Page 48 of Shadows of the Past
Chapter 18
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Maksim
The basement is eerily quiet. Too quiet.
Where are the children they brought in?
The sound of my footsteps echoes through the space, the only noise breaking the silence. Just as I’m about to turn back, a light flickers on in the corner of the room, and Aleksandr steps forward, his sinister smile cutting through the darkness.
Something feels wrong.
“I told him you’ve been given too much freedom,” he says casually, his tone sharp enough to make me stop in my tracks.
I glance at him, trying to piece together his words while my mind races toward Vera. Thank God I told her to head toward the river. If she had come with me and this idiot caught her here, it would’ve been chaos with Ivan.
“I don’t have time for your nonsense,” I snap, turning toward the stairs. But before I can take a step, his laughter rings out behind me.
“I can’t wait to see how long your precious Vera lasts…an hour? Less? How many men do you think can have her in thirty minutes? If we hurry, maybe she’ll still be conscious.”
His words hit me like a bucket of ice water dumped over my head.
“What did you do?” I demand, my voice low and dangerous as I pull the pistol from behind my waistband and aim it at him.
“Me? Nothing,” he says smugly. “But Ivan? Danil? Boris? I’ll let you figure it out.”
My thoughts spiral as I try to determine whether he’s lying or telling the truth.
“Did you really think no one would figure out your plans?” Aleksandr sneers. “These walls have ears, idiot.”
I never spoke about our escape plans in public or anywhere near others, but then it clicks.
He bugged my room.
“And now,” Aleksandr continues mockingly, “if you’d be so kind, Ivan is waiting for us in his office.”
Without another word, I lower the pistol and climb the stairs, with Aleksandr trailing behind me. My mind races with one thought: How do I get her out of this?
Akim can’t help me this time, but there has to be a way. I’ll offer to take her punishment myself, if that’s what it takes. Pain doesn’t matter; I’ve endured worse before.
My breathing grows heavier as we approach Ivan’s office door, but when I step inside and see Vera huddled in a corner, her eyes red and swollen, blood streaking down her legs, I forget how to breathe altogether.
“What did you do to her?” I shout, pulling my gun again and pointing it at Ivan.
Immediately, three soldiers in the room draw their weapons and aim them at me. My finger tightens on the trigger as I brace for them to fire, but at a simple gesture from Ivan, they lower their guns, and I lower mine in compliance.
“I did what should have been done long ago,” Ivan says coldly. “I gave too much freedom to a toy that started getting ideas. Do you think I don’t know she’s been sneaking medicine and food to the children? How stupid do you think I am, son?”
I want to scream that I’m not his son—that I could never be after everything he’s done to me: the nights he abused me without mercy while ignoring my pleas and tears, the endless punishments because they fueled him, the way he taught me to cut deeply and precisely. But instead, I swallow my rage because Vera needs me now more than ever.
“I’ll take her punishment,” I say firmly, forcing strength into my voice.
Ivan’s lips curl into a cruel smile as he nods slowly. “You will,” he says darkly. “But I’ll give you a choice: either you pull the trigger or every soldier within range of this house will do what Boris did to her.”
It feels like he’s driven a dagger straight into my heart; nothing could hurt worse than this moment.
I can’t do it. I can’t be the one who ends her life.
