Chapter 50 Nikolai
I stared at the photo in my hands.
"She made her choice. Stop looking. She is happy now."
My hands trembled. The paper crumpled in my fist.
She chose to leave? She chose to abandon me?
My chest rose and fell. Panic was setting in.
The twelve-year-old boy appeared again, sitting across from me, smiling.
"I told you," he whispered. "Everyone leaves. Everyone abandons you. Just like Mother. Just like Father. Now Anya."
"Shut up," I growled.
"You drove her away with your violence and obsession. She saw what you really are. A monster. And she ran."
"I said shut up!" I threw the photo at him. It passed through his transparent form, hitting the wall behind him.
"You will never be loved. You will die alone just like you deserve." He laughed maniacally.
I stood up on shaking legs. My mind was racing. My heart was breaking into pieces.
The photo showed Anya smiling with a young man I did not recognize.
Who was he? A lover? A friend?
"But if she was happy, if she had truly chosen to leave, then why was I still searching? Why was I destroying myself for someone who did not want me?”
"Because you love her," Mikhail's voice came from the doorway.
I spun around. He was standing there. Looking at me with those sad eyes.
"I did not say you could come in," I said coldly.
"You did not say I could not." Mikhail walked closer and picked up the photo from where it had fallen. "This could be fake."
"Or it could be real."
"If it is real, then why send it?" Mikhail set the photo on my desk. "Someone wants you to give up and stop searching. That means you are getting close."
"Or it means she truly chose someone else."
"Do you believe that?" Mikhail looked me in the eyes. "Do you really believe Anya would abandon you? After everything?"
I wanted to say yes to protect myself from more pain.
But I could not.
Because deep down, I knew Anya. She would not just leave without a word.
Unless I had pushed her too far.
"What if I drove her away?" I whispered. "What if my violence, my madness... what if it was too much? What if she saw what I truly am and ran?"
"Then you should find her. And ask her face to face." Mikhail's voice was firm. "But you do not give up. Not after everything."
I looked at the photo again carefully.
Anya was smiling. But the smile did not reach her eyes. There was something... off.
And the young man beside her. He looked familiar. But I could not place him.
"Enlarge this," I said, handing the photo to Mikhail. "Run it through facial recognition. Find out who this man is."
"Already done." Mikhail pulled out his phone and showed me a screen. "I ran it while you were spiraling. His name is Dmitri Koslov."
My blood went cold. "Koslov? As in..."
"Anya's brother. The one who was sold to the Ivanov family four years ago."
Everything clicked into place.
"Alexei has him," I said. "He bought Anya's brother. And he is using him to keep her there."
"That would make sense," Mikhail agreed. "Give her back her family. Make her feel safe and choose to stay."
"That manipulative bastard!" Rage boiled in my chest. "I will kill him!"
"First, we need proof. We need to know for certain that she is there."
"How? We already searched his estate and found nothing."
"Because he is hiding her somewhere." Mikhail pulled up a blueprint on his phone. "Alexei's estate has a hidden wing built underground. It's only accessible through a secret passage in his study."
"How do you know this?"
"I have my sources." Mikhail smiled grimly. "One of Alexei's former architects. He owed me a favor."
I grabbed the phone and studied the blueprint. There it was. A whole section of the estate we had not searched. Hidden.
"We have to go back," I said. "Tonight and that place apart until we find her."
"Nikolai, if we attack again so soon, Alexei will be ready. He will have reinforcements. It will be a bloodbath."
"I do not care. I am getting her back."
"Then we need a plan. Not just charging in with guns blazing." Mikhail put his hand on my shoulder. "Let me gather intelligence to find out his security schedule and weak points. Give me twenty-four hours."
"I do not have twenty-four hours. Every minute she is there with him is torture."
"Just one day, Nikolai. One day to make sure we get her back alive." Mikhail's eyes were pleading. "Please, trust me."
I wanted to refuse but he was right.
"Twenty-four hours," I said. "Not a second more."
"Thank you." Mikhail turned to leave.
He left,closing the door quietly.
I sat down, picked up the photo again and looked at Anya's face.
"I am coming for you," I whispered to the image. "Hold on just a little longer. I will bring you home."
The twelve-year-old boy appeared again. But this time, he was not mocking. He was crying.
"Save her," he whispered. "Save her before it is too late. Save her like you could not save Mother."
"I will," I promised myself. "I will save her."
The next twenty-four hours were torture. Every minute felt like a day. Mikhail worked his contacts, gathered information and planned.
I could not sleep. I could not eat.
Finally, as the sun set on the second day, Mikhail came to me.
"It is time," he said. "We have a window. Alexei's security changes shifts at midnight. For exactly ten minutes, there is a gap. That is when we go in."
"What about the hidden wing?"
"I have the access codes. One of Alexei's guards gave it to me. I made him an offer he could not refuse." Mikhail's face was hard. "We go in quietly and get out before anyone knows we were there."
"And if we are caught?"
"Then we fight our way out. But hopefully, it does not come to that."
I nodded. "How many men?"
"Just us. And Viktor and three people. A whole army would be noticed. Three people can slip through."
"When do we leave?"
"Now. We need to be in position by eleven-thirty."
I grabbed my weapons.
We drove in silence. The city lights blurred past. My heart pounded.
This was my last chance to get Anya back.
If I failed... I did not want to think about it.
We arrived at Alexei's estate at eleven-twenty, parked a mile away and walked the rest of the way through the woods.
At eleven-thirty, we reached the perimeter. We waited quietly in the shadows.
At exactly midnight, the guards changed. We had our ten-minute window.
"Now," Mikhail whispered.
We moved fast and silently, crossed the grounds and entered through a side door Mikhail's contact had left unlocked.
The house was dark and quiet. We moved through the hallways like ghosts.
Finally, we reached Alexei's study.
Mikhail went to the bookshelf and pressed a hidden button.
A section of the wall slid open, revealing a staircase going down. We descended into darkness, going down and down and down.
At the bottom was a hallway with doors on either side.
We checked each one. They were all empty.
My heart sank. What if we were wrong? What if she was not here?
Then we reached the last door.
Mikhail tried the handle. It was locked.
He pulled out a set of lock picks and worked quickly. The lock clicked.
The door swung open.
And there she was.
Anya. Asleep in a bed, alone.
She was wearing silk pajamas. Her hair spread across the pillow. She looked peaceful and beautiful.
But also tired and sad even in sleep.
I walked to the bed, knelt beside her and reached out with a shaking hand.
I touched her face gently. Her eyes flew open, wide and terrified.
"Anya," I whispered. "It is me. It is Nikolai."
She stared at me. Like she could not believe what she was seeing.
"Nikolai?" Her voice was barely a whisper. "How... how did you find me?"
"I will always find you." I took her hand. "Come. We need to go. Now."
But before she could move, alarms blared. Red lights flashed. Sirens wailed.
"Shit," Mikhail cursed. "They know we are here."
The door burst open. Dozens of guards poured in.
And behind them, walking calmly, was Alexei.
"Nikolai," he said. Smiling that infuriating smile. "I wondered when you would come."