Chapter 132 Chapter 132
Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Two
Dimitri
I watched Irina disappear and every instinct screamed to follow.
Viktor grabbed my arm. "Wait. It is a trap."
"I do not care. That is my wife."
"And you will both die if you run in blind. Think."
He was right. I hated it.
"Spread out," I told his men. "Find another entrance. Surround them."
They moved. Viktor and I went deeper, following Irina's path.
The crying had stopped. A bad sign.
"Dimitri!" Lucia's voice called. "I know you are here. Come out. Let us talk."
Viktor shook his head. I stepped forward.
Into the open room.
There she was. Lucia. Older but the same. Holding Nikolai. My son was quiet, sucking his thumb. Unharmed.
"Hello, Dimitri," she said softly.
"Lucia. It has been a long time."
"Too long. Look at you. A father now."
"Let my son go."
"In time. First, we talk."
"There is nothing to talk about."
"Is there not? After all these years? After everything?"
She walked closer. Nikolai reached for me. Lucia held him tighter.
"I loved you," she said. "You and Alexei. More than anything."
"I know," I said gently.
"Do you? Because if you did, you would understand why I am doing this."
"You are hurt. Because my mother sent you away."
"She ripped me from you!" she screamed. Nikolai cried.
"She took everything. My boys. My purpose. My family."
"We were not your family," I said quietly.
The words hit her. "Not my family? I raised you. I loved you. I gave you everything."
"And we loved you too. But we were not your sons. We were your job."
"No," she said, tears streaming. "You were more. You and Alexei were everything."
"Then where is Alexei? What have you done?"
Lucia smiled. "He is safe. For now. Like your wife."
My heart stopped. "Where is Irina?"
"Close. And she is about to learn a lesson."
"What lesson?"
"That love destroys. That choosing love over family is a mistake."
"Irina is my family."
"She is a stranger! A slave who turned you against Alexei!"
"Alexei chose to betray me. That was his decision."
"Because you abandoned him! You forgot him when she came!"
"I never forgot Alexei."
"Then why choose her over him?" she asked.
I had no answer. She was right. I had chosen Irina over everything.
"You see? You cannot deny it."
"I love Irina. That does not mean I stopped loving Alexei."
"But you stopped protecting him. You stopped being his brother."
"He tried to kill me."
"Because he was in pain! He felt abandoned! You punished him instead of helping!"
She cried, holding Nikolai. "I watched you two destroy each other. I could not let it continue."
"So you kidnap my son?"
"I saved him. To raise him properly. To teach him what family means."
"By taking him from his parents?"
"By taking him from you. Before you ruin him like you ruined everything."
"I am not perfect. But I love my son and I will not let you take him."
"You have no choice."
She pulled out a phone. She pressed a button. The screen showed Irina tied to a chair. Alexei was tied across from her.
"What is this?" My voice shook.
"A choice. The same choice I had."
"What choice?"
"Your wife or your brother. You can only save one. The other dies."
My blood ran cold. "No. I will not choose."
"You have to. Just like I had to choose between staying with you or leaving. Between my love for you and my survival."
"That is not the same."
"Is it not? I gave up everything for you. And what did I get? Money. A pat on the head. A life without the children I loved."
"I am sorry. But this is not the way."
"It is the only way. You need to understand what it means to lose someone you love. What it means to have to choose."
She looked at her phone. "You have five minutes. Choose wisely."
"Lucia, please."
She did not listen. She set a timer and walked away. She left me alone with Nikolai crying in her arms and my wife and brother waiting to die.
I looked at Viktor. "Find them. Now."
He nodded and spoke into his radio. His men searched the building. But I knew they would not find them in time. Lucia had planned this well.
I looked at the phone. At Irina's terrified face. At Alexei's broken body. I had to make a choice. My wife or my brother. Love or family.
The timer ticked. Four minutes. Three. Two.
"Boss," Viktor said. "We found them. East wing. Second floor."
"How long to get there?"
"Three minutes."
I looked at the timer. One minute left. Not enough time.
"Viktor. Get to them. Save them both."
"I cannot..."
"Save them both!" I roared.
He nodded and ran.
I looked at the phone. Lucia was watching.
"I am not choosing," I said. "I will save them both."
Lucia smiled. "We will see."
The timer hit zero. The screen went black.
I ran. I ignored the pain. I needed to get to them.
I reached the east wing. I took the stairs two at a time. I burst through the door.
Viktor stood there in an empty room.
"Where are they?" I demanded.
"They were here. I saw them on the camera."
I looked. The chairs were there. The ropes were there. But Irina and Alexei were gone.
"It was a trick," I whispered.
"What?"
"The video was pre-recorded. Lucia wanted us to waste time."
"Then where are they?"
My phone rang. Unknown number.
I answered.
"Hello, Dimitri. Did you enjoy the chase?" Lucia asked.
"Where are they?"
"Safe. For now. But the game is not over."
"What game? What do you want?"
"I want you to choose. I want you to feel what I felt. The pain. The loss. The impossible choice."
"I will never choose."
"Then they both die."
"No. There has to be another way."
"There is."
"What?"
"You. Trade yourself for them. Come to me alone and I will let them go."
I did not hesitate. "Where?"
"The roof. You have ten minutes."
The line went dead.
I looked at Viktor. "I am going."
"It is a trap."
"I know. But what choice do I have?"
I ran to the stairs and up to the roof. Viktor followed.
We burst through the door.
Lucia stood at the edge, holding Nikolai. Behind her, Irina and Alexei stood. They were not tied. They were alive.
"Irina!" I shouted.
She looked at me. Something was wrong. She did not run.
"What did you do to her?" I demanded.
"Nothing. I told her the truth."
"What truth?"
"That you chose her over Alexei. That when I gave you the choice, you picked her. Now Alexei knows."
I looked at my brother. His face was unreadable.
"Alexei, I..."
"Save it." His voice was cold. "You made your choice. You chose her. Like you always do."
"That is not fair."
"Is it not? Lucia gave you a choice. You chose Irina. You were willing to let me die."
"I chose both of you! I refused to choose!"
"But if you had to, it would be her. We both know that."
I opened my mouth but could not speak. He was right.
"You see?" Lucia said softly. "Love destroys. Choosing one person tears families apart."
"Then what do you want?"
"I want you to fix it. Prove family matters. That blood is thicker."
"How?"
Lucia smiled. She held Nikolai out over the edge.
"No!" Irina screamed. She ran but Lucia's men grabbed her.
"Choose," Lucia said. "Right now. Save your son or save your brother."
"What?"
Lucia gestured. A man pushed Alexei toward the edge. He was weak. One push and he would fall.
"You have three seconds. Save Nikolai or save Alexei. Choose."
My mind went blank.
"Three."
"Wait!"
"Two."
"Please!"
"One."
Everything happened at once.
Lucia released Nikolai. He started to fall. At the same moment, Alexei stumbled backward toward the edge.
I had one second.
I dove for Nikolai. I caught him just before he went over. I heard Irina scream.
I turned.
Alexei was falling off the roof into the darkness below.
"No!" I roared.
It was too late. He was gone.
I held Nikolai close. My son was safe.
But my brother was dead.
And it was my fault.
I had chosen.
Just like Lucia wanted.