I see Viktor’s jaw tighten.
“Very well,” he says after a moment, when it becomes clear I won’t react.
He grabs the girl and tears the dress from her body. “We’ll change tactics tonight,” he adds, a slow smile forming as he looks at me.
He steps back.
“You either fuck her,” he says evenly, “or you kill her. Because if you don’t, what I will do to her will be much worse.”
The girl’s crying grows louder, though she tries to smother the sound with her hands.
I remain still.
“You have thirty seconds,” Viktor roars, and the girl flinches.
“Please,” she mouths at me. “Kill me… anything but this.”
Fuck.
I would sell my soul for the chance to wipe them all out, once and for all.
I signal for him to hand me the gun. I see the disappointment on his face, the disgust, but I don’t care.
I lift the weapon and aim it at the girl.
It won’t be easy, but I will eventually kill my father.
And every man who stands with him.
I pull the trigger.
Whatever was still recognisably human in me dies with that shot.
I hear her whisper, “Thank you.”
And I know she is better off this way. Once Viktor had her in his grasp, there would have been no escape.
A roar bursts out of me.
I turn the gun on my father and fire…
A guard crashes into me from the side, and the hit to my head is savage.
The world goes black.
Chapter 75
Milo
Fifteen years ago.
I think I spent about three months in this damp basement.
After I shot Viktor, they dragged me down there. I still don’t know exactly how long I was kept.
There are no windows, but I noticed the guards swap long sleeves for short ones, and that told me the season had changed.
The daily beatings are nothing. I would rather die than hurt an innocent girl, especially like that.
