Chapter Eighteen: Marianna
Ifelt the lump in my throat the moment that I was requested in Luka’s office by one of his men that was guarding the door. It had only been a few hours after I’d spoken to Vanya, and I was worried that Luka may have been listening in on that conversation after all. I didn’t know what to think, or how to feel approaching his office door, and every instinct in my body was telling me to run. After everything I’d done to keep my composure, to keep myself from breaking down and giving into the pain, I was starting to think that I’d reached my breaking point. I already knew what Luka was going to tell me the minute I walked through his door, because I could feel my stomach turn at the very thought, making it quite clear that it was finally time for me to make my first kill. I still wasn’t sure how I was going to react when the words finally left his lips, and when he’d tell me that I’d have to show him just how loyal I really was, because I had a feeling that he wasn’t going to let me live on here if I didn’t abide by his rules.
I knew that it was only a matter of time before he tested me, but I wished I had a bit more time. I wasn’t sure it would’ve done much of anything, or even changed the way Luka saw me, but he was either going to deem me useful and keep me around or he was going to kill me himself. I took a deep breath, opening up the door to his office, and what I found there left me horrified. I locked eyes with Larissa, and I could see the fear in them as her hands and feet were tied to a chair, while there was a tie stuffed into her mouth to keep her from screaming. It was then that I realized why Luka had called me in here, why he’d been so kind to Larissa all along, and that was because he was saving her for me. He wanted to use her to prove my loyalty to him, not going easy on me by having me kill someone I barely even knew. He wanted me to get rid of the problem for him, otherwise, I was sure he was going to kill us both.
There was no way I could lay a hand on Larissa, and he knew that, but I had no idea what I was going to do. If I even hesitated for a moment, it would’ve told him everything he needed to know, confirming all of the doubts he had about me. I didn’t want to go on living if it meant that I had to kill my best friend, the one person in my life who didn’t deserve to get wrapped up in all of this. She had no connections to this world, and she was roped into it because of me. I didn’t know how I was going to be able to live with myself if I had to go on without her, knowing that she died by my hands, and it was quite clear that I was never going to be able to do it.
“You’ve had some time to get quite comfortable around here, to settle in, and I hope that you’ve found everything up to your liking. Now, you get to decide if you want to continue living here with your family, and follow the rules that are required to live under this roof. I know you must be questioning my methods here, but you can’t blame me for having to test you since you were helping the people that wanted nothing more than to destroy me, only to take their place. I truly did care about Rurik, about what he wanted out of life, but he never seemed to see it that way. It should’ve been clear to me all along that all I was trying to do was to replace the child that I’d given up out of spite, when I should’ve accepted you from the very beginning knowing that you would’ve turned out just like us. This is a test for you, Marianna. If you do what’s asked of you, I can promise that you will go on to live a very fulfilling life as a true Andreyev. That is what you want isn’t it? To have a family again, a real family? I know how long you’ve been trying to track us down, and now I’m giving you the chance to have everything you’ve ever wanted. All you have to do is prove to me that you have what it takes to genuinely be a part of this family,” said Luka, and his words alone made me sick. I didn’t know how to react, or what to say to buy myself some more time.
You’re absolutely delusional. You’re using everyone around you to feed into your sick fantasies, destroy the lives of others for your personal gain and for your pleasure. This isn’t just a test of my loyalty, it’s to see exactly what I’d do to stay in your good graces. I can’t believe that I thought I could just play along and everything would be fine. It’s clear that you’ve gotten quite good at being one step ahead, but it’s time someone finally bursts your bubble.
“I’ll do it,” I said, stoically while I stared down at my terrified best friend who I assumed had done so much to protect herself, killing anyone that Luka asked her to. Now, the tables had turned, and I knew it was enough for her to see that she’d been wrong, that he’d been manipulating her the whole time, and that’s all I could’ve asked for.
“Splendid,” he said, reaching into his desk drawer and pulling out a knife. It was enveloped in a little red cloth, and it shone under the chandelier lighting like it had just been freshly cleaned and put aside for me. He placed it in my hands, and I looked up at him with a straight face, only to see just how proud of me he was. It made my stomach turn, the look on his face, but I knew that I had to keep it up. The minute I gave him any indication that I wasn’t going to go through with it, I knew that it would’ve been over for the both of us. I turned around to face Larissa, with Luka’s eyes glued to us both, but just before I lifted the knife to her, we heard the sound of a gunshot ring through the air. It startled us both, and he seemed rather unprepared for it, like he didn’t imagine that anyone would ever have come to attack him.
I felt my heart flutter at the thought that it was quite possible Rurik had come for me, that he was going to fight his way out of this one, and I knew I had to do whatever I could to help. I turned back around to face Luka, to read the expression on his face, and I knew the only way I was going to pull this off would be for me to tell him exactly what he wanted to hear.
