Chapter 31 31

Chapter 31 31

The door closed behind Ivan leaving Katerina sobbing.
It was beyond the slight pain she felt on her head, it was the feeling of helplessness that enveloped her.
The man changing the locks finished his job and left.
She felt trapped,
Trapped in a home,
Trapped in an identity she didn’t know anything about.
Her world had fallen ten thousand feet under, and this time, there was absolutely no way out.
Suddenly the door opened and Serena walked in with a pack of ice cubes.
“Are you alright ma’am?”
Katerina said nothing.
“I was ordered to bring this to you,” Serena said softly.
“Drop it on the table and leave,” Katerina replied.
“Is there any other thing you’d need me to do for you?”
Katerina’s silence was loud enough for Serena to understand that she needed privacy. She left.
She got up, her hand pressed on the spot where she had hit her head. She picked up the ice cubes and placed them there. She felt drowsy and a flashback pulled her in.

Katerina's eyes were fixed on her laptop screen as she scanned over a few files. She ticked a few boxes in a diary beside her.
Then there was a knock.
“I don’t wanna be disturbed!” Katerina said without taking her eyes off the laptop screen.
“It’s me, Miranda. I made you a cup of tea” Miranda said from across the door.
“Oh Miranda, I hope it’s my favorite… come on in”
The door opened and Miranda walked in, the middle-aged woman looked exactly like her daughter Serena.
She walked briskly towards Katerina, dropping the cup of tea right beside Katerina’s diary. Mistakenly, it slipped, spilling right onto the diary and her laptop.
“Oh my gosh Miranda, what are you so clumsy?”
“I am so sorry, Ma’am”
Katerina got up, picked up her diary first, and tried to dry it off. With her other hand, she picked up the laptop and placed it on the bed. The entire place was a mess. She headed straight to her bathroom, switching on her hair dryer, she began to dry her diary.
The diary was very important to her.
The sound of the hair dryer filled her bathroom, completely blocking every other noise. Her instinct urged her to check her room, so she left the hairdryer running.
She peeped from her bathroom, only to see Miranda, taking a photo of her laptop screen and then tucking it away after she had succeeded.
This completely made Katerina very suspicious of Miranda. Why was a middle-aged woman taking a photo of her boss's wife's laptop screen?
Katerina stepped out fully facing Miranda, who was completely taken aback.
“Ma’am… I hope.. I hope I haven’t ruined… your diary” she stuttered.
“Give it to me!”
Miranda’s face turned pale.
“Give what to you? Ma’am, I do not understand you” Miranda said.
“Your phone!” Katerina ordered.
“Why would a middle-aged woman like me even need a phone? Apart from the house phone in the kitchen which I use occasionally to call my family.”
“You sure about that?” Katerina asked as she reached into Miranda’s apron pocket and pulled out a phone. It was a small phone that had a camera, and when she opened it, the photo on her screen stared back at her. Katerina threw the phone to the floor, shattering it.
“ Who sent you?” She demanded.
Immediately Miranda fell to her feet, begging.
“I am so sorry Madame Katerina. Please I didn’t mean to intrude on your privacy.” Miranda begged.
“That's a little bit too late isn’t it? You already did so you better start talking”

Immediately Katerina had a pull back from her memory world to reality, and she fell to the ground, scared.
She didn’t know why she felt fear, but that particular memory induced in her a sense of fear. It was as though she were back in that exact time.
Why was Miranda trying to take photos of her laptop which had details of her research?
It seemed very odd to Katerina. And she could only wonder if Miranda was working with someone to stop her research. The regret of her brief memory relapses weighed heavily on her.
After some moments of regaining her balance, she picked up the book she used in noting her progress on proving Sasha’s innocence, and added Miranda’s mom.
Whatever was going on in Sasha’s life was huge, and her flashbacks only vaguely attempted to point her in the right direction.
Replaying the scene again in her mind, her attention this time focused on the details.
The laptop… Her diary…
Each of these held important information.
The question now would be how is she supposed to find them?

