Chapter 14 14

Chapter 14 14

FRAGMENTS AND LIES

Katerina stood stunned, horrified at what the two men did to Ivan. She had to think of something to do to save Ivan. Pure muscle memory kicked in and she rushed to one of them twisting his arm until it snapped. He fell to the ground, his head hitting the wall, knocking him out of consciousness. The second man distracted by the sudden attack rushed towards Katerina ready to attack her. Ivan picked up the gun they had used to strike him, now lying within reach on the floor and shot him. He fell to the ground.

Seeing the second man dead and the first man knocked out, Katerina hurried to Ivan.

“Oh my god Ivan, you’ve been beaten up pretty bad” with compassion in her voice. She kneeled beside him and helped him up.

He stared at her in between life and death and muttered “Thank you” and then passed out.
Just then, guards rushed in and assisted Katerina in carrying Ivan.

——————
Ivan laid on the bed, with scars on his face. Beside him, Katerina pressed a piece of cloth gently against his skin trying to cool his burning temperature. Serena walked in with a pot of soup in hand.
Katerina helped Ivan sit up, and fed him spoonfuls of the warm broth. Afterwards, he laid back down, dozing off.

——————

Katerina walked in from the kitchen, holding a meal she had prepared herself only to be shocked to see Ivan standing by the window. She put the tray down and hurried to him.

“You should be resting Ivan” she said gently.
“I know Sasha”

She froze. He hadn’t called her by that name for the longest of time.

“The day I was attacked, why did you save me?”

Katerina smiled, bringing the tea cup to him.

“Was I supposed to watch you die?”

“All I’ve done is torture you, i thought you’d jump at the chance to see me gone”

“Oh come on Ivan” She said pressing the cup closer to his lips. He took it from her and drank, emptying the cup in his mouth.

“You risked your life to save mine and for that, thank you Sasha”

“Whats with the Sasha?”
Katerina couldn’t help but ask.

“On the day of the accident, what happened to the men who guarded my door” Ivan asked, ignoring her question.

“They were murdered, all four of them. The remaining guards were knocked out, they woke up only a few minutes after you were brought into your room.

Ivan walked towards his bed and sat. “Anything on the men who attacked me?

“Nothing, absolutely nothing” she answered.

“What?…Why?…Not enough interrogations”

“Well, you killed one, the other took his own life after one of those interrogations”

Katerina looked at him, searching for answers.

“What is going on? All these attacks, the interrogations, someone is after us. At first I thought it was me but now, you are their target. Something has to be going on”

“Is that what you think?” He asked.

”Well” she sat beside him “Don’t you think so? “

“I am asking what you think, Katerina?”

The question caught her off guard but she answered. “I mean, there’s just a lot of confusion. And then there are my flashbacks” Her eyes met his.

“Oh sorry, I won’t bring them up again” She said quickly.

“Katerina” She looked back up at him.

“Tell me about your flashbacks and what you think they are pointing to?

“Okay…” she said, not fully registering what he had told her. Her eyes widened. “Wait really? You actually wanna hear about my flashbacks?”

Ivan nodded.

She paced around the room, speaking quickly as the thoughts poured out.

“I don't know what it was, I don’t know what it is…but I really do think that someone on the inside sabotaged all the shipments that went down when your father was still alive. I also think that this person had a motive and when he figured out that I was getting close to finding him out, he decided to take me out”

Ivan looked at her, reasoning along with what she had said.

“The question now is, why are they back again? I initially thought it was for me but knowing Slavik sent the first group, explains that part. Still, this recent attack changes everything.” She paused, ”Ivan, I think, I can figure this out but I need time and resources”

“Whatever it is that you need, you’ll have it” He said in a calm voice.

She raised a brow. “Did you have a mental shift or what, can we please have old Ivan back”

They both laughed.

“I just think I’ve been too hard on you” He admitted. “Never gave you the chance to talk and I apologize “

Katerina nodded her head.
“Now… it’s time you got some rest”

He smiled, easing himself onto the bed.

