escaping me.”

Her pulse quickened. Was he right? Was she trapped in some inescapable cycle of his making? The thought made her stomach churn. She wasn’t sure if it was the weight of his words or the knowledge of how deep she had gotten in this world, but something inside her trembled.

“I won’t stay here, Dante,” she whispered, though the certainty in her voice was wavering. “If you think for a second that I’ll just fall back into this—into you—you’re wrong.”

For a long moment, he didn’t speak, just studied her with those dark, fathomless eyes. Then, without warning, he reached out, his fingers brushing her cheek in a move so slow, so deliberate, that she froze. Her breath hitched as his touch burned against her skin, the old familiarity sparking against the rawness of her resistance.

“You don’t have to fight it, Izzy,” he said softly, the words as much a temptation as a threat. “You can let go. I’ll make sure you’re safe. I’ll make sure she’s safe.”

Maya.

Izzy’s heart skipped painfully, the instinct to protect her daughter flooding her veins like fire. That was the one thing that mattered—keeping Maya out of this world. No matter the cost. Dante could offer her safety, could promise her protection, but Izzy knew what it meant to be in his world. Power. Control.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” she managed, forcing the words past the knot in her throat. She would not—would not—be swayed by whatever lie he was trying to sell her now.

Dante stepped back, his eyes narrowing slightly as if assessing her. “You think I lie to you?” he asked, his voice dangerously low. “I don’t need to lie to you, Izzy. I never did. You know exactly what I’m capable of. And if you want Maya out of this, you’ll learn to accept that. This is your world now. Whether you like it or not.”

Izzy’s breath came fast, each exhale more labored than the last. This wasn’t just a power struggle. This was Dante laying his claim, staking his ground in a game she hadn’t been prepared for.

But no matter how much he tried to control her, Izzy knew one thing. She would never give him that power. Not over her. Not over Maya.

“You think I’ll bow to you?” she asked, her voice trembling with a mix of fear and fury. “That I’ll fall in line? You’re wrong.”

Dante tilted his head, his gaze dark and unreadable. For a moment, there was nothing but the weight of his stare, the cold, calculating intensity that seemed to pierce through her very soul.

Then he smiled. A small, chilling smile that made Izzy’s blood run cold.

“You’ve already fallen, Izzy,” he said, his voice soft but heavy with finality. “You just don’t know it yet.”

Before she could react, he turned away, his back to her as he walked toward the large windows that overlooked the estate. The soft glow of the city lights below made everything look like a distant dream, out of reach, untouchable.

Izzy’s fists were still clenched, her nails digging deep into her palms as she fought to maintain control. She wasn’t sure how long she stood there, frozen in place, but when he spoke again, his voice was different—softer, like a whisper from the past.

“Tomorrow,” Dante said, his tone almost contemplative, “we’ll begin.”

Izzy’s heart dropped into her stomach. Tomorrow? Was that when everything would change for good? Would that be the moment she would lose everything—herself, her freedom, her daughter?

The thought made her want to scream.

But she wouldn’t. Not yet.

Tomorrow, she would find a way out. For Maya.

And if Dante thought he had won, he was about to learn the truth.

Izzy wasn’t going down without a fight. Not now. Not ever.