Chapter 66 Chapter 66
CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
Dimitri's POV
I woke up with a pounding headache that felt like my skull was splitting open.
Everything was dark. Completely dark. I could not see anything around me.
My eyes tried to adjust but there was no light. Nothing but absolute darkness.
"A basement again!" I roared, my voice echoed in the empty space.
The sound of my own voice made my head throb even more painfully.
I had not recovered from the basement Mikhail locked me in for days. That nightmare still haunted me.
And now I was in another one.
Another dark prison.
Shit! I cursed in my head.
My hands were tied behind my back.
The rope was too tight and rough.
It cut into my wrists. I could feel blood trickling down my hands.
I tried to move but my body was stiff. Every muscle ached.
How many days had I been out?
Where was I? Where was Irina?
Panic started rising in my chest. Irina. My wife. Where was she?
Was she safe? Was she hurt? Was she with Alexei?
Then suddenly my head rang. A sharp piercing sound echoed in my ears. It was like two thin metals being hit together repeatedly. The sound was loud and deafening.
My head banged and pain exploded behind my eyes.
I screamed but the sound would not stop. It kept ringing and ringing in my head.
Then suddenly, like a dam breaking, all my memories came rushing back like a wave.
Everything. Every single moment of my past flooded into my mind at once.
I remembered my childhood.
I remembered gowing up with Alexei, our father. And I remembered all our trainings together.
I remembered Mikhail taking care of us. I remembered becoming a mafia boss. The day Alexei and I took power. The wars we fought. The blood we bled and shed.
I remembered the day Irina was into my estate as a maid. I remembered her beautiful smile, her softness and the warmth I feel around her.
I remembered falling in love with her.
I remembered everything. All of it. Every detail of my life before the accident.
My past was no longer a mystery. I knew who I was. I knew everything.
But all that did not matter to me right now. Not now. Not in this moment.
The wedding! The memory hit me like a punch to the gut.
Irina and I had taken a champagne. We drank to celebrate our marriage.
Then everything became blurry. The room started spinning. I could not focus.
I went to the bathroom, splashed water on my face, and tried to clear my head. I was already walking back to the hall when someone hit me from behind. A hard object struck the back of my skull.
I collapsed. My vision went dark. But before I lost consciousness completely, I saw him.
Someone who looked exactly like me. But with a dilver hair, and a blue eyes.
My twin brother.
"Alexei!" I roared into the darkness in frustration and anger.
My voice was raw with fury. With hatred. With desperate rage.
"Alexei, you bastard!" I screamed again. "Where are you?!"
But no one came for me. The darkness remained silent and empty.
“Alexei! You bastard!” I kept roaring. Kept screaming his name until my voice cracked.
My throat felt like it was on fire. Each scream tore at my vocal cords.
And I could taste blood in my throat, warm and metallic. It filled my mouth.
I coughed violently. Blood splattered from my lips onto my chest and trousers.
The dark stains spread across the fabric as an evidence of my desperation. But I didn't stop. I needed to get out of this shit and save Irina. I needed to see that son of a bitch and put a bullet in his fucking head this time!
I swore to kill Alexei the moment he walked through that door.
“Alexei! I know you can hear me!” I roared even louder this time. “I swear on our parent's grave, I will kill you the moment you step through that door!”
I swore to tear him apart with my bare hands and make him suffer.
I swore to make him pay for everything. For touching Irina. For taking her.
But it was still silence. There was no footsteps, no voices and no signs of life.
I sighed I'm frustration.
No was coming for me. I was all alone in the darkness.
Hours seemed to pass. Or maybe it was days. I could not tell anymore.
Time had no meaning in this black void. Everything blurred together.
Then I became very thirsty. My throat was dry and burning from too much screaming.
I needed water badly. My lips were cracked. My tongue felt swollen.
I tried to move again, to break free from the ropes. But they were too tight and too strong. My wrists bled more with each struggle.
My body was exhausted. Every part of me ached with pain.
Still I kept trying and fighting. I would not give up. Not while Irina needed me.
More hours passed. Or what felt like hours and the darkness never changed.
I started to lose hope, wondering if anyone would ever find me. If I would die here, alone. In this basement. Never seeing Irina again.
Oy God knows where Alexei brought me. Probably a place far from civilization. He had left me here to die by myself. From thirst and hunger.
Then after what felt like an eternity, I saw something.
A light flickered at a corner of the room. It was small but visible.
My eyes that were already adjusted to the complete darkness became suddenly assaulted by the dim glow.
I squinted against the light. It was not much but it was enough to see the walls around me. Enough to see where I was.
The light grew stronger and brighter, illuminating more of the space.
And I froze when the walls became fully visible.
My heart stopped. My breath caught in my throat.
The walls were covered in something dark, wet and red.
Blood!
The walls were covered in blood.
And words were written on it with blood. Large letters smeared across the concrete.
On the wall, written in blood was a message meant only for me.
I read them slowly. And each word was like a knife to my heart.
"Irina is mine now. No one is coming for you. You will die in that chair, brother!"