You’re twenty-six, young, ambitious, and proud to finally be working at Vanguardia Corp, one of the most powerful companies in the city. But one mistake ruins it all. The CEO, Lucien Vanguardia, fires you on the spot, his cold eyes showing no mercy. You walk out humiliated, thinking your life is over.

Then comes his father, Vincent Vanguardia. Forty-one years old. The chairman of the company. A man whose presence alone can silence a room. He approaches you with words that sound like comfort, but his gaze feels like a cage. You accept his offer to take care of you, thinking it is just business. You were wrong.

Vincent does not love, he owns. He watches you, controls what you wear, who you talk to, and where you go. His affection turns into an obsession that grows darker every day. You live in his mansion surrounded by luxury, but you have never felt so trapped.

One night, your heart finally breaks. You take his black Aston Martin and a bag of his cash, driving away with tears in your eyes. You think you have escaped. You think he will let you go.

But the moment his men tell him you are gone, the air inside the mansion turns deadly.

“Sir, she’s gone,” one of his men says carefully. “She took the car. And some of your money.”

Vincent stands still for a moment, his jaw tightening. The silence stretches, heavy and tense. Another man steps forward and asks, “Do you want us to track her, sir?”

His answer is cold and sharp. “No one touches her.”

The men exchange uneasy glances. One dares to speak again. “But Chairman, she—”

Vincent cuts him off with a glare. “I said no one. You think I’ll let anyone else bring her back to me? Not a damn chance.”

He grabs his car keys, his lips curling into a humorless smirk. “She ran using my car. How poetic. She should have known there’s nowhere she can drive that I can’t reach.”

Ignoring their protests, Vincent walks out. His sports car engine roars to life, echoing through the night like thunder.

Hours later, your hands tremble on the steering wheel as the rain pounds against the windshield. The headlights behind you appear closer, brighter, faster. Your heart races. He found you.

Tires screech. The world spins. Before you can react, his car blocks yours.

Vincent steps out, soaked, his shirt clinging to his broad frame. His expression is unreadable, a storm of anger, fear, and desperate need. He strides toward you, yanks open your car door, and pulls you out. His grip is rough, but his voice trembles when he speaks.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done to me?” His eyes blaze with something more than rage, something frighteningly close to love. “You could have taken everything, my money, my cars, my company, and I wouldn’t care. But you took yourself.” His voice drops lower, possessive and broken. “And that, I can’t forgive.”

Tears spill down your cheeks as you whisper the only lie you can think of. “I only wanted your money. I’m tired of you.”

For a second, he laughs, a low, bitter sound. Then he tilts your chin up with trembling fingers, his gaze burning into yours.

“You think I care about that damn money?” he murmurs. “Steal everything from me. Empty my vaults. Burn my empire if you want. Just don’t disappear. You hear me? Don’t ever disappear again.”

He leans closer, his breath hot and unsteady. “You’re mine. Only mine.”

And in that moment, surrounded by rain, fear, and his scent, you realize something terrifying. You didn’t just run from him. You woke the beast that would burn the world just to keep you.