Chapter 139 Chapter 139
Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Nine
Irina
I woke up to the worst headache of my life.
My head was pounding.
My vision was blurry.
I tried to sit up but the room spun.
"Easy," a voice said.
I blinked and saw Mikhail. He was sitting beside me.
"What happened?" I asked. My voice came out hoarse.
"You were drugged," Mikhail said. "Someone put something in your water."
Drugged.
The word echoed in my mind. Then I remembered.
"Nikolai!" I tried to stand.
But Mikhail pushed me back down gently.
"The medic is with him," he said.
"Is he..." I could not finish the question.
"He is alive," Mikhail said. "Barely. Someone poisoned him."
No.
This could not be happening.
"Where is Dimitri?" I asked.
"Downstairs," Mikhail said. "Beating the truth out of Viktor."
"Viktor did this?" I asked.
"Dimitri thinks so," Mikhail replied. "But I am not sure."
I forced myself to stand.
The room spun again but I pushed through it.
"I need to see Nikolai," I said.
I walked, Mikhail wheeled his chair behind me.
We went to Nikolai's room. Alexei was there,standing over the crib, watching the medic work.
"How is he?" I asked.
Alexei turned.
His eyes were red.
"Dying," he said simply.
The word broke me.
I rushed to the crib. Nikolai was so pale. His breathing was almost nonexistent.
"No," I whispered. "Please no."
"The medic does not know what poison it is," Alexei said. "Without that, he cannot save him."
I looked at the medic.
"Guess," I said.
"I am trying," the medic replied. "But if I guess wrong, it could make things worse."
"He is already dying!" Alexei shouted.
The medic flinched but kept working.
I looked around the room, trying to think, trying to remember.
"Where was I when this happened?" I asked.
"In the chair," Alexei said. "Unconscious."
"And the door?" I asked.
"Open," Alexei replied. "The lock was picked."
That meant someone had come in.
"Was it Viktor?" I asked.
"That is what Dimitri thinks," Alexei said.
"But you do not," I said.
"I do not know what to think," Alexei admitted.
I walked to the door and examined the lock.
Then I saw it.
The piece of fabric was on the floor.
I picked it up.
"What is that?" Alexei asked.
"Evidence," I said.
I examined the embroidered symbol.
It was familiar.
Where had I seen it before?
Then I remembered.
At Lucia's villa.
Her guards wore uniforms with this exact symbol.
"One of Lucia's guards was here," I said.
"What?" Alexei asked.
"This fabric is from Lucia's household," I explained. "One of her people entered the safehouse."
"How is that possible?" Alexei demanded. "Viktor screens everyone."
"Maybe Viktor is not the traitor," I said slowly. "Maybe someone else let them in."
"Who?" Alexei asked.
I thought about it.
Who had access to the safehouse?
Who could have let someone in without being noticed?
Then it hit me.
"The guards," I said. "Viktor hired new guards last week to replace the ones we lost."
Alexei's eyes widened.
"We need to tell Dimitri," he said.
We ran downstairs to the basement. Dimitri was there, standing over Viktor.
Viktor was tied to a chair.
His face was bloody. Uh
"Dimitri, stop!" I called.
He turned.
"You are awake," he said.
"Yes," I replied. "And I know who did this."
"It was Viktor," Dimitri said coldly.
"No," I said. "It was not."
I showed him the fabric and explained the symbol. And the new guards.
Dimitri listened.
His expression changed from anger to confusion to realization.
"One of the new guards," he said.
"Yes," I confirmed.
"But which one?" Alexei asked.
Dimitri pulled out his phone and called someone.
"Get me the files on all the new guards," he ordered. "Now."
He hung up.
"Untie him," he said, gesturing to Viktor.
They untied Viktor. He slumped forward, breathing hard.
"I am sorry," Dimitri said quietly.
"You should be," Viktor replied.
He stood up slowly. "But I understand," he added. "You thought Nikolai was in danger."
"He is in danger," I said. "He is dying."
Viktor's face hardened.
"Then let us find who did this," he said.
A guard came running in with a folder.
Dimitri opened it.
There were photos of five new guards.
And their files, their backgrounds.
"Which one?" Dimitri muttered.
I looked over his shoulder.
One face caught my attention.
"Him," I said, pointing.
"Are you sure?" Dimitri asked.
"Yes," I said. "I saw him at Lucia's villa. He was one of her personal guards."
Dimitri's face went dark.
"Where is he now?" He demanded.
The guard checked his radio.
"East wing," he reported. "On patrol."
"Get him," Dimitri ordered. "Alive."
The guards ran.
We followed. To the east wing. The guard was there, standing near a window, looking calm.
"You," Dimitri said.
The guard turned and smiled.
"Took you long enough," he said. Then he pulled out a gun. And pointed it at me.
"Drop your weapons," he ordered. "Or she dies."
Dimitri froze.
So did Viktor and Alexei.
"Do it," the guard repeated.
Slowly, they put down their guns.
"Good," the guard said. "Now, let us talk about the baby."
"What about him?" Dimitri asked.
"He is dying," the guard said. "And only I know what poison was used."
"Tell us," Alexei demanded.
"No," the guard replied. "Not until you give me what I want."
"What do you want?" Dimitri asked.
"Lucia wants you dead," the guard said. "All of you. But she is willing to make a deal."
"What deal?" I asked.
"You," the guard said, looking at me. "She wants you. In exchange for the antidote."
"No," Dimitri said immediately.
"Then the baby dies," the guard said simply.
"Take me instead," Alexei said.
"Lucia does not want you," the guard replied. "She wants Irina. The woman who destroyed everything she worked for."
I looked at Nikolai through the doorway.
At his tiny, dying body.
I knew what I had to do.
"Fine," I said. "I will go."
"Irina, no!" Dimitri shouted.
"There is no other choice," I said, looking at him.
"Save Nikolai," I said. "That is all that matters."
"I cannot lose you," Dimitri said.
"You will not," I promised. "You will find me. I know you will."
I turned to the guard.
"I will go with you," I said. "But first, you give us the antidote."
"No," the guard said. "You come with me first. Then I'll tell you."
"That is not how this works," I said.
The guard thought for a moment. Then he pulled out a small vial from his pocket.
"Nightshade," he said. "Mixed with arsenic. The antidote is activated charcoal and atropine. You have maybe twenty minutes."
He threw the vial on the floor.
It shattered, the content spilled on the floor.
"Now come," he said to me. "Before I change my mind."
I started walking toward him.
Dimitri grabbed my arm.
"I will find you," he promised. "I swear to you, I will find you."
"I know," I said.
I kissed him. A
nd walked to the guard.
He grabbed my arm roughly, pressing the gun to my head.
"Anyone follows us and she dies," he said.
He dragged me toward the exit. I looked back one last time at Dimitri standing there, at Alexei running to save his son.
And I prayed that I would see them again.
That this would not be the end.