Chapter 129 Chapter 129
Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Nine
Irina
I watched Dimitri give orders to Viktor's men.
His voice was strong despite his weakened body.
He was in pain, I could see it.
But he had refused to stop until he found whoever did this.
"Spread out," Dimitri commanded. "Search every inch of this place. If you find anyone alive who is not one of ours, bring them to me."
The men nodded and dispersed.
Viktor stayed close to Dimitri.
"You should rest," he told his cousin.
"I will rest when this is done," Dimitri replied.
"You can barely stand," Viktor argued.
"Then I will sit," Dimitri said stubbornly. "But I am not leaving."
I walked over to him.
"At least let me check your wounds," I said softly.
Dimitri looked at me for a moment, his hard expression softened.
"Alright," he agreed.
Viktor helped him sit on the edge of one of the vehicles.
I lifted his shirt carefully. And nearly cried at what I saw. His torso was covered in bruises. Deep purple and black marks that looked painful even from a distance.
There were cuts too, some healed, some still fresh.
"Oh Dimitri," I whispered.
"It looks worse than it feels," he lied.
"Do not do that," I said. "Do not pretend with me."
He sighed.
"It hurts," he admitted. "Everything hurts."
"We have a medic in the convoy," Viktor said. "Let me get him."
"Later," Dimitri said. "After we find…"
"Now," I interrupted firmly. "You are of no good to anyone if you collapse."
Dimitri opened his mouth to argue. But then he saw the worry and fear on my face.
"Fine," he relented. "Get the medic."
Viktor walked away.
I stayed with Dimitri, holding his hand.
"I am sorry," he said quietly.
"For what?" I asked.
"For all of this," he replied. "For dragging you into this world."
"Stop," I said. "None of this is your fault."
"Alexei is my brother," Dimitri said. "His actions are…"
"His actions are his own," I interrupted. "You are not responsible for what he chose to do."
"I should have seen it coming,"
Dimitri insisted. "I should have known he would betray me."
"How?" I asked. "He was your brother. You trusted him."
"And that trust nearly got us all killed," Dimitri said bitterly.
I cupped his face in my hands. "Look at me," I ordered.
He did.
"We are alive," I said. "All of us. You, me, Nikolai. We survived."
"Petrov did not," Dimitri said, his voice breaking.
"I know," I whispered. "And that is terrible. But you cannot carry that guilt."
"He died trying to save me," Dimitri said.
"And his sacrifice was not in vain," I replied. "You are free. We are together. That is what he would have wanted."
Dimitri pulled me close and buried his face in my neck.
I felt his shoulders shake.
He was crying silently.
I held him and let him grieve.
Viktor returned with the medic. "I will give you a moment," he said quietly, seeing Dimitri's state.
"No," Dimitri said, pulling away and wiping his eyes. "Stay. I want you here."
The medic examined Dimitri, checked his wounds, his ribs, his vitals.
"You have three broken ribs," the medic said. "Multiple contusions, signs of dehydration and malnutrition."
"Can you fix it?" Dimitri asked.
"I can stabilize you," the medic replied. "But you need proper hospital care."
"No hospitals," Dimitri said immediately.
"Dimitri…" I started.
"No hospitals," he repeated firmly. "It's too exposed."
"Then at least let me bandage your ribs," the medic said. "And get an IV started for the dehydration."
Dimitri nodded.
The medic worked quickly and efficiently.
I watched as he wrapped Dimitri's torso tightly.
Dimitri winced but did not complain.
"This will help," the medic said. "But you need to rest. No strenuous activity."
"I will rest when this is over," Dimitri said.
The medic looked at Viktor helplessly.
"He is stubborn," Viktor explained. "Always has been."
"Stubbornness will not heal broken ribs," the medic warned.
"Noted," Dimitri said. "Now go check on the others. See if anyone else needs medical attention."
The medic left, shaking his head.
"You should listen to him," I told Dimitri.
"I will," Dimitri promised.
One of Viktor's men came running over.
"Sir!" he called. "We found something!"
"What?" Dimitri asked, immediately alert.
"In the east wing," the man explained. "A room that looks like it was used recently."
"Show me," Dimitri ordered.
He tried to stand but swayed.
Viktor and I both grabbed him.
"I am fine," Dimitri insisted.
"You are not," I said. "But I know you are going anyway. So lean on me."
We walked into the villa.
The man led us to a room on the second floor.
It was small, probably a servant's quarters originally.
But someone had been living here.
There was a cot in the corner with blankets. Food wrappers were on a small table.
And on the wall were photographs. Dozens of them. All of Dimitri.
"What the hell?" Viktor muttered.
I walked closer to look at the photos.
They were taken over months, maybe years.
Dimitri at work, at home, with me, with Nikolai.
Someone had been watching him. For a long time.
"Who did this?" I asked, my voice shaking.
Dimitri was staring at the photos with a strange expression.
"I know these," he said quietly.
"What do you mean?" Viktor asked.
"These angles, these locations," Dimitri explained. "It was an inside job."
"An inside job?" Viktor asked.
"Has to be," Dimitri replied.
He walked over to the table. Among the food wrappers was a notebook.
He opened it. And his face went white.
"Dimitri?" I asked. "What is it?"
He did not answer. He just kept reading.
"Dimitri!" I said louder.
He looked up at me.
His eyes were filled with something I had never seen in a while.
Fear.
"We need to leave," he said. "Right now."
"What did you find?" Viktor demanded.
Dimitri showed him the notebook. Viktor read it and cursed.
"That is not possible," he said.
"What?" I asked frantically. "What does it say?"
Dimitri looked at me.
"It is a journal," he explained. "Written by someone who has been planning this for years."
"Planning what?" I asked.
"To dethrone Volkov family," Dimitri said.
"But who?" I asked.
Dimitri flipped to the last page and showed me.
There, written in neat handwriting, was a name.
A name that made my blood run cold. A name I recognized.
"No," I whispered. "That cannot be right."
"It is," Dimitri said grimly.
Because the name in the journal was not a stranger.
It was someone we knew.
Someone we trusted.
Someone who had been with us all along.
And according to the journal, they were not done.
Their plan was still in motion.
"We need to get back to Nikolai," I said, panic rising in my chest. "Now!"
We ran back to the vehicle where we had left our son.
But the door was open.
My heart stopped.
"Nikolai!" I screamed.
I rushed to the vehicle and looked inside.
The car seat was empty.
Our baby was gone.
"No no no no," I sobbed. "Where is he? Where is my baby?"
Dimitri was beside me in an instant.
"Search everywhere!" he roared at Viktor's men. "Find my son!"
But I knew.
Deep in my heart, I knew.
Whoever had killed Petrov, whoever had taken Alexei, whoever had been planning this for years.
Had Nikolai now.
And according to that journal, they had no intention of giving him back.