Chapter 9
Karma Is A Bitch.
The front gates to Rio’s mansion stood wide open. Jake saw no guards, no patrol, and no cameras swiveling to follow his movements. It felt too easy like the place was inviting him in.
His grip tightened on the crowbar as he slipped through the gates, his breath coming hard and shallow. He’d been watching for days, looking for the moment to strike, and now… it was here.
He crept around the side of the house, found the side door unlocked, and slipped inside. The air smelled faintly of cologne and expensive leather. His eyes darted over the polished marble floors, the gleam of luxury, all of it making his stomach twist.
She’s in here, he thought. She’s mine. She doesn’t belong to him. A shadow moved across the hallway ahead. Jake froze, his pulse hammering.
Then Rio stepped into view. Calm. Silent. Smiling like a man who’d been expecting company.
“You made it,” Rio said casually, hands in his pockets.
Jake’s knuckles whitened around the crowbar. “Where is she?”
Rio tilted his head, almost amused. “You think I’m going to tell you that? You’ve got balls, I’ll give you that. Breaking into my house? Bad move.”
Jake lunged. The crowbar swung and Rio caught his arm mid-swing and twisted hard. Jake roared in pain as the metal clanged against the marble.
The next moments were a blur of fists, grunts, and impact. Rio slammed Jake against the wall, the sound echoing like a gunshot in the empty hallway. A sharp knee to the gut stole Jake’s breath; a punch to the jaw sent him staggering.
When Jake hit the floor, Rio stood over him, chest rising steadily, and voice low and lethal. “You messed up with an amazing girl,” Rio said. “You thought buying her tickets to my show was going to fix you cheating? Look at what it did. It brought her to me. And I’m never letting her go.”
Jake glared up at him, blood trickling from his lip.
Rio crouched down, his tone turning almost conversational.
“Your kids? They’ll live with me. I’ll show them what a real man is.
I’ll give them a life you never could.” He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a whisper.
“And every time they smile, every time she laughs… you’ll know it’s because of me.
” Jake’s face twisted when Rio said the words “your kids will live with me.”
“My kids are mine,” Jake yelled, scrambling to his feet. His chest heaved with fury. “You don’t get to take them from me. You don’t get to take her!”
He swung wild, his fist cutting through the air and grazing Rio’s jaw. Rio barely flinched. With a low growl, Rio retaliated with a brutal right hook. His fist cracked against Jake’s nose with a sickening pop. Blood spurted instantly, running down Jake’s mouth and dripping onto the polished marble.
Jake staggered, clutching his face, but his rage pushed him forward again. He lunged, tackling Rio to the ground. They rolled, fists pounding, grunts and snarls echoing through the mansion.
Rio shoved him off, flipping their positions, and straddled Jake’s chest. His fist hammered down once, twice, three times, each blow making Jake’s head slam back against the floor. Blood smeared across Rio’s knuckles, hot and wet.
“Look at you,” Rio snarled between punches. “A pathetic little man who can’t keep his wife. Who can’t be a father. Who thinks control equals love.” He hit him again, harder, until Jake’s lip split.
Jake coughed, blood bubbling from his mouth, but his voice was hoarse and venomous. “She’ll never be yours. She’ll see you for what you are a fucking monster.”
Rio froze for just a second, his jaw clenching.
Then he leaned closer, so close Jake could feel his breath hot against his ear.
“No, Jake,” he whispered, calm and terrifying.
“You’re the monster. I’m the reckoning.” And with that, Rio drove his fist into Jake’s gut, folding him like a ragdoll.
Jake gagged, spitting blood onto the floor.
Rio stood over him, chest heaving, eyes wild and dangerous.
“Get up,” he hissed. “Come on, get the fuck up.”
Jake tried hands trembling, knees buckling but collapsed back to the floor, leaving a streak of blood on the marble beneath him. Jake groaned, trying to crawl toward the door, blood trailing in thick smears across the marble. But Rio’s shadow fell over him, dark and unrelenting.
“You’re not going anywhere,” Rio growled, grabbing him by the collar and yanking him upright. Jake’s legs buckled beneath him, but Rio half-dragged, half-shoved him toward the basement stairs.
Jake struggled, weak but rabid, spitting blood. “You think you can keep her? You think you can keep my kids?!”
Rio slammed his head against the wall hard enough to daze him.
“They’re not yours anymore.” With brutal force, Rio hauled Jake down into the basement.
The door creaked shut, locking behind them with a cold finality.
