Chapter 32
DEAL WITH THE DEVIL
The air was cold, and the study room was quiet. Ivan adjusted in his seat, looking over a few documents.
He hadn’t heard from Rodrigo for a few days now, as opposed to their agreement. He picked up his phone and dialed Rodrigo‘s number.
“Hello, Rodrigo,” Ivan started. “I haven’t heard from you. I thought I’d check up.”
“I’m sorry, Ivan. I had a sort of emergency, so I had to travel. But I’ll be back in a few days this time, and when I do, I’ll come prepared.”
“Alright! Till you’re back then!”
Ivan hung up and went back to the document he was handling.
Katerina sat by the window, looking outside, admiring the sunset, one of the few views she was still privy to.
It had been days since Ivan locked her up. She thought she was in prison before, but now it was worse.
Her routine was to wake up, that’s if she even got any sleep at night, take her bath, have breakfast, then sit by the window till it was time for dinner.
Her desire to prove her innocence had come to nothing, as she wasn’t even allowed to move ahead with her plan.
Most days, as she sat by the window, her mind filled with thoughts of how she was going to get out of Ivan’s estate, along with the flashbacks that tormented her.
I should have just asked Slavik, she thought.
Even though she knew it would’ve been weird, it would’ve been better than losing her mind.
Her door opened. Expecting Serena, she said, “I am not hungry, Serena.”
“I’m afraid this isn’t room service,” Yelena said.
Katerina immediately turned, her eyes meeting Yelena’s.
“Have you come to gloat?” Katerina asked.
“Oh no, I haven’t,” she said, stepping further into the room. Two guards were with her, and they dragged some luggage inside Katerina’s room.
“What are those… or whose are those?” Katerina asked inquisitively.
“Yours. Or would you rather I say, Sasha’s?”
“And what are they doing here?”
“Well, I took my time going through everything in there, one by one. To make sure you weren’t hiding anything. Now you can have them until your personal belongings are ready.”
Katerina chuckled.
“One would think you’re some private investigator hired by Ivan. I mean, searching my things for what? Evidence? Like some cop. If you have free time, why not volunteer? Join the military? Actually save lives rather than waste your precious time chasing empty smoke.”
“Well, this smoke is about to blow out.”
“You don’t say! I’m impressed. Tell me more,” Katerina said, sarcasm dripping from her voice.
Just then, the guards wrapped up bringing in the luggage. Yelena ordered them to leave.
“Are you not going with your boys?” Katerina asked.
“No, Katerina. You and I have some chit chat to do.”
“You know, I was starting to get bored in here. Well, well… I guess I don’t have to worry about that anymore. Is that right?” Katerina said.
“Pretend all you want. You and I both know you were trying to get something out of Ivan. Look, I’ve come to make a proposal.”
“A proposal?” Katerina laughed in her chair.
“It’s a good one, and I suggest you take it and stop wasting everybody’s time. So we can all move on with our lives, and the mood of this estate can go back to the way it always was.”
“Boring, right? I mean, I know I’m the only interesting thing that’s happened here in the longest time. I deserve the credit.” Katerina said with a large grin.
“Stop playing around, Katerina. I know you forged those medical papers. I don’t know why, I don’t know how, but you and I both know you weren’t involved in any accident.” Yelena accused.
“Well excuse me, there is no ‘you and I.’ I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.” Katerina said.
“Oh come off it, Katerina! You couldn’t have had an accident.”
“And why are you so sure?” Katerina asked.
Yelena stayed silent for a while.
“I’m not going to try to prove how I know there was no accident, but I know.”
“Oh… so aside from bitchy Yelena, you never told me you were a diviner.”
“I’m no diviner. But when I look at you, I know you. You were always after Ivan for money. You knew he was wealthy, so you planted yourself in his life so you could get close and come after him.”
Katerina got up and walked toward her. “So if I’m hearing you right, your theory is… motivating. But then, when I disappeared, I didn’t vanish with any of Ivan‘s cash. I’m no thief. But come on, if I were, I’d have done way better than that. So please, your theory has a lot of loopholes.”
Katerina reached for the glass of water beside her and gulped it.
“What are you proposing?”
“Smart girl,” Yelena said, earning a scoff from Katerina.
“You tell Ivan that you were an accomplice to his father’s death, but you discovered your boss wanted to change his mind and actually kill him rather than use you to take his money. You were just a gold digger and not a murderer because you ran, begged your boss to stop, but he didn’t listen. Then you were on your way to tell Ivan the entire plan, and bam…the accident.”
Katerina thought deeply about the proposal Yelena brought to her. She found it disturbing that Yelena would offer her such a lie after all the names she’d called her.
“What’s in it for you?” Katerina felt the need to ask.
“You’re actually the focus here. I’m trying to help you,” Yelena said. “When you tell this to Ivan, I’ll talk to him and give him every reason to believe you. And when he does, he’ll let you go.”
“What if he doesn’t let me go? What if he wants me to stay? What if he’s attracted to gold diggers?”
“Then you’ll have to make sure he doesn’t. Cry, beg, do whatever it takes to make him let you go.” Yelena insisted.
Katerina stared at her, eyeing her from head to toe.
Yelena was evil, she concluded.
“And that’s where you come in, right? As what? His wife?”
“He doesn’t deserve you. It’s me he deserves. Don’t you get it? All I’ve done is love him, care for him, be there for him, even when he lost his father and you were nowhere to be found. I’m the one who ought to sit in your chair, and on his bed. Not you.” Yelena took a deep breath.
“So what’s it going to be?” she asked.
“I want out of here anyway. So… deal,” Katerina said coldly, internally realizing she had just made a deal with the devil.