Or against my makeshift family.
Instead, I’ll take my secret with me to my grave—to protect the only family I have.
CHAPTER TWO
AVELINA
AGE 11
Today is the first day the men came for me…
It’s supposed to be a normal day at the orphanage. But that all changes when three men walk into the convent’s office.
We’ve all been watching them as subtly as we can. They’re very different from most people who come here because visitors are usually older couples who want to adopt a girl. But at eleven years old, the chance of that happening for me dwindles by the day.
Now we’re sitting in the dining hall, the gray bricks surrounding us. The sounds of Moscow are hardly heard through the thick walls. Beyond the windows, the dull gray bleeds into the horizon, and the courtyard is filled with weeds and grass that haven’t been tended to for a while. The tables are long and worn, the wood leaving splinters if you rub against it the wrong way.
We sit there with our trays of food when Sister Paraskeva and the men march through the doors. She’s a stern-looking lady, although the same can be said for all the nuns here, and her dark eyes level on me. It’s like the nuns can see everything and know every little thing we do. It wears on me, tearing me down little by little. Each day here, I feel small, alone, and invisible, and I’m very careful not to rock the boat too much and get a lash across the knuckles.
“Get up, Avelina,” Sister Paraskeva says, her voice as sharp as ever. “You’re to go with these men.”
My green eyes dart up. My heart skips a beat.They’re here for me?
The three men stand by the door, watching. Their faces are hard, unreadable.But the look they give me chills me to the bone.
I stand slowly, my feet dragging across the floorboards. I pause for a moment and receive a glare for my hesitation. Fear gnaws at my stomach, unease settling in my chest like a heavy brick.
Their gazes scan me like predators.
One of them is tall and broad-shouldered, his dark suit pristine and his tie smart. The second man looks much like the first. They speak with the third man, deferring to him as if he’s in charge and addressing him as Gennady. Gennady is more muscled and younger, but it’s his features that catch my attention—sharp features that notice everything and drip with cruelness.
Two other girls are directed to move as well.
“Don’t worry, girls,” the older man says, his voice somehow slimy and making the hairs on the back of my neck rise. “We’re just here to take you outfor a treat. Even orphans deserve somethingspecialnow and then...”
I glance back at the girls who watch us, then the two at my side. Their faces are pale, confusion etched into them. One girl is barely old enough to even understand what’s happening. Then there’s Maria who’s a year younger than me, her cheeks flushed and tears already brimming in her eyes.
“Do we have to?” My voice wobbles, barely above a whisper.
“Don’t make a fuss! Do as you’re told!” Sister Paraskeva berates me.
The men usher us outside, their footsteps echoing down the corridor.
I smooth down my auburn hair, a nervous gesture as we step out into the snow-covered courtyard. The ground is slick with ice, the trees bare of leaves. A thick fog has settled over the city, making everything look distant and unclear. The two men lead us toward a black car parked on the cobbles near the gate. The windows are dark with tint, making it impossible to know if someone else is lying in wait inside.
Maria sniffles, threading her hand with mine.
I know I have to speak up while I still have the chance. “I…d-don’t want to go.”
Gennady’s head jerks around, his eyes narrowing.
And he slaps me.
Viciously hard.
Putting his full weight into the strike.
My head snaps to the side like a ricochet.
