Page 14 of The Bratva King's Twins

For the first time in my life, I was silently begging for my brothers to come to my aid. They didn’t have much of anything to do with the business—through no choice of their own—but that desperation within me was holding out hope that they might take the reins and step up anyway.

But as I sat on the edge of the soft bed, I thought about that idea.

Would Elio or Dante do that for me? Would they pull themselves together again and put their lives on the line to save me?

Throughout my childhood, and even into adulthood, I had only ever been their punching bag. I was their anger outlet no matter what they were going through, regardless of what I had or hadn’t done.

Despite my innocence, they chose to bat me around and scar me with their abusive words. They constantly reminded me of why I meant nothing to them, and how I was useless to them and the family.

It didn’t bode well for my chances of being saved.

I wanted to think my disappearance would bring them to their senses, and remind them that I was their family, but that deeply rooted disdain they held for me couldn’t be cured quite so easily.

The trouble was, they didn’t see me as family, and they didn’t care about what happened to me.

Just like Dad, they were waiting for me to be shipped off somewhere far away from them. They had no interest in keeping me safe, and surely my being swept away by Aristarkh came as a relief for them.

I couldn’t even rely on my brothers, and I knew I shouldn’t hold my breath for their help.

It hurt to think about it, but it wasn’t out of the ordinary.

We were a dysfunctional family at best, and they weren’t going to save me, no matter how long I screamed for them.

My lungs and throat ached as I lay back on the bed, exhausted from yelling and trying to get Aristarkh to let me go. I had stopped screaming about an hour after he came in to shut me up; as much as I didn’t want to, I had no choice.

My voice went raw, and it hurt to even swallow at that point. I didn’t have anything left, and his words had sunk in, anyway.

Given how long I had been shouting with nobody coming to my aid, I knew he was right.

Nobody could hear me. The house was big and fancy, and surely sound-proofed. It made me squeamish to consider why he would bother adding that feature.

As bold as I had been during my protest, I was still afraid of him. He made me angry, and I hated him, but still, I wasn’t prepared to underestimate a man like him.

I didn’t know what to expect, and I could only imagine all the ways he meant to mistreat me.

It was surprising that he didn’t do anything beyond trying to defuse me, especially after all the noise I had been making, but I wasn’t out of the woods yet. There was still time for him to prove otherwise.

If my life with my family had been bad, I couldn't imagine what I'd have to endure with Aristarkh. Like a rock in my stomach, I carried that dread, unable to let go of it.

While I had been given seemingly endless peace and quiet while locked in the bedroom, the downside was how boring it was.

I didn't have anything to occupy my time, and that boredom started to get under my skin to the point where lying down seemed irritating.

With a sigh, I pushed myself up from the bed and wandered across the room.

I had no idea how long he intended on keeping me there, but a part of me didn't want to find out. I didn't want to be the one to discover just how cruel he could really be.

Glancing over at the door, I looked at the handle as an idea popped into my head. Even after I spent hours screaming and trying to open the windows that wouldn't budge, I never tested the door.

Immediately, I hurried over and reached for it. When it turned without much effort, hope sparked within my chest.

That rush of optimism fizzled out the longer I thought about it, watching as the door opened soundlessly.

I had the feeling he either forgot to lock it—unlikely—or he didn't think it was necessary in the first place.

If he wanted to confine me in one room and was worried about me breaking out, he would've been sure to lock it.

That only told me one thing: the house had so much security that he had no reason to be concerned.

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