Page 56 of Bratva Hostage

A voice whispers against my ear, low and vicious. “Gotcha.”

I freeze.

I know that voice.

My father’s men have found me.

Chapter 21 - Dimitri

Cecily is missing.

I don’t realize it right away, but something prickles in the back of my mind when I notice she’s not in the usual places—her room, the lounge, the library. At first, I assume she’s exploring, clearing her head. She does that sometimes. Then, I pass a guard in the corridor who looks uneasy and mentions not seeing her all evening, and an alarm ignites in my gut.

I check the living room. Empty. I check the study. No trace of her. A gnawing sensation grows in my stomach. The estate isn’t that big, and she’s no recluse. She’d have made herself known if she was here.

“Maksim!” My voice echoes through the halls.

He appears from a side corridor with his phone in hand. “Something up?”

“Where’s Cecily?” I snap. “Have you seen her?”

“Not recently. I thought she was in the living room going over the new intel. You checked there?”

“Yes,” I reply through clenched teeth. “She’s not there.”

“You sure?”

“I’m not an idiot. I searched every room on that floor. She’s gone.”

He studies me for a second, then lifts his phone to give a quick series of orders. “Alright. We’ll approach this systematically. I’ll secure the estate and have the men do a full sweep. If she’s still here, we’ll find her.”

“Do it. Now.”

He strides away, barking orders at the nearest guard while my mind churns with worry. Cecily—she’s strong-willed, restless, and hates feeling cooped up. Could she have tried to escape? The thought strikes me like a hard blow. I spin on my heel and head toward the security room, where banks of monitors cycle through camera feeds.

The guard on duty jumps to attention as I enter. “Mr. Barkov. Need something?”

I lean over his shoulder to inspect the screens. “Rewind the last hour’s footage. Every camera that might show Cecily.”

He nods and punches the keys as the monitors flick through recordings. I scan for her silhouette, her hair, or any sign that she passed through a corridor. At first, nothing stands out. Then the guard grimaces. “We have blind spots near the staff entrance. They're not well covered.”

“Show me what you have.”

The footage is blurry and poorly lit. I see a dark figure slipping out, but the resolution is so bad that I can’t confirm it’s her. My heart pounds anyway. “That could be her. Timestamp?”

He checks. “About forty minutes ago.”

Forty minutes for her to vanish, or worse, for someone to intercept her. My thoughts snap back to that suspicious car we spotted recently near the estate. If those watchers realized she was trying to escape, they might’ve seized the opportunity.

“Stay on these feeds. If you spot anything else, call me immediately.”

“Yes, Sir.”

I exit the security room to find Maksim waiting in the hallway. “We did a quick sweep. Not a sign of her.” He pauses.“Looks like she left, or someone took her. But no alarms, no forced entry. More likely she left on her own.”

I push a hand through my hair. “She was restless. Angry about the restrictions. I guess she decided to act.” I can’t help recalling how she used to scowl at every locked door and every guard trailing her. I thought I was keeping her safe, but maybe I pushed her too far.

“Where would she go?” Maksim asks.

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