Chapter 122 Nikolai
When I opened my eyes, everything was blurry.
Pain radiated through my skull. Every breath felt like knives.
I blinked slowly, trying to focus.
I was in a room. It was small and very dark. The smell of salt water hung in the air. And standing above me was Alexei Volkov.
"Welcome back," he said. His voice was cold. "I was worried you would sleep through the best part."
I tried to sit up but failed. My hands were tied behind my back. My legs were bound.
"Where is Anya?" I asked. My voice came out hoarse.
"Safe," Alexei said. "She is upstairs in her room."
"If you hurt her..." I started.
"You will what?" Alexei interrupted. "Kill me? You can barely move, Nikolai. You are in no position to threaten anyone."
He was right. I was helpless. Tied up like an animal waiting for slaughter.
"Mikhail," I said. The memory hit me like a physical blow. "Where is Mikhail?"
"He’s dead," Alexei said simply. "My men shot him at the warehouse. He bled out before they could even get him to a car."
Mikhail's gone?
"You killed him," I said, my breath shaky.
"No," Alexei corrected. "You killed him. By dragging him into your war. By making him stand beside you when you should have stood alone."
He was right again. Mikhail had died because of me.
"Why then am I still alive?" I asked.
"Because death is too easy," Alexei said. "I want you to suffer first. I want you to feel everything I felt in that prison. The knowledge that everything you love is being taken from you."
"I put you in that prison because you deserved it," I said. "You were a monster."
Alexei scoffed. "I was just like you. But you decided I was the villain. You decided to destroy me. So now I am returning the favor."
He crouched down beside me. His face was inches from mine.
"Do you know what I am going to do to Anya?" He asked. "I am going to marry her tomorrow. Whether she wants to or not. And then I am going to make her mine. In every way. And you are going to listen to every moment of it."
Rage exploded through me. I lunged at him, tried to headbutt him. But the ropes were too tight. And Alexei just laughed.
"There he is," he said. "There is the Nikolai Markov I remember. The man who thinks he can fight his way out of everything."
He stood up and kicked me in the ribs. I gasped, coughing out blood.
"You cannot fight this time," he said. "You have already lost. Mikhail is dead. Katya is dead. Your empire is gone. And Anya is mine."
"She will never be yours," I said through gritted teeth. "She will kill you first."
"Maybe," Alexei admitted. "That is why I want her. She has spirit."
The thought of Anya with him made me want to scream.
"Let her go," I said. "Please. Take everything else. My money. My connections. Whatever you want. Just let her go."
"No," Alexei said. "Because she is the one thing you actually love. Money can be replaced. Connections can be rebuilt. But Anya? There is only one Anya. And now she is mine."
He walked to the door and paused.
"My men will be back soon," he said. "They have a boat waiting. We are going to take you out to sea and throw you overboard. And while you are drowning, I want you to think about Anya. About what I am doing to her while you die."
"You are a coward," I said. "Hiding behind threats. Hiding behind your men. If you were a real man, you would untie me and fight me yourself."
Alexei smiled. "Why would I do that? I have already won."
He left, locking the door.
I lay there on the cold floor. My body was broken. My spirit had been shattered.
Mikhail was dead. Anya was upstairs being held prisoner. And I was about to be thrown into the ocean.
Everything I had fought for was gone.
Everyone I loved was either dead or suffering.
And it was all my fault.
I had made the wrong choices. Chose the empire over Anya.
And now I was paying the price.
I closed my eyes. Tried to think of a plan. Of a way out of this. But there was nothing. Just the knowledge that in a few hours, I would be dead. And Anya would be alone with a monster.
The door opened again. Two men walked in. Big and armed. They grabbed me roughly and hauled me to my feet.
"Time to go," one of them said.
They dragged me outside. The night air hit my face. It was cold and salty. It made me realize we were near the water. I could hear waves crashing against rocks. I could smell the ocean.
They threw me into the back of a truck. My head hit the metal. Fresh pain exploded through me. But I did not care.
The truck started moving. I lay there in the darkness. Thinking about Anya.
I hoped she would forgive me for everything. I hoped she would survive this. Would find a way to escape Volkov.
The truck stopped. The doors opened. And the men grabbed me again.
I could see the ocean now. It was dark and endless. A boat was waiting at the dock.
They dragged me onto the boat and threw me on the deck.
The engine started. We moved away from shore.
I watched the land disappear. Watched the lights of Moscow fade.
This was it. This was how it end.
My life as a formidable Mafia Lord.
After everything. After all the fighting and killing and scheming. This was how it ended.
Alone on a boat. About to be thrown into the ocean like garbage.
I thought about my father. About what he would say if he could see me now.
Probably that I deserved it. That I had been weak. That I had let love make me soft.
Maybe he would be right.
Anya was the only light in my darkness.
She was the one that had made the darkness go away.
One of the men dragged me to the edge of the boat. I didn't fight. There was no point.
"Any last words?" He asked.
I shook my head.
And they pushed me.
I fell backward into the water.
The cold hit me like a hammer. It knocked the air from my lungs.
I sank deep down.
The ropes around my hands and feet made it impossible to swim.
I started drowning.
Just like Alexei wanted.
I stopped struggling.
I let the water take me.
Tears streamed down my face.
And then there was nothing but darkness.