Huddling over myself as I hid in the bathroom, I forced myself to confront the terrifying reality that my father seriously intended to sell me. To hand me over like I was nothing but an item to move.
Zoning out at the checkered pattern of the linoleum floor, I tried to convince myself that this stuff even happened in real life. That it would happen tomylife.
Running wasn’t an option. My father would hunt me down. I had nowhere to go if these Volkovs were on their way right now. If I ran, my father would sicthemon me to hunt me down and that wouldn’t be a good start to my bleak future.
I’m going to be sick.
I forced another swallow, shoving the bile back down my throat. Between the knots clenching my stomach and my lungs racing to fill with enough air, dizziness hit me.
Don’t pass out.
Stay with it.
There has to be a way to survive—even this.
Yet as I trembled and broke down, I feared what could await me with the Volkov crime family.
Stay with it, El.
Just breathe.
You’ll find a way to survive.
Just breathe…
And hope for mercy.
5
ADRIK
On the way to the Morovov firm, my phone buzzed.
Alexei:What the fuck are you doing?
My oldest cousin never missed a chance to challenge me. To question my choices. That was something that happened since we were children, before I was expected to take over. He wouldn’t dispute my being the interim leader. But he’d never hold back on making me rethink my decisions.
Alexei:Why didn’t you wait for anyone to come with you to handle this?
I rolled my eyes.Because as the Pakhan, I need to be able to move and pivot immediately as the leader. Obviously.
Adrik:The longer I wait to address this situation, the weaker we will look.
Three dots appeared instantly with his reply.
Alexei:Rushing off rashly will makeyoulook like an impulsive leader.
Alexei:You should at least have waited for Maksim.
Alexei:He’s more of a direct contact point in this kind of a problem.
“Tell me something I don’t know,” I drawled to myself.
Adrik:And he gave me his input.
Alexei:He’s going to give you more.
I narrowed my eyes. Lifting my face, I pressed the button for the partition to slide down in the car. “Is my brother in a car behind us?” I asked the driver.