——————
Katerina had returned back to her room. Ivan had told her that she always came in here to get silence and work. So she decided this was the right place to look for clues, although most of her former belongings had been tucked away, Ivan assured her they would be brought back as soon as she asked for it.

Serena knocked.
“Come in”

Serana walked in.

“Sit” Katerina said calmly.

“I’d love to ask you some questions and you are obligated to answer. Do you understand me?”

“Yes ma’am”

“Good.” Katerina sat in front of her.

“You know I remember you” Serena sat up feeling uncomfortable.

“Yes I know my entire memory isn’t back yet and many of what I have are scattered pieces but something about you has always stood out to me”

Katerina paused. “Are you aware that you would have been dismissed from service if I hadn’t spoken to Ivan on your behalf”.

“I appreciate that ma’am”

“I am glad you do” She paused, “How long have you worked here?”

“Three and a half years ma’am”

Three and a half years? That sounded strange to Katerina, she could bet that she had seen Serena in one of her very short flashbacks. The timeline didn’t add up.

If she had seen Serena before, it was either Serena was lying or… her flashbacks weren’t all that correct.

“So would you describe yourself as a loyal staff” Katerina asked.

Serena nodded, “Yes, I do my best”

“What do you know about Sasha Morozov?”

Serena looked shocked.

“Ma’am are you asking me if I knew about you before the accident? No, I didn’t.”

“How did you know of an accident in the first place.?”

“It’s talked around everywhere here. The staff gossip about it. No one knows if it’s true or not”

Katerina looked at her observing her countenance.
“Are you aware of who served Sasha personally? “

“No ma‘am, I don’t know”

“Okay that will be all. I just needed to ask a few questions. Thank you for your time”

“Yes ma’am” Serena said befor walking out.

Katerina stood for a moment, thoughtful. Then she left as well, stepping out of the house into open air. The breeze was cool and refreshing as she walked, taking in her surroundings. In a distance, she spotted a garden of flowers. She headed towards it, and there, tending to the blooms, was Pablo.

“Pablo” she called
“Ma’am” he dusted off his hands and dropped the basket he was holding “what brings you here?”

“Well, can’t a lady take a walk along the estate she lives in” Katerina said to the 65 year old man who was in charge of hiring kitchen staff.

“Oh, you sure can”
“You are doing an amazing work here Pablo” Katerina said smiling.

“Been doing it for 40 years”

“Woaw, 40?”

“Ten years before I met Don, and then 30 years serving Don.”

“What was he like?” She asked.

“Ma’am, not that I mind answering your questions but did you really loose your memory?”

She smiled. “Yes I was in an accident 5 years ago”

“Oh I am so sorry about that”

“Yeah”

“Well back to your question, he was a very good man and you were his favorite. He had many friends as he had many enemies.”

“Enemies?” She asked.

“Yes, considering who he was and the wealth he had amassed, certainly he’d have enemies”

“Do you know anyone that could have posed a real threat to him.”

He gave her a long look “Are you digging up buried graves my lady?”

“Answer the question.”

He chuckled. “Many could have had motive to kill him. Even you my lady”

Katerina gave him long questioning stare.

“When did you hire Serena ?

“A while ago, can’t remember when exactly” He replied.

“So who served me 5 years ago” She was curious to know.

“Ohh, youre talking about Miranda”

Katerina paused, then nodded her head, taking a step back.

“She was a sweet woman until she passed. She died the night Don died”

“You don’t say” Katerina murmured.

She turned to go. “Alright Pablo, let me leave you to your work.”

She had only taken a few few steps before Pablo spoke agaim.

“You know that’s why I hired Serena” he paused “ to continue the work her mother had started”

Katerina paused and stared at him.

“Her mother. Miranda was Serena’s mother?”

Pablo nodded. “Yes, she was.”
Katerina stood still, her mind racing.
But Serena had claimed she didn’t know who served Sasha before her.
If Miranda had been her mother… that was a lie.
“She lied to me,” Katerina whispered to herself.