Chapter 100 Chapter100
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED
Dmitri
I ran after him around the shipping containers. Through the abandoned docks.
But he was fast. Very fast. He disappeared into the darkness.
And I stopped running. There was no point.
My chest was heaving.
Sergei came running up behind me. "What happened?" He demanded.
"It was fake," I said bitterly. "All of it was fake."
"What do you mean?" Sergei asked.
"He does not have Irina," I explained. "He made it all up to steal money from me."
Sergei cursed.
"So where is she?" He asked.
"I do not know," I admitted.
We walked back to the car. I felt hollow inside.
I had just lost ten million rubles. And I was no closer to finding Irina.
"We will find her," Sergei promised. "We will keep looking."
But where?
Russia was huge. She could be anywhere.
I pulled out my phone and tried calling her again.
Still no answer.
"Dimitri," Sergei said carefully. "What if... what if she does not want to be found?"
The thought had crossed my mind. But I could not accept it.
"She is my wife," I said. "She is the mother of my son. I will find her."
"Even if she does not want you to?" Sergei asked.
"Especially if she does not want me to," I replied. “Thankfully, she wasn't kidnapped. That means she's safe somewhere. We just have to find the place.”
Irina. Where are you?
Where could she have gone? Without clothes. Without food. How are they surviving.
Hold on for me Irina. I would find you and make things right.
We drove back to the estate in silence.
Mikhail was waiting up for me. I was glad he was around. He was discharged the say Irina left with our son.
"Where is she?" He asked.
"It was a scam," I said. "He did not have Irina. He just wanted money."
Mikhail sighed heavily. "I was afraid of that," he said.
"What do I do now?" I asked.
I was asking him. I was asking myself. I was asking anyone who would listen.
"You havw keep looking," Mikhail said simply. "And you do not give up."
I went to my office and slammed the door behind me.
Then I picked up a glass and threw it against the wall. It shattered into a thousand pieces.
Just like my life.
Just like my family.
I had everything. And I lost it all.
Because I could not control my anger. Because I became like Alexei.
Irina was right to leave me.
But I could not let her go.
I would find her. Even if it took years. Even if she hated me. I would bring her home.
I pulled up a map of Russia on my computer. I started marking every train station. Every bus terminal. Every airport within five hundred kilometers of Moscow.
She should be somewhere around here.
For someone who had been through a lot already. Someone who had no money.
She couldn't have gone far.
And I would check every single location until I found her.
My phone rang. It was another unknown number.
I answered it cautiously. "Hello?"
"Is this Dimitri Volkov?" A woman's voice asked.
"Who wants to know?" I replied.
"My name is Dr. Petrov," the woman said. "I am calling from Moscow General Hospital."
My heart stopped.
"Is my wife there?" I demanded. "Is she hurt?"
"No, no," Dr. Petrov said quickly. "Your wife is not here. But I think I have information about where she went."
"Tell me," I ordered immediately.
"I am not supposed to be doing this. Because I know who you are. You sre not a clean citizen youself, but I don't want an innocent woman and her child be a victim.”
“What are you talking about, doctor?” My brow raised.
She let out a sigh. “A few nights ago, one of our doctors checked out and he hasn't returned since then. He does this everytime without vivid explanation." Dr. Petrov explained.
"So this time, I decided to follow up on him.” She continued and I listened intently even though I don't know where the conversation was going. “I had someone follow him. And I was told he bought two train tickets to St. Petersburg the same night he left."
"So?" I asked.
"So he does not live in St. Petersburg," Dr. Petrov continued. "And he was seen helping a woman with a newborn baby."
"What woman?" I asked, even though I already knew.
"The description matches your wife," Dr. Petrov said. "I thought you should know."
St. Petersburg.
Irina went to St. Petersburg.
"Thank you," I said and hung up.
Then I called Sergei.
"Get the jet ready," I ordered. "We are going to St. Petersburg.
"
"When?" Sergei asked.
"Now," I replied. "Right now."
Finally. Finally I had a lead.
Irina, I'm coming to get you.
I stood up from my desk. Energy was coursing through my veins again. But then another thought occurred to me.
Who was this Dr. Andrei Sokolov? And why did he take Irina to St. Petersburg?
I called Dr. Petrov back.
"Tell me about this Dr. Sokolov," I said. "What kind of doctor is he?”
There was a pause.
"He is... complicated," Dr. Petrov said carefully. "There have been rumors about him for years."
"What kind of rumors?" I demanded, my heart started racing.
"Organ trafficking," Dr. Petrov whispered. "There are no proofs yet. But people have been talking."
My blood turned to ice.
Organ trafficking.
Irina was with a man who might be involved in organ trafficking.
And she had no idea.
"Send me everything you have on him," I ordered. "Every file. Every record. Everything."
"I will," Dr. Petrov promised.
I hung up and immediately started searching online.
Dr. Andrei Sokolov. Moscow General Hospital.
There was not much information about him. Just basic staff profile.
But then I found something else. A news article from three years ago.
"Doctor Under Investigation for Questionable Patient Deaths."
I clicked on it amd started reading.
Dr. Andrei Sokolov, an obstetrician, had been investigated after several patients died under mysterious circumstances.
The investigation was dropped due to lack of evidence.
But the article mentioned that all the patients were women and they were heavily pregnant.
I felt sick.
This man had Irina. This monster had my wife and son.
I grabbed my coat and ran for the car.
"Dimitri!" Mikhail called. "Where are you going?"
"St. Petersburg," I shouted back. "Irina is in danger.”
"Wait for Sergei!" Mikhail yelled.
But I could not wait. Every second mattered.
I got in my car and started driving towards my private airfield.
My
phone rang. It was Sergei.
"I am already at the airfield," he said. "The jet is ready."
"Good," I replied. "I am five minutes away."
"Dimitri," Sergei said seriously. "What are we walking into?"
"Hell," I replied. "We are walking straight into hell.”
I pushed the accelerator harder. The car roared forward.
Hang on, Irina, I thought. Just hang on a little longer.
I was coming.
And God help anyone who tried to stop me.