I know you’re looking for me. Please stop. I made my choice. I need to start over somewhere new. Somewhere safe.
“No.” My voice is barely a whisper. “No, he won’t believe that. He knows I wouldn’t?—”
“Wouldn’t what? Leave him? Run away from the dangerous criminal who keeps you locked up like a prisoner?” Dmitri scrolls through more messages. “We made it very convincing. Your clothes are gone from the penthouse. Toiletries missing, with thousands of dollars withdrawn from your accounts. All the evidence suggests you packed up and left.”
“He won’t believe it. He knows me.”
He rolls his eyes. “You’ve been married what, a few months? And most of that time, you’ve been trying to escape his control. Meeting your ex-boyfriend behind his back. Lying to his security. Making it very clear you feel trapped.”
“That’s not—” But I can’t finish the sentence because it is true. I did feel trapped. Did lie about meeting Mason. I constantly complained about the security and the restrictions.
And now Ledger might actually believe I ran.
“Right now, your husband is in his penthouse, staring at the evidence we left behind.” Dmitri’s smile is cruel. “He’s breaking, Mrs. Volkov. Wondering if his wife just abandoned him and their child.”
“No. Ledger wouldn’t—” But my voice cracks because I can picture it.
We fought after the restaurant. He called me reckless. Said I couldn’t be trusted. Said I endangered our family. What if he thinks I left because of that fight? Because I was tired of being controlled?
The thought breaks me.
“Please.” I’m crying now, tears running down my face and onto the filthy concrete. “Please don’t do this. I’m begging you. Don’t hurt my baby.”
“Your baby.” Dmitri crouches again. “Do you know what it’s like to lose a brother? To watch your family fall apart from grief?”
“My mother died. I know what loss feels like.”
“Then you understand. You understand that some debts can only be paid in blood.”
“My baby isn’t payment for anything. He’s innocent. Please.” I’m sobbing, the words barely coherent. “Please, I’ll do anything. I’ll tell Ledger to leave you alone. I’ll make him stop coming after you. Just please don’t hurt my baby.”
“Anything?” Dmitri laughs. It’s a cold sound, empty of humor. “You’ll do anything?”
“Yes. Anything.”
“Then watch.” He stands. “Watch as I take everything your husband loves.”
He pulls out his phone. Points it at me.
“No.” I try to turn my face away, but there’s nowhere to go. “Please don’t?—”
“Look at the camera, Mrs. Volkov.”
“No.”
He walks closer, crouches down again so the phone is right in my face. “Look at the camera and tell your husband how you’re feeling. Tell him you’re sorry for running away.”
“I didn’t run away. I didn’t?—”
“The camera, Mrs. Volkov. Now.”
I can’t help it. My eyes move to the phone.
“Good. Now say hello to Ledger.”
“Ledger—” My voice breaks. “Ledger, I didn’t leave you. I didn’t run. They took me. They?—”
“Enough.” Dmitri stands, still filming. He walks around me slowly, capturing all the angles. My bound wrists. My swollen ankles. The way my pregnant stomach strains against the fabric of my dress. “Your husband needs to see what happens to the people he loves.”
