Chapter 23 23

Chapter 23 23


Ivan threw his fist into Slavik’s face, snapping him to wake up.

“Jealous much?” Slavik said with a smirk.

“When will you stop this?” Ivan asked without needing an answer.

“Never!”

Ivan struck him again.

“Stay the hell away from Katerina, you will not call her, text her,or try to reach by any means.” Ivan ordered.
“If I find out that you break any of these orders, I will personally make sure I feed your head to my dogs. You good-for-nothing, piece of shit.”

Slavik laughed, unable to stop. He finally said “Last I checked, those orders do not apply to me, I am not under you or your authority.”

“Well then,” Ivan said sternly. “I am sure hoping you’d have the guts to say that to my face when I finally rip that tongue off that mouth of yours.”
He threw another punch that knocked Slavik out cold.
Ivan dusted his hands and stood up.


Katerina paced nervously around Ivan's study room. Knowing Ivan, and how he reacted when angry, something in her told her she was in a lot of trouble.

The door suddenly flung open, it was Ivan. His face was cold as blood. Without a word, he poured himself a drink, downed it in one gulp and looked straight at her.

“Would you care to explain to me what that was about?” He asked.

“Which part?” Katerina asked softly.

“Don't you dare pretend that you don’t know what I’m talking about. You told me you were meeting with a colleague… a friend… to help with your investigation. Why didn’t you meet at a café or a restaurant or some other public place? A dock Katerina? And to my greatest surprise, it was no friend, not even a colleague from work, but Slavik?”

“I can explain…”

“I’ve got all the time in the world.”

“I got a message a few days back” She began.
“It came from an anonymous sender asking that we meet up. I had absolutely no idea who it was, why or where we were to meet” She said.

“Oh” Ivan let out a sharp chuckle.
“So you were willing to meet up with someone whose identity you didn’t even know? Brilliant! Isn’t that callous? Did it ever cross your mind that it could have been a murderer? Or are you just that careless with your life. Or… “ He leaned closer “are you simply a great liar?”

“Excuse me? A great liar? Why would you call me that? Why would I lie about such a matter”

“Is that rhetoric, or are you actually expecting an answer?” He asked.

“An answer would be nice” She snapped.
“I have told you everything that happened. I’ve been very honest with you ever since this whole thing started. Even when you didn’t believe me, I still told you everything.”

“Let’s presume you are saying the truth.” Ivan said.
“Show me the text. Hand over your phone.”

“Oh shit” Katerina whispered under her breath.

There was no text, no call record, nothing. And knowing Ivan’s obsession with evidence, she was doomed.

“It’s gone’” she managed to say after thinking for a minute.

“What do you mean it’s gone?”

“The moments the text came in, I read it and it disappeared.”

“Clever!” Ivan mocked, clapping his hands slowly.

“That’s exactly what happened. You can ask Slavik yourself.”

“Oh, there would be no need for that. I can see through you and all I see is the same thing I saw which led me to have you locked up in this house and now here we are again”

He leaned back.
“So tell me, did your little meeting with him help in your investigation? What information did you gather? Is there anything worth sharing?

Katerina couldn’t tell if he was genuinely curious or just taunting her. Her mind couldn’t stop but wonder, what was it between the two men? Judging from her conversation with Slavik, Katerina could trace a flicker of admiration in his tone, as if he liked her. What Katerina couldn’t tell was whether Slavik’s connection to Sasha went beyond the investigation or if it was professional.
“Katerina” Ivan called out to her, snapping her back.

“I was still trying to get answers from him until you showed up” she paused. “ Wait… how did you find me? I know that the bodyguard assigned to me lost track of me hours before. How did you know where to look?”

Ivan was silent.

“Answer me, Ivan”

“You don’t get to question me after what you did” he said.

“After what I did? What exactly did I do ivan? I met up with someone who could help with my investigation and then you make it seem like I am the villain.”

“You were abducted Katerina” he said, lifting himself from his chair.
“At least that was what I was told. “ I was in a very important meeting with some folks, discussing very delicate matters, when I got word that you had been abducted.I dropped everything to come find you. And then, there you were with Slavik, his hands on your shoulders.”

