Chapter 80 Nikolai
Another day came.
Another endless cycle of cleaning.
My hands were bleeding. The skin had cracked weeks ago. I just wrapped them in rags and kept working.
The pain was constant. Every movement sent sharp stabs through my palms. But I had learned to ignore it.
I was in the kitchens, scrubbing floors. The head cook stood over me, yelling.
"Move faster, dog! You think you are special? You are nothing here! Nothing!"
I didn't say anything. I scrubbed harder.
My knees screamed. My back was on fire. Every muscle in my body protested. But I kept going.
I felt like I ckutdie at this rate.
Hours had passed. The sun had moved across the sky. I did not even notice it.
Time had lost all meaning.
Finally, they sent me to the garage.
"Clean the cars. All of them. And when you are done, organize the tools."
I nodded, took my bucket and walked to the garage.
My legs barely supported me. I had lost so much weight. My uniform hung off my body like a tarp on a skeleton.
I caught my reflection in one of the car windows. I did not recognize the man staring back.
I looked like a corpse.
It wasn't entirely a lie. Because inside, I was already dead.
There were seventy cars lined up. Same as always. I started with the first one.
My movements were mechanical now. I dipped the cloth in the water, scrub the body, and rinse.
I repeated that for hours.
I was working on the tenth car when I saw something dark, flowing from under the vehicle.
At first, I thought it was oil. A leak maybe. I would have to report it and get yelled at for not noticing sooner.
But the color was wrong. It was too dark and too thick.
It looked like…
My heart started racing. I dropped the cloth.
"Hello?" I called out. My voice cracked out of lack of constant use. "Is someone there?"
There was no answer.
I moved around the car, slowly and looked underneath.
Then I saw a woman, lying on her side. Her eyes were open, staring at nothing.
She was dead.
For a moment, I just stared. My brain could not process what I was seeing. Then recognition hit me like a punch.
It was Maria. The servant who had testified against Ivanov during my trial.
The lady who had tried to save me.
"No," I whispered. "No, no, no."
I dropped to my knees and crawled under the car. My hands were shaking so badly I could barely move.
I checked her pulse. I felt nothing. Her skin was cold and stiff. She had been dead for hours.
I looked at her neck. There were dark bruises shaped like fingers.
Someone had strangled her.
My stomach turned. I backed away and hit my head on the underside of the car.
"What are you doing?" A voice barked.
I turned. A guard was standing there. His arms crossed. He looked angry.
"There is a body," I said. My voice was shaking. "Maria is dead."
The guard walked over and looked under the car. His expression did not change.
"So she is." He said flatly.
"We need to call someone. This is murder!" I yelled angrily.
"No. We do not."
"But she was murdered! Look at her neck!"
The guard grabbed my collar, pulled me out from under the car and slammed me against the vehicle.
"Listen to me, dog. Maria killed herself. She was mentally ill. Everyone knew that. She had a history. It is all in her file."
"That is not true! Look at her neck! She was strangled!"
"She hanged herself. The bruises are from the rope. It happens."
"You are lying! I can see the finger marks!".m
The guard slammed me harder against the car. "Listen to me very carefully. Maria killed herself. That is what the report will say. That is what the medical examiner will confirm. That is what everyone will believe. Do you understand?"
"But..."
"Do you understand?" He shook me hard.
My ribs screamed. I tasted blood.
"Yes," I whispered. "I understand."
"Good. Now finish your work. And forget what you saw. If you tell anyone about this, if you even mention it, we will make sure Anya ends up like that. Are we clear?"
My blood ran cold. "Clear."
"Good." He released me and walked away. He called over his shoulder. "Someone will come remove the body. Stay away from it and get back to work."
I stood there, staring at Maria's body under the car. I had seen things myself, I had killed countless of people but Maria’s death shook me.
She had tried to save me.
And now she was dead.
Murder, covered up as suicide.
Just like Dmitri.
Ivanov had killed her. I was certain of it. He had killed her to silence her. To make sure no one could corroborate her story.
And now he was covering it up, making it look like suicide, blaming it on mental illness.
No one would question it. No one would investigate. No one would care.
Because she was just a servant.
I bent down and looked at her one more time.
Her eyes were still open.
I reached out. Closed her eyelids. "I am sorry," I whispered. "I am so sorry. You tried to save me. And I could not save you."
I am a terrible person. I could not save the people who had risked their lives to save me.
I stood up, picked up my cloth and I went back to cleaning the car.
Because I had no choice.
Maria's death was just another reminder that Ivanov could kill anyone anytime. And no one would stop him.
Not the council.
And certainly not me.
I have no power anymore. I was also a servant just like Maria.
Maria had died trying to save me. And all I could do was clean cars while her body lay a few feet away.
I scrubbed harder, trying to focus on the work. But I could not stop thinking.
I was useless.
I had failed everyone. Dmitri. Maria. Anya.
I was a failure. A shell of who I used to be.
And I would stay that way. Maybe forever. Because there was no escape.
Just endless days of servitude. Until Ivanov got bored and killed me too.
And honestly? Part of me hoped that day would come soon.
Because I was tired.
Two guards came. They pulled Maria's body out from under the car and threw it on a stretcher.
"Suicide," one of them said. "What a shame. She seemed nice."
"Mental illness is a terrible thing," the other replied.
They carried her away like she was trash.
And I went back to work.
Because that was all I could do.