Chapter 142 Chapter 142
Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Two
Dimitri
The gunshot echoed through the factory. It was loud and sharp, bouncing off the old metal walls and ringing in my ears for what felt like forever.
Time slowed down.
I saw the flash from the gun. It came from the upper walkway, a bright burst of light in the darkness. I felt something hit my shoulder. It was like a powerful punch that spun me halfway around. Pain exploded through my body. It spread from my shoulder down my arm and across my chest. The pain was hot and searing. I could smell my own blood in the air.
But I was still standing.
Still alive.
"Dimitri!" Irina screamed. Her voice cut through the ringing in my ears and brought me back to the moment.
I looked down at my shoulder. Blood was spreading across my white shirt, making a dark stain around a small torn hole. It hurt badly. It was a deep throbbing pain that promised hours of suffering. But it was not a fatal wound. The shooter had missed my heart and my head. Maybe they did not mean to kill me at all.
I looked up at the figure on the catwalk. My eyes were adjusting to the darkness now. The person stood completely still. Then with a slow movement that was more scary than the gunshot, they stepped into the pale light.
And my blood ran cold.
It was a woman I had never seen before. She was older, maybe in her fifties. She had sharp features and grey hair pulled back tight from her face. Her eyes were cold like a winter sky. There was no warmth in them at all. A cruel smile was on her lips as she looked down at us.
"Who are you?" I demanded.
"Someone who has been waiting a long time for this moment," she said. Her voice was unfamiliar. But there was something about her. Something that made my skin crawl.
"Why did you shoot me?" I asked.
"To get your attention," she replied. "To make you understand that you are not in control."
"Understand what?" Viktor demanded. His gun was aimed at her chest.
The woman looked at him. Her cold smile grew wider. "Viktor. Always so loyal. So dedicated. But so blind."
"Who are you?" Viktor repeated.
"My name is Katerina," the woman said. "And I am the real person behind everything that has happened to you."
"Liar," Lucia spat from the floor. "I planned this. I did everything."
Katerina laughed. It was short and cold. "You did what I told you to do. You were my puppet, Lucia. Nothing more."
Lucia's face went white. "No," she whispered. "That is not true."
"Is it not?" Katerina asked. "Who do you think gave you the money? The information? The access you needed? You were a tool. Nothing more."
She walked along the catwalk until she was right above us. "I found you after your boss fired you. I offered you revenge when you had nothing. I helped you every step of the way."
"But why?" I asked.
Katerina looked at me. The fake smile was gone. In its place was pure hatred. "Because your father destroyed my family. Twenty years ago, he killed my husband. He took over his business. He left me with nothing."
"My father is dead," I said.
"Yes," Katerina agreed. "But his sons are alive. You carry his name and his blood. I swore on my husband's grave that I would make his children pay."
"We did nothing to you," Alexei said.
"You exist," Katerina replied simply. "You breathe because of him. That is enough."
She raised her gun again. This time she aimed it directly at Irina.
"And what better way to make you suffer," Katerina said, "than to take away the person you love most?"
"No!" I shouted. I moved without thinking. I stepped in front of Irina. I used my body as a shield. "You want to kill someone? Kill me. Not her."
"How noble," Katerina said. "But that is not what I want. Death would be easy for you. I want you to live with the pain."
Her finger tightened on the trigger.
And then Viktor fired.
His bullet hit Katerina square in the chest. She stumbled backward. Shock was on her face. The gun fell from her hand. She collapsed on the metal floor. Blood spread across her shirt.
"No," she gasped. "Not like this. I was supposed to win."
"You lost," Viktor said coldly. "The moment you came after my family."
Katerina coughed. Blood bubbled on her lips. Her eyes found mine. "This is not over," she whispered. "There are others. They will finish what I started."
"Who?" I demanded.
But she did not answer. The light in her eyes went out. Her body went still. She was dead.
I looked at Viktor. "Thank you," I said.
"Always," Viktor replied.
Alexei knelt beside Lucia. She was sobbing quietly. "Did you know?" he asked. "About Katerina?"
Lucia shook her head. "I thought I was in control. I was so blind. She was using me the whole time."
"You still tried to hurt us," Alexei said.
"I know," Lucia whispered. "I am sorry. I loved you. That was real. Everything else was madness. But the love was real."
"I know," I said quietly.
Viktor called for backup. For medical help. For people to clean up the bodies.
Lucia was taken away. Not to prison, but to a psychiatric hospital. She would spend the rest of her life there.
My shoulder was bandaged by a medic. The bullet had gone through clean. It missed all the major arteries. It hurt like hell, but it was not life threatening.
We walked out of that factory. Out into the cold clean night air. Irina held my good arm. Alexei walked beside us. Viktor followed behind.
"Is it really over?" Irina asked.
"I do not know," I admitted. "Katerina said there were others."
"Then we deal with them," Alexei said. "Together. As a family."
I looked at my brother. At the ma
n who had betrayed me. Who had hurt me. But he was standing here now, ready to fight beside me. It was not forgiveness. Not yet. But it was a start.
"Together," I agreed.
We got into the vehicles and drove home. To the safehouse. To Nikolai. To the family we had almost lost..