Chapter 79 Kidnapped

Chapter 79 Kidnapped
Maria’s POV

I came to lying on a thin mat, like something ripped straight out of a kindergarten nap room—except nothing about this felt safe.

When I moved my feet, the noise of chains completely woke me up. I took my right hand, slowly moving it down my left leg until reaching my ankle, and that's when I felt it. Cold, hard, metal bands digging into my flesh. Reaching over, I check my other ankle, and it's the same thing. Both ankles were attached to shackles with God knows how many feet of chain. How had I not noticed this? How had I not noticed when waking up that I was chained to the floor with no hope of escape?

Pushing myself up into a sitting position, my hands brushed the floor. I immediately jerked back, looking at the dirt and loose stones that now covered my damp hands. The floor was concrete, and as I glanced around in the dark, the only thing I could think of was that this was some basement, or maybe a better description was a dungeon.

Great, I'm going to die shackled in a basement.

My whole body hurt; it was probably a side effect of the drug they used to knock me out, maybe it was chloroform, like what they used in the movies.

Scooting back, I leaned my back against the wall, thinking to myself that I didn't know whether to be grateful that I was alone and not being tortured or if being alone and left here to rot was a worse fate.

Minutes went by, possibly hours, until a door opened, the light temporarily blinding me. In stepped a man who looked to be in his late fifties, maybe sixties. “Oh, God, is that Viktor?” I quietly whispered to myself.

Fear began to consume me, making my heart feel as if it's hammering through my chest. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't talk, bringing my hands up to my throat as if I was choking.

I couldn't run from this man, nor could I hide. I was left vulnerable for him to do anything to me. My mind was going a million miles a minute. Was he going to hit me? Was he going to kill me? Or do God only knows what other unmentionable things to me?

A chair magically appeared, and he sat down. Off to the side, I could see Alina standing near the stairs, a few feet behind where her father was sitting.

“Good job, Alina! You and Nina really came through for me,” waving his hand, “you're dismissed.”

“But father,” Alina exclaimed, obviously unhappy about being dismissed.

“I said you're fucking dismissed, Alina. That's an order!” he growled.

Her heels clicked loudly on the stairs as she ascended to who knows where.

Viktor focused his attention back on me. Standing up, he grabbed his chair, dragging it across the floor to where the sound was echoing throughout the room, and placed it mere inches from where I sat.

No matter how hard I tried to keep my shit together, my hands were shaking uncontrollably. This man in front of me was a monster who could have me killed with a snap of his fingers.

Before I could react, he had snatched out his hand, grabbing me roughly by the chin. “Welcome, my little pet. You should feel proud of yourself for being loved by a Bratva Pakhan. And now you're going to be his downfall.”

He started to laugh slowly at first, then it escalated into something that resembled a madman.

His grip was still firm on my chin.

“In just a few hours, you will see him dead at your feet. Would you like to join him? Or maybe you'd like to become mine? You're a little plump for my taste, but I'm sure I could make it work.”

Bile rose into my mouth, making me want to vomit.

“I'll never be yours! And you're the one who will be dead at his feet. Do you think he's so easily killed?”

Then I must have lost all of my senses, and I spat directly into his face.

I sat back, a sense of pride coming over me as I smirked, watching the glob of spit slide down his shocked, arrogant face.

He wiped the spit away from his face, flicking it onto the floor. A cruel smile crossed his face, and then he lifted his arm and backhanded me.

The force of the blow knocked me down on my side, sprawled across the basement floor. The blow was so hard that I'm sure my nose was broken, and maybe my cheek. All the fight I had left in me was gone as I lay there holding my face while silent tears fell down. I silently prayed for Aleksander and his men to find me soon.

His voice interrupted my silent pity party as I heard him fumbling with a phone. Glancing at him was what he wanted, I guess, as he said, “Smile for the camera! I'm sure he'll love the beautiful photos of you.” The flash blinded me as he took picture after picture of me in order to send them to Aleksander.

I was so tired and in too much pain to say anything else. I closed my eyes, wishing this was all just a nightmare.

Without opening my eyes again, I could hear him leave and his steps one by one climbing up the stairs leading away from my solitary prison.