Ivan pulled into the parking lot of MIL Automobiles.
He glanced at the name inscribed on the wall and scoffed before stepping out of his car and walking into the large building. The building was impressively furnished, filled with high-tech features. As he entered the lobby, he came face-to-face with the receptionist.
“Good day, sir, who are you here to see?” The receptionist asked him.
“I’m here to see you, Slavik”
“ All right, come with me, sir” the receptionist guided him towards the hallway.
As they passed the conference hall, its transparent walls revealed Slavik in the middle of a meeting with a group of others. Ivan stared at him, and after a moment, Slavik’s eyes met his.
They arrived at Slavik’s office, where Ivan was asked to wait in the reception area. After some time, Slavik returned and ushered him inside.
“What a pleasant surprise. Ivan Morozov himself is in my office, what do I owe this gesture?” Slavik said as he picked up a decanter and poured himself a drink.
“I came here to discuss business. Please have your seat and if you can, keep your drink until later.” Ivan said coldly.
“Arghh… So this isn’t a friendly visit. I guess my expectations were way too high” he paused. “ Fine then, no drinks until later.”
Slavik settled into his leather chair, “So,” he said, leaning back, “what business brings you here with such… seriousness?”
Ivan didn’t sit yet, he stood opposite the desk.
“I’ll be direct. I want to acquire MIL.”
Slavik blinked, surprised but masking it with a thin smile.
“Acquire?” he echoed. “Ivan, you walked in here and decided to buy my company the way one buys a new coat?”
“MIL has potential,” he said, taking his seat. “But your recent decisions have weakened it. I’m offering a way out before the market crushes you.”
Slavik’s jaw tightened.
“You think MIL is weak?”
“Exactly! But maybe being vulnerable wouldn’t bruise your ego too much” Ivan corrected. “And you know, vulnerability can be fatal in our industry.”
Slavik let out a soft laugh, irritated.
“MIL is fine! My company isn't dying. You know you’ve always had a dramatic way of doing things, but this is totally unacceptable.”
Ivan leaned forward, elbows on his knees.
“This is not drama. This is a proposal. A good one. I’m offering a full acquisition, clean, fast, and beneficial for you.”
Slavik narrowed his eyes.
“Why? Katerina?”
“Business remains business for me!” Ivan answered.
“And if I say no?”
Ivan didn’t flinch.
“Then I walk out of here. But the market will not be as polite as I am.”
Slavik finally stood up, pacing slowly behind his desk.
“You always were confident,” he murmured. “Sometimes too confident.”
“My confidence built the empire you see today,” Ivan replied coolly.
Slavik stopped pacing and faced him.
“And what makes you think I would let MIL become just another piece of your empire, just like I did Katerina?”
Ivan stood as well, meeting him eye-to-eye.
Ivan laughed. “Katerina was never yours to begin with”
“…So. You’ve made your proposal. Now speak. What exactly do you want with MIL, really?”
Ivan relaxed back into his chair.
“I want full control. Assets, patents, operations, personnel. Everything under Morozov’s umbrella.”
“You don’t want a partnership. You want ownership.” Slavik questioned.
“I don’t partner with instability,” Ivan replied.
Slavik scoffed. “You mean you don’t partner with anyone you can’t control.”
“That too,” Ivan said without shame.
Ivan got up, walking towards Slavik’s awards and medals arranged in a corner of the office.
“Let’s be honest, you have built half your decisions on a lie. On trying to prove something to me. Katerina chose me. You never had her. But you acted like you did, and that has absolutely shaped the way you ran this company, reckless and blind.”
Slavik stood abruptly, “You think I’m reckless? That I run MIL out of spite? And what? You’re here to save me?”
Ivan jammed his palms together, “Bravo! You got that one right.
“I am glad to put it to you that you are so wrong, Ivan. While I agree that Katerina is yours…sadly so. MIL is mine and you will never take it from me!”
Ivan said nothing. He simply turned and headed for the door.
“Well,” he said calmly, “don’t say I didn’t offer to help.”
He reached for the handle when Slavik spoke again.
“And one more thing,” Slavik added with a small, smug smile. “The woman you think is yours… maybe she isn’t anymore.”
Ivan stopped.
Slavik leaned back slightly.
“It wasn’t your name she called when we were in Mexico,” he said. “Under the covers.”
Before Slavik could breathe in his next word.
Ivan turned around and punched him straight in the face.