Bad Blood

Chapter 4

Kane Rizzo wasn’t the type to back down. Rejection was something he had never experienced, and losing control over a situation only fueled the fire of his rage. Emily Daniels had shattered something inside him—made him feel vulnerable, weak. But now, his emotions had twisted into something far darker, far more dangerous.

He couldn’t let her slip away, not like this.

That night, Kane made a decision that would change everything. He had tried reasoning with her, tried opening up, but it hadn’t worked. She had made her choice. She had chosen to stay with this faceless man her family had promised her to. And Kane? He had been discarded, left behind like nothing.

But Kane didn’t lose. He couldn’t lose.

The plan came to him in a whirlwind of anger and desperation. He couldn’t sit idly by and watch her be taken from him, so he decided to act. If he couldn’t have her through words, through love—then he would have her by force.

That very night, Kane and his loyal group of friends hatched a plan. It was reckless, dangerous, and illegal. But Kane didn’t care. He was beyond caring. His mind had become a storm of possessive rage. If Emily didn’t want to be with him willingly, he would make her see that she had no choice.

Late one evening, as the college campus grew quiet, Kane and his friends waited. They knew Emily’s routine—she always stayed late in the library, studying, alone. She liked the quiet, the stillness of the empty halls. But tonight, that solitude would be her downfall.

Kane stood outside the library entrance, waiting in the shadows. His heart raced with anticipation and fury. His friends were stationed nearby, ready to help him with the plan, but this part—this part he had to do alone. He had to be the one to take her.

As Emily exited the library, unaware of the eyes watching her every move, Kane stepped forward, his hand clamping over her mouth before she could scream. Her body tensed in shock and fear as she tried to struggle against him, but Kane was stronger, his grip firm and unrelenting.

“Don’t fight me, Emily,” Kane hissed in her ear, his voice low and dangerous. “I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to talk.”

But Emily knew better. The look in her eyes was one of pure terror, a look Kane had never seen from her before. It made his chest tighten, but the anger, the possessiveness, drowned out the guilt. He couldn’t let her go. Not now.

With his friends helping to hold her, Kane shoved her into the back of a waiting car, her muffled cries drowned out by the engine as they sped off into the night. Emily kicked and struggled, but it was no use. Kane’s determination was like iron—unbreakable.

The car drove through the empty streets, heading to the outskirts of town, to a place where no one would look for them. An abandoned factory, long forgotten, its windows shattered, the rusted metal creaking in the wind. It had once been a place of industry, now it was nothing more than a ruin. And it was the perfect hiding spot.

Kane dragged Emily inside, his grip still firm as she stumbled along, her eyes wide with fear. The factory was dark, the sound of dripping water echoing in the distance. The walls were covered in graffiti, broken glass scattered across the floor. It was a place that reflected the chaos Kane felt inside—broken, dangerous, abandoned.

He shoved her into a chair, finally releasing her mouth. Emily gasped for air, her chest heaving as she stared at him in horror.

“Kane, what are you doing?” she demanded, her voice trembling. “This is insane! You can’t do this!”

Kane stood over her, his expression cold, but his eyes burning with intensity. “I had no choice, Emily. You left me no choice.”

“You do have a choice!” she shouted, struggling against the ropes he had used to bind her wrists. “You need to let me go! This isn’t you!”

Kane’s jaw clenched, his fists tightening at his sides. “You don’t get it, do you? You were supposed to be mine. I did everything—everything—to try and make you see how much I care about you. And then you go and tell me you’re promised to someone else? That’s not fair, Emily. It’s not fair.”

Emily’s eyes filled with tears, but her voice remained steady. “Kane, this isn’t love. This is control. You can’t force someone to love you. You’re better than this.”

But her words didn’t reach him. Kane’s mind was too far gone, too wrapped in the darkness that had taken hold. He paced in front of her, his hands running through his hair, trying to make sense of the chaos in his mind.

“I’m not trying to control you,” he muttered, though even as he said the words, he knew they were a lie. “I just need you to understand. I need you to see that you belong with me, not with some guy your family picked out for you.”

Emily shook her head, her tears streaming down her face. “This isn’t the way, Kane. You’re scaring me.”

Those words—you’re scaring me—cut through Kane like a knife. He stopped pacing, his eyes locking onto hers. For a brief moment, the rage faltered, replaced by something softer, something vulnerable.

“I don’t want to scare you,” he whispered, his voice hoarse. “I don’t… I just don’t know what to do anymore.”

Emily’s expression softened slightly, though her fear remained. “Kane, this isn’t the answer. You can’t fix this by kidnapping me. You’re only making things worse.”

But Kane’s emotions were a storm he couldn’t control. The idea of losing her—to someone else, to anyone—sent a surge of anger through him once more. He grabbed her shoulders, his grip tight, his eyes wild.

“You’re mine, Emily,” he growled, his voice low and dangerous. “And I’m not going to let anyone take you away from me.”

Emily winced under his grip, her body shaking with fear. “Kane, please… this isn’t the way.”

For a moment, there was silence. The air between them was thick with tension, with the weight of what Kane had done, what he was still capable of doing. And then, as if something inside him snapped, Kane released her, stepping back, his hands trembling.

He looked at Emily, truly looked at her, and saw the fear in her eyes. The fear that he had put there. The realization hit him like a punch to the gut.

What had he done?

Kane stumbled back, his heart racing, the weight of his actions crashing down on him. This wasn’t love. This wasn’t how things were supposed to go. He had become the monster his father had always warned him about.

Emily’s sobs filled the cold, empty space of the factory, her eyes pleading with him, begging for him to stop. And in that moment, Kane knew—he had crossed a line he could never uncross.

Trembling, he turned and stormed out of the factory, leaving Emily behind. He needed to figure out what came next—before it was too late.