“You had no fucking business letting her in here!” I hear him growl, his voice full of blistering fury as it comes closer, growing louder. “What the fuck were you thinking–”
I shrink back as he comes around the corner, his frame seeming to fill the room despite the leanness of it. His presence is overwhelming, his icy blue eyes narrow and alight with anger, and I feel the cold knowledge that this is it, spreading over me.
You couldn’t pull it off in time, Natalia. I don’t blame you–
Should I be angry with her?I almost feel as if I should, for giving me hope where there really was none. I’d been resigned, and she’d taken that away–but at the same time, I’d met my sister, even if only for a short time.
I’d felt all alone in the world, and even if Natalia hadn’t given me my freedom, she had given me something else.
She’d let me know that someone still cares about me, even if it couldn’t save me in the end.
Obelensky is still shouting at the guards. “I’m going to find out which of you let her in here,” he snarls. “And you’ll regret it. I hope a smile and an empty promise from my daughter was enough to justify the pain you’re going to feel as I have the ones responsible picked apart piece by piece.”
There’s no response from the terrified guard, who looks as if he’s on the verge of pissing himself, and Obelensky lets out a frustrated growl.
“She’s up to something,” he snaps, his gaze flicking towards my cell. “That scene she caused in my office, and now down here visiting–” His voice trails off for a moment, and I see his jaw clench. “No more waiting.”
I feel my stomach drop to my feet, cold spreading through me with a chill that feels as if I might already be dead. Obelensky jerks his head towards my cell, his icy gaze piercing through the guard standing in front of him. “Get her out of there. It’s time to get this over with.”
I can’t help it this time. I scramble backward as the guard unlocks the door, stepping towards me. It’s not the gentler guard this time, and he lunges for me, his hand wrapping painfully around my elbow as he snatches me towards him.
“No point in fighting, girl,” he snaps, fishing out plastic cuffs with his other hand. “You’ve gotten one reprieve already. It’s time to face the music.”
He draws the cuffs tight around my wrists, his jaw set and face pale, and it’s hard to blame him for his rough handling of me. I can tell that he’s terrified of Obelensky, probably as afraid as I am or more, and is trying to keep from facing any of my father’s wrath.
The guard pushes me out of the cell, his hand squeezing my wrists. Obelensky remains motionless as I’m marched in front of him, his jaw set as he looks down at me.
“I hope you know I don’t take pleasure in this,malen’kiy. It’s a necessary task, that’s all.”
“Like taking out the trash?” I nearly spit the words out, feeling them stutter on my lips out of fear, but managing to get them out anyway as I tilt my chin up to meet his gaze. I have no hope of escape now, nothing to lose, and all I want is to finish this bravely–spitting his actions back into his face, instead of pleading and crying.
“I cannot expect you to understand,” Obelensky says calmly. “But you are a part of a past that I need to be erased,malen’kiy. This is a necessary evil.”
“Like how you killed my mother?” I glare at him, holding his gaze, wanting to make him look at me for as long as possible, to see what he’s doing. “She died because ofyou! Because you wanted her, a woman who was never supposed to be yours. Your selfishness made me, and your selfishness is going to kill me.” I lunge forward, feeling the guard twist my hands painfully as he drags me back, but I don’t care. “I’m glad you were never my father.”
Obelensky steps forwards, grabbing my chin in his hand. His fingers are long and cold, pressing into my cheeks as he holds me pinioned in place, his expression chilling. “You are talking about things you do not understand,Sasha.”
My name sounds rasping and harsh in his voice, and his fingers tighten on my face. “You know nothing of this world. You know nothing of what it takes to gain power and keep it. And now, you’ve corrupted my only daughter as well. I’m only grateful that I found out before she did something I could not forgive her for.”
Though I know it makes no sense, though I know it shouldn’t hurt, something about Obelensky saying that Natalia is his only daughter twists that knife in my chest all over again. “I’m glad I was never your daughter,” I hiss. “And I’m sure that Natalia wishes that she wasn’t.”
Something harsh and ugly twists Obelensky’s face. “That’s enough,” he growls, stepping forward and grabbing my elbow as he jerks me away from the guard holding me. “This is a waste of my fucking time.”
I try to hold back the fear as his other hand clamps down on my shoulder, forcing me down onto my knees, facing away from him, but it’s impossible. Cold terror spreads through my veins, chilling me to my core, and I feel as if I might pass out as the room tilts in front of me, my blood suddenly moving like molasses through my veins.
I feel Obelensky move behind me, and I know he’s drawing his gun. I hear the click of the hammer, and a strange sensation washes over me, like falling, a feeling of everything slowing down at once. Every cell in my body screams at me to flee, but there’s no way out, no escape, and I can’t breathe, can’t think, can’t do anything other than quake there on my knees, as terrified as I hoped I wouldn’t be.
Hard metal presses against the back of my head, and I bite my lips to keep from screaming and close my eyes to keep tears from falling.Let me see Max again,I whisper in my mind, pleading for the only thing I still have hope for.Let me find him again, somewhere.
There’s the sound of footsteps, shouts in the hall, the slamming of a door, and the gurgling sound of someone choking, thethudof a body hitting the floor. I feel Obelensky turn, the gun still pressed to my head, and my eyes open–only for me to freeze in shock.
There, standing in the opening of the room, gun leveled at Obelensky above me, is Max.
At that moment, I’m certain of what’s happened.
I’m already dead, and my last prayer has been answered.
18