Katerina blinked, and then let out a short laugh.
“Wait… I think I understand” she paused “ were you jealous?”

Ivan scoffed “You think too highly of yourself Katerina” he settled back into his chair.

“Well, just so you know, I would be visiting him again and again and again until I find out everything I need to find out. Until I’m sure that my investigation is successful. I will do every single thing in my power to ensure that Sasha is proven innocent “

“You will do no such thing. I forbid you to see Slavik or go close to him under any circumstances not even your investigation” He ordered.

“And why is that?” Katerina asked.

“Don’t you dare question my authority”

“I will, and if I have to do it again I will do it again Ivan. You can’t possibly think that I’m going to obey every rule you set. Especially when it comes to me getting out of this mess that I have somehow found myself in.”

Katerina chuckled“ I’m sorry, Ivan, but I will see him whenever I want to see him and you cannot stop me.” With that, she turned and walked out.


Moments later, the door opened again and Eduardo walked in.

They exchanged a handshake as Ivan led Eduardo to his seat.

“Mexico is a beautiful place” Eduardo said in a light manner

“I’m sure it is”

“I had some good time, great food, incredible culture and the nightlife was something else. Definitely a city worth experiencing.”

“Glad you had a good time in Mexico Eduardo”

“I’m sure you are eager to get straight to business. Trust me, we won’t waste a second.”

Eduardo opened his bag, brought out a brown file and removed another brown file then handed it to Ivan, who took it with anticipation.

Ivan opened the file and pulled out two photographs. One showed Katerina and Slavik, hands interlocked, staring directly at the camera. The other featured the two of them with a restaurant manager, smiling warmly to the camera.

The picture made him feel uneasy. He sat up, staring at the evidence he had always wanted to see.
That was his Katerina, with Slavik in a restaurant… in Mexico of all places.

The photos didn’t say much, they seemed like a couple, no doubt. They both smiled brightly to the camera as though they were having a good time. Yet part of him resisted accepting it as proof of an affair.

He wasn’t sure if what he felt was because something in him just didn’t want his assumption to be true. Was that why he was doubting the evidence right in front of him?

Was it denial?
Or was the evidence truly inconclusive?

He got up and paced around his study room for a minute, looking at the photos every few seconds.

What was he going to do?
What did this mean?
Why did Katerina run to Slavic at even the slightest moment?
Was what happened this afternoon a reunion?

Questions Ivan so desperately needed answers to.
He sighed.

“Anything else?”

Eduardo shook his head.

“You seem disappointed. Perhaps what I gathered was not enough.” Eduardo said.

“No, it’s not that. I mean, you did a good job. I just don’t know if this means… I don’t know if this is enough evidence” he said.

“ I understand, but I think you’re focusing on the wrong things here.” Eduardo said.

“How do you mean Eduardo?” Ivan stopped and turned, Eduardo having his full focus now.

Eduardo sat up on his chair, eyes fixed on Ivanz

“Not that I want to stir any further problems, but think about it. This goes beyond a potential affair, your wife was found in Mexico two days before your father‘s death, playing couple with a man that you know. There has to be some correlation, or an explanation. What was she doing in Mexico in a restaurant taking photos as a couple with a man that’s not her husband? Two days later, your father is shot dead and she disappears the same day. That is too much of a coincidence” Eduardo said.

Ivan nodded in agreement.
It was too much of a coincidence.
He needed more, he needed answers, and yet every step he turned, felt way darker than the previous.

“We need to do more digging, I need you to find out what took them to Mexico. There has to be something who did they meet? Which hotel did she stay in and how long did they stay?”

“How about her previous belongings? I mean the one that she had before she disappeared. We need to check those,anything could give us a clue.” Eduardo suggested.

“Yes! I’ll assign someone to conduct the search.” Ivan said.

“On my own part, I’ll continue the investigation, once I get anything new that will put us in the right direction, I will definitely let you know.”

He stood and stretched his hand. “Until then” Eduardo Ivan shook his hands.

Eduardo took his leave. Ivan grabbed his phone, putting in a call through to Yelena.

“Hello Yelena, when am I expecting you?”
“Soon Ivan pretty soon”

He hung up, anticipating Yelena’s arrival.