No response. How could I forget? In this cold-blooded mafia manor, compassion was the cheapest trash. Without the boss's orders, I could die behind this door and they wouldn't blink.
Kirill. Only Kirill could save me. Only he could let me out.
I fumbled for my phone in the dark, fingers shaking so badly I could barely hold it. I opened my contacts, found that name—the name I'd once secretly loved, now hated with every fiber of my being.
Dial.
The long ring tone felt like a noose tightening around my neck. Answer! Please, Kirill, answer...
The call disconnected.
He wouldn't pick up. Kirill refused to hear my voice. Even now, when I was on my knees, begging like a dog for his mercy.
"Kirill! Answer the phone!!" I screamed at the screen, tears splashing onto it, blurring his name. "I didn't push her! I didn't... but I don't care anymore! I won't explain! Punish me however you want, just answer and let me save Aiden..."
I dialed again. This time, a cheerful notification tone.
Trembling, I opened the message.
A photo. The background was a luxurious VIP hospital room—warm, bright, peaceful. On the bed, Genevie and Kirill were locked in a kiss.
He was with the woman carrying his child, whispering sweet nothings in that warm room. And my brother, my teenage brother who'd never hurt anyone, was alone in an ER miles away, waiting to die.
"AHHHHH—!!" A wail of pure despair tore from my throat. My heart shattered into dust.
But I didn't stop. I couldn't stop. Even if my dignity was ground into the dirt, even if my heart was already dead, I couldn't give up on Aiden. Mechanically, obsessively, I dialed that number again and again.
Twentieth time. Thirtieth time.
The same cold automated message.
He'd turned his phone off. I wasannoying him.
So I wouldn't interrupt his precious moment with Genevie. He'd severed my last lifeline to this world.
The phone slipped from my frozen fingers. That funeral bell rang again. Dr. Miller.
I answered. No sound came out. Only broken air from my throat.
"...Miss Evans." The doctor's voice was full of sympathy. "I'm so sorry. We did everything we could."
"Aiden was pronounced dead at 11:23PM. My condolences."
The world went silent. The footsteps outside vanished. The pain in my waist vanished. Even the basement's cold vanished.
Aiden was dead. Because I was locked in here. Because my husband, to defend his mistress's honor, had cut off my brother's last chance at life.
In the darkness, I slowly wrapped my arms around myself. My mouth opened wide to cry, but no sound came out. Only tears, silently sliding down my face.
Chapter Eighteen
Kirill
The smell of the hospital was nothing new to me.
I'd been a regular here for years. The scent was a constant reminder—of who I was, where I stood, and how everyone around me always met a bad end.
"Mr. Orlov?"