The dungeon stretched out before them dim lighting, cold stone, and at its center, the glass box gleaming like a twisted trophy case.
Jake’s eyes widened, a flicker of fear breaking through his fury. “What the hell is that?”
Rio smirked, his lip curling with cruel satisfaction. He shoved Jake inside the box and slammed the door. Jake stumbled backward, pressing against the glass, testing the handle…..locked.
Rio stood outside, towering over him, his face a mask of predatory calm. He tapped the glass with bloodied knuckles. Tap. Tap. Tap. The sound echoed inside, loud, inescapable.
“No one can hear you in there,” Rio said evenly. “Not a scream, not a plea. You’re invisible to the world. But you…” He leaned closer, his breath fogging the glass. “…you can hear everything outside.
Every laugh, every whisper, and every sound of life you’ll never touch again.”
Jake’s chest heaved, his bloody face pressed to the glass. “You’re fucking insane.”
Rio grinned, wolfish and merciless. “Nahh. I’m just giving you what you deserve.” Rio’s voice dropped to a hiss. “You’re about to suffer like you never have before.”
Jake pounded the glass with both fists, roaring. His voice reverberated inside the box but reached nowhere else. The soundproof walls swallowed his rage whole, leaving only Rio’s cold stare on the other side.
Rio climbed the stairs from the basement, his boots echoing against the concrete. Behind him, muffled pounding rattled faintly against the glass box, but not a sound escaped past the sealed walls. Jake was trapped, right where Rio wanted him.
Upstairs, Rio poured himself a drink, calm settling over him like a second skin. He picked up his phone and dialed Kylee.
“Baby,” his voice softened instantly, a different man than the predator downstairs, “I need you to come back here.”
Kylee hesitated. “Rio… what about the kids? It’s not safe with Jake out there”
“I’ve thought of that,” he cut in, smooth but reassuring. “Leave them with Kelly for just a night. I’ll triple the security around her house. Nothing will get through. I promise you, there’s nothing to worry about.”
Kylee bit her lip, torn, but Rio’s confidence had a way of disarming her doubts. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely,” he said without hesitation. His voice deepened, almost possessive. “I need you here. With me.”
The next morning, Kylee boarded a private jet Rio sent for her. She leaned against the window, torn between guilt and anticipation. Her children were safe, she told herself. She’d be back for them soon.
When she arrived in L.A., Rio was waiting at the hangar.
He pulled her into his arms the second she stepped off the plane, kissing her like he’d been starving.
He didn’t mention Jake. Not a word. To Kylee, it was just another night in Rio’s arms. But beneath the mansion, locked in glass and silence, Jake’s fury continued to fester.
Kylee padded barefoot across the marble floor, her silk dress brushing against her legs as she entered Rio’s study. He was sitting with a glass of whiskey in hand, the glow from the fireplace painting his face in sharp, dangerous shadows.
“Rio…” she said softly, noticing the weight in his eyes. “Is something wrong?”
He set the glass down, leaning forward on his knees. “There’s something I need to show you, Kylee.
Something I’ve been keeping from you.”
Her pulse jumped. “What do you mean?”
Rio stood and took her hand, guiding her down the hall, past doors she had never opened. He led her to a locked door, then pressed his thumb to the hidden scanner. The lock clicked. The door creaked open.
The air grew colder as they descended the steps into the basement. Kylee’s breath hitched when she saw the sleek, eerie chamber at the bottom of the polished glass box glowing under dim lights. And inside it… Jake. Bruised, bloodied, and pounding his fists against the walls in silence.
Kylee gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. “Oh my God… Rio what the fuck?”
Rio slid behind her, his hands gripping her shoulders with calm authority. “I’ve done what he deserves.” His voice was low, steady, and dangerous. “Do you see it, Kylee? He can’t touch you. He can’t touch the kids. He’s powerless.”
Jake’s mouth moved furiously inside the box, shouting, screaming but not a sound came out.
Kylee’s knees weakened. Rio’s mouth brushed against her ear, his words dark and intimate.
“This is poetic, isn’t it? He can hear us.
Every word. He gets to listen while I give you the life he never could.
He gets to hear you laugh again, hear you moan for me upstairs in our bed, while he rots in silence. ”
Kylee shivered, torn between horror and a pulse of heat at the raw dominance in his voice. “Rio…”
He turned her gently to face him, his hands cradling her face. His gaze was steady, unflinching. “He crushed you, Kylee. He broke your heart, your trust, your spirit. Now I’m going to crush him the same way piece by piece. And you’re going to watch him fade while you rise.”