Chapter 29 Blood and Betrayal
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Irina's POV
After a few days of treatment, I was discharged.
It was when we stepped out I knew it wasn't an hospital. It was a warehouse. Disguised to treat patients discreetly. Alexei couldn't risk taking me to an actual hospital .
Alexei's safe house was massive.
He carried me inside himself. My neck was wrapped in bandages and held in place by some kind of brace. The doctors said I could not move it for at least two weeks.
I could barely walk. My legs felt weak.
But I was alive. Unfortunately.
The inside of the house was lavishly decorated. Marble floors, crystal chandeliers, expensive furniture everywhere.
It looked like a palace.
Alexei set me down gently on a couch in the main room. "Wait here," he said.
I looked around slowly, careful not to move my neck too much.
There were pictures. Dozens of them hung on the walls.
Pictures of Alexei when he was younger. Pictures of him with men I did not recognize. Pictures of him in different countries.
And then I saw one that made my heart stop.
Dimitri.
A large framed photograph of him hung on the far wall. He looked younger, maybe in his early twenties. He was smiling. He looked so happy.
I stared at it. Tears filled my eyes immediately.
"Do not," Alexei's voice came from behind me.
I turned slightly to see him watching me. His face was dark.
"Do not what?" I whispered.
"Do not look at him like that," Alexei said. He walked towards the wall where Dimitri's picture hung. "Do not cry for him."
"I love him," I said, my voice broke. "I will always love him."
"He thinks you are dead," Alexei said coldly.
He reached up and pulled the picture off the wall. Then he threw it on the floor.
The glass shattered and the frame broke. Dimitri's smiling face was now covered in broken glass.
I wanted to scream. I wanted to run to it and pick it up. But I could not move.
"You are mine now," Alexei said. "Not his. Mine!"
I wanted to tell him he was insane. But I could not move my neck because of the brace.
So I just sat there.
"Come," Alexei said. "I will show you to your room."
He helped me stand and led me through the house. We went up a grand staircase and down a long hallway.
He opened a door and guided me inside.
The room was beautiful. A large bed with silk sheets. A balcony with a view of mountains. Everything was perfect.
Everything except the fact that I was a prisoner.
"The bathroom is through that door," Alexei said, pointing. "You need to bathe. You smell like antiseptic."
I looked down at myself. I was still wearing the hospital gown. It was stained with dried blood.
"I cannot," I said quietly. "I cannot move my neck."
"Then I will help you," Alexei said.
"No," I said immediately. "No. I do not want your help."
"You do not have a choice," Alexei said and started walking towards me.
"No!" I backed away. "Do not touch me! Do not you dare touch me!"
He stopped. His face scrunched up.
"Fine," he said. "I will call a maid."
He pulled out his phone and made a call. Within minutes, a young woman appeared at the door.
She was pretty with dark hair and frightened eyes.
When had he plan all of this? How had he manage this place without anyone knowing?
"Help her bathe," Alexei ordered. "Be careful of her neck."
The maid nodded quickly. "Yes, sir."
She came to me and took my arm gently. "Come," she whispered. "I will help you."
She led me to the bathroom. It was as luxurious as the bedroom. A large tub, marble counters, and golden faucets.
The maid closed the bathroom door. She helped me remove the hospital gown carefully.
I stood there naked and vulnerable.
Tears streamed down my face.
"It is okay," the maid whispered. "I will be quick."
She filled the tub with warm water and helped me step in. The water stung my wound but I did not make a sound.
She washed me gently. She was careful around my neck. The water turned pink from the dried blood.
When she was done, she helped me out and dried me carefully.
Then she opened the bathroom door.
Alexei was sitting there, still wearing his blood-stained suit.
The maid brought me to the bedroom. She brought out oil that smelled like jasmine and rubbed it gently on my skin.
Then she dressed me in a simple white nightgown. It was soft and comfortable.
She did all of this while Alexei watched. His eyes never left me.
I felt exposed, humiliated and helpless.
When the maid was done, she stepped back.
The door opened and another maid entered carrying a tray of food. Her face was also stern and grim. They all looked like they hated being here.
She set the tray on a small table and left quickly.
"Eat," Alexei said. "You need to keep your strength up for the baby."
I walked to the table slowly and sat down. My hands were shaking.
The food looked delicious. Soup, bread, fruit. But I had no appetite.
Still, I picked up the spoon and started eating.
As I ate, Alexei watched me. He did not look away. Not even once.
I tried to ignore him and focus on the food, but I could feel his eyes on me.
He didn't say anything. He just stared at me like I was a work of art.
The silence was suffocating.
I finished half the soup and pushed the bowl away. "I cannot eat anymore."
"You barely ate anything," Alexei said.
"I am not hungry," I said.
He stood up and walked towards me and my body tensed immediately.
But he just picked up the tray. "Get some rest," he said. "You need it."
And he turned to leave. But before he could reach the door, it burst open.
A guard rushed in. His face was panicked. His shirt was soaked with sweat.
"Boss," he said breathlessly. "Boss, we have a problem."
"What problem?" Alexei asked. His voice was calm but I could see his jaw tighten.
"Our food supply," the guard said. "It has been stopped. All of it. Every shipment is being detained."
Alexei went very still. "Who dared?" he asked quietly. His voice was deadly.
The guard swallowed hard. He looked terrified.
"Don Dimitri Volkov," the guard replied.