Chapter 98 Nikolai
My blood turned to ice.
"What do you mean it is done?" Anya asked, her voice rising with panic. "Ivanov is alive. He is here right now."
"No," I said, shaking my head. "That is impossible. We had everything planned. Viktor said he would not be back until midnight."
"Well Viktor was wrong!" Anya hissed. "His meeting ended early. He is downstairs right now."
I heard voices from below. Ivanov shouting orders. Guards responding. The sound of boots on marble floors.
"You need to hide," Anya said, pulling me toward the closet. "Before he comes up here."
"I am not hiding in another closet," I said. "Not again."
"Then what are you going to do?" she demanded. "Walk out there and let him see you? Let him know you were in my room?"
She was right. But before I could move, we heard footsteps in the hallway. It was coming closer
"Too late," I whispered.
The door burst open. Ivanov stood there. His face was red with fury. His eyes swept the room, landing on me, then on Anya, then back to me.
For a long terrible moment nobody moved.
"Well," Ivanov said slowly. His voice was deadly calm. "This is interesting."
"It is not what you think," Anya started.
"Quiet," Ivanov snapped. He did not take his eyes off me. "You. Markov. What are you doing in my wife's chambers?"
My mind raced for an explanation. "I heard Mrs. Ivanov scream," I said. "I came to see if she was alright."
"How convenient," Ivanov said. "And tell me, why were you on this floor in the first place? The servants' quarters are downstairs."
"I was cleaning the hallway when I heard the scream." I said.
"At eleven o'clock at night?" Ivanov asked. "You clean hallways at eleven o'clock at night?"
"I was ordered to," I said. "By the head servant."
"Interesting," Ivanov said. He walked further into the room. "Because I just spoke with the head servant downstairs. She said you finished your duties hours ago."
My stomach dropped. "I must have been mistaken," I said weakly.
"You must have been," Ivanov agreed. He turned to Anya. "And you. My dear wife. Why did you scream?"
"There was a man at my window," Anya said. Her voice was steadier than mine. "He was trying to get in. I was frightened."
"A man at your window," Ivanov repeated. "On the second floor. How did this man get to the second floor?"
"I do not know," Anya said. "Perhaps he climbed."
"Perhaps," Ivanov said. He walked to the window and looked out. "Strange though. The guards searched the grounds thoroughly. They found no ladder. No rope. No sign of anyone climbing."
He turned back to face us. "So either you are lying," he said to Anya. "Or the guards are incompetent. Which do you think it is?"
Neither of us answered.
Ivanov smiled. It was not a pleasant smile. "Let me tell you what I think," he said. "I think there was no man at the window. I think you created a distraction. To draw the guards away from my study. While your former lover here broke in and tried to rob me."
"That is not true," I said.
"No?" Ivanov brought something out from his pocket. A piece of cloth. One of my rags. My heart stopped. "Then explain why I found this in my study. On the floor beside my broken window."
I had no explanation. "I must have dropped it earlier," I said desperately. "When I was cleaning."
"You do not clean my study," Ivanov said. "Only my personal servants are allowed in there. And you are not one of them."
He dropped the rag and moved closer to me. "You tried to rob me," he said. "You and whoever else you are working with. Viktor perhaps? Dmitri? Pavel?"
My face must have given something away because Ivanov laughed. "All three," he said. "How ambitious. A full conspiracy under my own roof."
"You are wrong," I said. "I work alone."
"Another lie," Ivanov said. He looked at Anya. "Did you know about this? Were you helping him?"
"No," Anya said quickly. "I had no idea. I am as shocked as you are."
"Are you?" Ivanov asked softly. "Because from where I stand, it looks like the two of you were quite cozy when I walked in."
"He was checking to see if I was hurt," Anya said. "That is all."
"That is all," Ivanov repeated. He studied both of us. "You know what I think? I think you two have been planning this for weeks. Maybe months. Waiting for the right moment. And tonight you finally made your move."
"That is insane," Anya said.
"Is it?" Ivanov asked. "Because suddenly your illness seems very convenient. Keeping you confined to your room. Giving you an alibi while your lover does your dirty work."
"I am really sick," Anya insisted.
"Show me," Ivanov said. "Right now. Prove it."
Anya stared at him. "That is what I thought," Ivanov said. He turned to me. "You should have killed me when you had the chance, Markov. Because now I am going to kill you. And I am going to make her watch."
Guards appeared in the doorway. Four of them. All armed.
"Take him to the basement," Ivanov ordered. "Chain him up. I will deal with him after I deal with my wife."
The guards moved toward me. I looked at Anya. Her face was pale. Her eyes were filled with terror.
"Run," I told her.
"What?" she whispered.
"Run!" I shouted. Then I lunged at the nearest guard. I hit him hard, knocking him into the others. They stumbled and fell.
Anya ran. She bolted past Ivanov, out the door, into the hallway.
"Stop her!" Ivanov roared. But I was already fighting, punching, and kicking. Doing everything I could to keep the guards occupied. One of them grabbed me. I twisted free. Another swung at me. I ducked.
But there were too many. Too many hands were grabbing me. Too many fists were hitting me. I went down hard. My head cracked against the floor.
Through blurry vision I saw Ivanov walk past me, heading for the door. "Find her," he said to someone. "And when you do, bring her to me."
Then everything went black.
When I woke up I was in the basement. Chained to a wall. Blood was dripping from my nose. My ribs were screaming in pain.
Viktor was chained next to me. His face was swollen. One eye was shut completely.
"They got you too," I said through split lips.
"They got all of us," Viktor said. "Dmitri. Pavel. Everyone."
"How?"
"Gregor," Viktor said bitterly. "He was watching us the whole time. He told Ivanov everything. About the meetings. The plans. All of it."
I closed my eyes. We had failed.
"What about Anya?" I asked.
"I do not know," Viktor said. "I have not seen her since they brought me down here."
The basement door opened.
Ivanov appeared. He was carrying a knife. He walked straight to me.
"Where is she?" He asked calmly.
"I do not know," I said.
He drove the knife into my shoulder. Pain exploded through my body. I screamed.
"Where is she?" Ivanov asked again.
"I do not know!" I gasped.
He twisted the knife. "She is my wife," Ivanov said. "Mine. And you tried to take her from me. You tried to steal what belongs to me."
"She does not belong to you," I spat through the pain. "She is not your property."
"Wrong answer," Ivanov said. He pulled the knife out and raised it again.
The basement door burst open again. Guards rushed down. One of them was carrying someone.
Anya!
She was unconscious. Blood matted her hair.
"We found her in the gardens," the guard said. "She tried to climb the fence. But she fell."
Ivanov took her from the guard's arms. He looked at her face. Then at me.
"You made her do this," he said. "You made her try to run. You poisoned her against me."
"No," I said. "She wanted to run because of what you did to her. What you are."
Ivanov laid Anya on the floor. Then he turned back to me. "You are going to watch her die. And then you are going to die. But not before you tell me everything. Every name. Every plan. Every secret."
He raised the knife again. And I realized with terrible certainty that this was the end.
We had lost.