Page 45 of Blazing Embers

“I confess who I am. Tell him I didn’t mean to fall in love. I’m in danger now that I’ve told him, and we need to run. I deliver him to you when we take off and then go to the village where during the raid I will kill the rest of his family using the same knife I used to kill that other snitching bitch.”

“Then you will plant the knife where it will be found on the person we want implicated, and this time I’ll make sure he leaves jail in a body bag.” The older man’s eyes flash with a malice that makes me shudder.

“You’ll get the one I deliver to you so he can tell you where his fortune is and what else it is you want to get from that vault, and then get rid of him.” Her eyes hold her sugar daddy’s.

“Don’t worry, you won’t have to see him again after you’ve delivered him to me.” He kisses her lips. “Make sure you kill my youngest son, too. Use the same knife. It will be more leverage for me to use against any of their people who would rise against me.”

“Of course.” A knock on the door interrupts them. A woman wearing a uniform steps in. “Excuse me, your daughter is anxious to see you.”

“Thank you,” the young woman says, taking a young baby girl and then handing her to her old lover.

“Say hello to Daddy.” She smiles as the old, gnarled hands take the little girl.

My stomach turns. I almost dropped the phone. But I can’t stop watching. It’s like staring at a car crash in slow motion.

“I’ll finish them all off,” the woman says. “And bring you the reigning heir.”

“You’d better,” the man growls. “Soon, everything will be mine, and I’ll have gotten revenge for my father.”

The scene ends, and my stomach is churning. What the hell did I just watch? Some weird ass reality show?

Another video pops up. I can hear the voice of the same woman from the other video clip. Then her face comes into view as she looks into a mirror and talks to herself like an evil Disney Queen trying to get a magic mirror to validate her. And this time, I recognize the apartment she's in, and my heart drops to my feet as realization starts to dawn, and my gut churns.

These clips go on and on through a few until I hit the voice notes, and my blood freezes. It’s the same woman confessing to having gotten the deed done. Then another one time stamped the same day she was fucking the older man telling someone it’s done.

I witness the treacherous murderous bitch wrapped around another familiar face and I feel like I’ve been punched in the heart.

By the time the last video and voice recordings end, I’m shaking.

As if it knows, a text message appears:

“Take this SD card to Ruslan and pass on the following message:

Congratulations. You scraped through Round One of the Trial by Fire. Let’s hope you do better in Round Two.”

“What the actual fuck is going on?” I wonder aloud. “Do I have Ruslan’s phone?” Then another thought hits. “Jesus, can they see me? Is that how they know I’ve watched these clips?”

I stumble toward the door, every nerve ending on fire. I need to find Ruslan.

Pavel is sitting just outside my door in a high-backed chair. His eyes are glued to his phone.

“Are you okay?” he asks, his head snapping up as soon as he hears me, and he stands.

“I need to see Ruslan. Now.”

He hesitates.

“I have something urgent to tell him,” I press.

“Come with me.” Pavel nods and guides me down the long hallway of the massive house.

It’s really some safe house, and I hope Uncle Nik installs Elena and me in something like this.

We stop at the door of Ruslan’s study. And then I hear it.

Thudding. Furniture crashing.

“You fucking killed them, you bastard!” Ruslan's voice blares through the closed door. “You killed my wife and baby.”

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