“Go, Father. It looks like there’s someone here that thinks I want to see him again, but I’ve made my choice, and I choose you. I will do as you ask, and when you deal with the problem, I will make sure to show you how much of a good job I’ve done in your absence,” I told him, and I heard Larissa’s muffled screams as it tore through me that she was actually terrified that I would hurt her. There had to have been a million thoughts running through her head right then, and it was quite clear that she had snapped out of it. The manipulation that had seemed to work for some time had dissipated, and I could’ve sworn I saw a semblance of my best friend again.
“Make me proud, Marianna. Show me that you’re capable of assuming your role as part of this family,” he reminded me, and I nodded silently while he left the room, shutting the door behind him but I could hear him shout off some commands to his guards, and I was secretly hoping that Rurik didn’t come alone, that he somehow managed to band together some people that were going to protect him, because I knew that alone he wasn’t going to make it past the gate, but I had to stay focused, I had to get Larissa to safety. My heart was shattering at the thought that Rurik was outside, probably fighting his way back to me as I stood in front of my best friend who was fearing for her life, but I had to do the right thing. I knew that this was the opportunity I was looking for to slip away, and nothing was going to stand in my way.
I leaned over Larissa, while she continued to scream, and I used the knife to cut her free before I removed the tie in her mouth. She’d looked so shocked, like it was the first time she was seeing me, like we hadn’t been living under a roof together for the last two days. She’d gotten so wrapped up in all of this that she didn’t even recognize herself anymore, but now I could see that she was back. She rushed to embrace me, sobbing violently into my neck as she squeezed me tightly.
“I’m so sorry, Marianna. I’m so sorry,” she said, and I brushed her softly while she cried for a moment, getting out all of the anger that had been building up since the day she was taken, because now she was so close to her freedom. I wanted nothing more than to reassure her that we were going to make it out of this alive, but even then I wasn’t sure. I had to believe, because that would be the only way that I’d be able to keep it together long enough to help her slip away before things got ugly, and at least then I could rest assured knowing that I did something right.
“It’s okay, Larissa. Listen, we have to get out of here. I know that you’re probably still incredibly confused, wondering what it is that’s happening outside, but there’s someone out there that I love, that is coming to save me, but I need to save you first,” I explained, and she nodded even though it was quite clear that she was barely able to absorb the information that I was feeding to her.
“Anton,” said Larissa, her eyes glossing over, and for a moment I truly thought that she was going to give up her freedom for the man that was responsible for her kidnapping in the first place, but when I followed her gaze, I realized that he had been standing behind us all along.
“I don’t think we’ve officially had the chance to meet yet, Marianna. The name’s Anton, but I’m sure you already know that. Now, let’s skip the pleasantries shall we? I see that even though you somehow managed to fool Luka into thinking that you can handle this on your own, he was far too quick to trust you. I suppose he truly did want someone on his side that he could trust, someone that shared the very same darkness that coursed through him, but you’re not that person are you?”
“No, I’m not. I know that you weren’t always this person either, Anton. Rurik told me about the conversations you two had together when he first arrived here. You promised to help him find a way out of this mess, but instead, you double-crossed him, choosing the side of the very same psychopath that ruined your life. Do you know what that makes you? A coward,” I said, provoking him, as he inched closer to me, practically snarling in my face.
“You better watch the way you speak to me, Marianna. I may not be able to kill you yet, but the minute that Mr. Andreyev finds out that you didn’t do as you were told, that you couldn’t step up to the plate, I’m sure that he will give the order soon enough. Until then, it’s probably best we sit here, while I torture you a little. I’m sure he’s going to be fine with that,” he said, but I didn’t flinch, I didn’t allow him to see the fear in my eyes, because I knew that was all he wanted.
“Please, Anton. Don’t do this, please,” begged Larissa.
“You’re quite the gullible girl, you know? I had quite a lovely time tricking you into falling in love with me, and I have to say that I wished things could’ve turned out differently. There may have been a single moment where I caught myself wishing that I had the chance to fall in love again, to revisit the longings I’d had years ago, but not with you. I hope there are no hard feelings,” he said, and I watched her heart shatter at that very moment. If there was one thing she was counting on in all of this, it was Anton, but he turned out to be just like the rest of them, and now we were both angry. We both wanted out, but we weren’t quite sure we were ever going to get the opportunity to make our escape. Anton had us cornered, and it didn’t look like we’d be able to make it out the open doorway behind him anytime soon, because he reached behind him into the holster under his shirt to pull out his gun, pointing it in the direction of us both.
“Which of you would like to go first?”
