Possessed By The Mogul's Dark Will

ew that Jackson Walters, the ruthless tec

his new intern, Kai

e said casually,

to teach me a lesson. My parents were bound and gagged,

" I screamed in surrender. But it was too late. A frayed rope snappe

on my phone was the day he brought Kaila home. This time, I wouldn't fight him. I would be his pe

pte

n Mccr

knew that Jackson Walters, the ruthless tech mogul with a

that was mine. I had a boyfriend, a sweet, kind man named Mark who planned our future

left was him. Mark' s small architecture firm was driven into bankruptcy by a series of engineered disasters. My gallery lost its funding overnight. My landlord myst

a blur of tears and resistance. I fought him at every turn. His touch felt like a brand, his presence suffocating. He was relentless, a for

is heart. He had just returned from a hostile takeover, his suit still smelling of victory and power. He didn't even flinch

I will chain you to my bed and never let you see the sun again. If I die, my will ensures yo

the wound. He cared

nds bruised my wrists. He said it after he destroyed anyone who dared to look at me for too long. "You are mine, Allyson

er leaving my form, a predator guarding his most prized kill. They saw the way he w

tender. I remembered the time I had a fever, and he, the man who never slept more than four hours, stayed by my bedside for three

ther used to make for me. I' d woken up one morning to the smell of burnt onions and found him in the kitchen, a smudge of flou

t. The next day, he bought the entire gallery and gifted it to me. Not just the painting. The entire ga

song I' d loved in college, and played it for me on our anniv

gan to feel like a sanctuary. My resistance, worn down by years of his relentless, all-encompassing attention, finally crumbled. I started to believe t

my world

nty, with wide, innocent eyes and a naive smile that seemed to radiate harmlessness. She looked at Jackso

the door. Her breathless moans and his guttural growls were a symphony of m

peeled her apple, and ignored my presence completely. He then sat me down, Kaila perched on

al, as if discussing the weather.

al glass in my hand slipped, shattering on the marble floor, b

u say?" My voice was

lings for Kaila, too. She's young, vibrant. She reminds me of you, when I first met you." He smiled, a cruel, self-satisfied smirk. "I am a man of gr

tears blurring my vision. "You prom

g the rules,"

ristine living room, smashing priceless vases, ripping down silk curtains. He just

ked, my voice raw. "Ge

is voice dropping to that dangerous lo

her a blank check, begging her to leave. She took the check, smiled sweetly, and then went straig

n the true h

ot as the grief of a betrayed wife, but as a direct challenge to h

-class parents who had only ever wanted my happiness, were there. They were

ave made me very unhappy, Allyson," he said, his voice echoing in the cavernous s

nst the two guards holding me. "Please, don'

r weakness. And I will use them to teach you a lesson. Accept Ka

y. "You said you loved me," I whispered, the words tasti

ness. Our marriage contract, if you recall article seven, subsection B, states that any act of infidelity on my part doe

rashing over me. He was quoting legal clauses

You are, and always will be, Mrs. Walters. The original. But a man can fa

her face a perfect mask of tear-streaked concer

ter-of-fact, as if he were d

n split your heart like a stock dividend? Ten percent for her,

l demonstrate the consequences of your disobedience." He nodded

en

led sobs were a

in

rents began to lower, i

I screamed, my voi

e fast. My strugg

ig

machine's steel teeth glint

ds torn from the depths of my sou

machine-it was a cacophony from hell. Their fe

hr

wo

ne

l, desperate surrender. "I agree! I'll do whatever y

d. The ropes ceased their descent. A crue

with condescending satisfaction. "I knew you'd make

o his men. "L

elease the harnesses, one of the ropes, fra

th horror, as my mother and father plun

g sound of flesh. The roar of the engine was replaced by a gruesome, grinding noise. A fine red mis

ripped from my lungs, my vision, my very being. All I could se

A torrent of hot, thick blood surged

ard, my consciousness winkin

e familiar pattern of the damask wallpaper, the scent of lavender and Jackson's ex

y ribs. I frantically checked my body. No blood.

sn't

y phone on the bedside table. I snatched it, my

reen l

ack at me, a crue

Jackson brought

so real. The sound of the wood chipper, the red mist, the finalit

ed on a sob, pressing my hands to my mouth to stifle the sound. They wer

cold. The love I had painstakingly rebuilt for Jackson, the love he had so br

fight him. I would not give him th

e he wanted. I would let him have his precious Kaila. I wou

acted by their sick littl

ambled out of bed and ran. I ran out of the penthouse, past the stunn

ugh the window. My mother was watering her prize-winning roses. My father wa

ugh the gate and threw myself into their arms, clinging to them

y mother asked, her voice laced w

ms. "We have to leave," I said, my voice

ed, confused. "Did you and Jackson have a fight? H

ckson's "goodness" was a bitter poison in my mouth. He had bee

y thought was my savior had murdered them in the most horrific way imaginabl

ust me. We have to disappear. Legally. We need

shifted. The love and trust between a parent and child, a bond stronger than any

n exorbitant, untraceable fee from a secret account I'd set up years ago as a small act of rebellion. W

hunt me to the ends of the earth. But death? Death was final. A legal death, a faked, widely-publicized death, would sever his obsessive

I walked in just as Jackson was leading Kaila int

e smooth as silk. "Come meet Kaila. S

, a fight, a repeat of the hysteri

he simpering girl who would be his accomplice. The grief for my parent

, serene, and ut

ice as smooth and placid as a froze