Page 50 of Blazing Embers

She lunges against the restraints. “You came here to gloat?”

“I came here to tell you that I forgive you.”

She sneers. “You forgive me?” She pulls against her restraints again. “You’re family has me locked in this dungeon like a fucking leper.”

“There’s a cure for leprosy,” I point out. “There’s no cure for what you are.”

“I don’t accept or want your forgiveness. What I did, I did gladly,” Alisa spits.

“I’m not forgiving you for you, it’s for me,” I tell her. “And I didn’t come here to tell you that either. I’m not here about my father or what you tried to do to my family. This visit isn't even about me. I came here about Anna Romanov and her unborn baby.”

Her pupils constrict.

“It was a little girl,” I tell her. “A little helpless life still developing in her mother’s belly.” She starts to pale. “You have a daughter. I watched you throughout your pregnancy with Eva. The way you protected your belly and what you ate, everything you did while you were pregnant was to protect that little life growing inside you.” My jaw clenches, and I force the sickening anger at bay. “If my calculations are correct. You were pregnant at the time you jammed your knife into Anna’s belly. Not just once… several times in the same vicinity.” My voice grows hoarse. “You killed them in the most brutal way.”

“No. I didn’t—” Alisa shouts, her chest rising and falling.

“We have footage of you confessing to Boris. No, not confessing, bragging about it.” My lip curls in disgust. “I have it on my phone if you’d like to hear what you said and how the two of you enjoyed it.”

She pales. The color drains from her face as if a switch has been flipped.

“Seeing you like this, Alisa... It's enough for me. This prison, this cage? It's poetic.” My mouth curves into an evil smile. “Your fate from this day forward is in my hands. I have to decide if you’ve paid your dues or not.”

Her eyes dart and then widen. “What do you mean?” Hope flashes in them. “Are... are you thinking of letting me go?”

“In a way,” I tell her, and I see her start to relax.

“I swear I’ve changed, Ruslan,” Alisa tells me, her eyes pleading. “If you pardon me and let me out. I’ll disappear and you’ll never see me again.”

“Oh, I’m never going to see you again, Alisa,” I assure her. “Because I’ve decided that your fate isn’t mine to decide.”

“I… I don’t understand,” Alisa stutters, her brow furrowing.

“Unlike your late ex-husband, my family does live by a code,” I explain. “And I intend to honor that code. So, tomorrow, Konstantin will decide what happens to you.”

She jerks against the cuffs. “No. Ruslan, no! Please. I’ll tell you anything you want to know. I know Boris's whole network.”

“It doesn't matter. Boris is dead. His legacy died with him. I'm not at war with the Mirochins anymore.”

I stand and push the chair back.

“Wasn’t that one of your favorite sayings, Alisa? Karma is a bitch.” I smile. “It looks like this time Karma is a bastard and his name is Konstantin Romanov. While seeing you like this is enough for me, I doubt it will be for him.”

I turn. The guard opens the door, and I walk out.

She screams after me. Bitch. Bastard. Fucking coward.

I don't flinch.

The door shuts behind me.

For the first time in fourteen years, I feel something crack open in my chest. Light. Peace.

Eva is alive. Alisa is caged. Tara is healing.

The path ahead is clear.

And Konstantin will get his justice so he too can let his late wife and unborn daughter rest.

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