Chapter 2: Vincent's Obsession
I jolted awake, my heart thumping like a drumline in overdrive. The rough texture of rope burned against my wrists, and a chill swept over me as my eyes darted around the dimly lit room. Panic clawed up my throat as my brain screamed a singular, deafening thought—I was tied up!
"Ah, finally awake, little bird?" The voice slithered into my ears, wrapping around my mind like the coils of a constrictor.
I jumped, twisting toward the source, screeching, "Who's there?!"
The outline of a tall figure emerged from the shadows, stepping into the meager light with a slow, predator-like grace. As his face came into view, I barely stifled a gasp. There he was, Vincent Russo, the mafia boss whose hands were tainted with the blood I'd witnessed staining the alleyway.
"Vincent Russo," I whispered, my voice trembling as if I were a leaf in a hurricane.
He crouched down to my level, his piercing black eyes boring into me, close enough to witness the terror in mine.
"Samantha St.Onge." He said my name like it was a prayer—or a curse. "You know, you've made quite the impression, my dear." A twisted smile danced on his lips. "Seems I can't stop thinking about you."
I clenched my teeth, fury flashing hot beneath my fright. "How do you know my name? Why am I here? Let me go!" Each word felt like a dagger I wished I could plunge into his dark heart.
Vincent chuckled, low and menacing, as if my demands were a joke. "Let you go? After you've seen what you've seen?" He leaned in closer, a hand reaching out to tilt my chin up. "That would be... careless."
"Please," I begged, hating the quiver in my voice. "I won't tell anyone, I swear."
"Oh, Sammi," he cooed mockingly, his breath caressing my skin. "I'm not worried about that. What concerns me is that you've become a part of my world now. You don't simply witness Vincent Russo commit a crime and walk away unscathed."
Fear twisted my insides, a visceral reaction to his proximity. "I'm not a part of anything. I'm just—"
"You're just the perfect little witness." He cut me off, his eyes glinting with a maniacal gleam. "Pure and untouched by the filth of my world. It's... captivating."
Vincent stood, circling me like a shark circles its prey.
"Aren't you afraid, Sam?" His voice dipped, sending shivers down my spine.
"Terrified," I admitted because there was no point in lying when your entire body was a testament to the paralyzing terror.
He hummed with pleasure. "Good. Fear is... honest. Pure. It makes you even more precious."
"What do you want from me?" My voice broke, echoing the fractures spiderwebbing through my facade of composure.
"Want?" He pondered as though the concept were a foreign language. "I want many things, but what I need is you."
"Me?" My mind raced, every escape route barricaded by his twisted obsession. "Why?"
"Because, Sammi, you've seen me in a moment of raw power, a glimpse of the real Vincent Russo." He prowled back to me, his eyes locked on mine with the intensity of a star going supernova. "You saw, yet you're still here, unbroken, defiant. And that makes you invaluable."
"Just let me go," I pleaded once more, my resolve buckling under the weight of his glare. "Please, I'll disappear. You'll never see me again."
He laughed, a sound that had no mirth, only menace. "Disappear? My sweet, naïve Samantha, from the moment you saw me, your fate was sealed. You belong to me now."
I shook, angry tears blurring my vision. "I belong to no one."
Vincent leaned in, his lips brushing my ear as he whispered a promise that sent ice coursing through my veins. "Oh, but you do. You belong to me, heart, soul, and everything in between. And I'll cherish you, keep you safe from the world's corruption."
"Keeping me tied up in your basement isn't safety!" I snapped, anger flaring against the fear.
He only smirked, his gaze ravenous. "It's just the beginning of our little fairy tale, darling."
I shuddered, knowing that in Vincent Russo's version of a fairy tale, there were no happy endings, just chapters filled with darkness and a yandere's twisted love.
As he stood and walked away, leaving me in the chilling embrace of the shadows, I could only think of one thing—escape. The question was, how would I flee from a man whose very obsession was as unyielding as the ropes binding me to his will?
