Page 94 of Ruthless Daddies

I rush toward her, lowering my gun. “I’m here,” I say, my voice soft but firm. “I’m going to get you out of this.”

But as I move closer, Alice starts to struggle, her muffled cries growing frantic. Her eyes widen, darting behind me. Confused, I pause, turning slightly—just in time to feel a dull, crushing blow to the back of my head.

Pain explodes in my skull, and I collapse to the floor, the room spinning as I groan against the sharp ache. My flashlight clatters to the ground, the beam flickering wildly across the walls. I struggle to push myself up, my limbs sluggish and uncooperative.

A shadow looms above me, blocking the light. I blink through the haze of pain, and my stomach twists as I recognize the figure.

“Uncle?” I rasp, my voice hoarse with disbelief.

Alexei steps into the light, his face calm but twisted with something cold and menacing. His smile is slow, deliberate, and sends a chill down my spine. “It’s too bad you showed up here,” he says, his voice dripping with mock regret. “Come to rescue your little girlfriend? Well, you shouldn’t have bothered.”

Alice struggles harder, her muffled cries sharp and desperate, but Alexei doesn’t even glance at her. His eyes remain locked on mine, as if relishing the look of shock and betrayal on my face.

“You,” I manage, trying to focus despite the throbbing in my head. “You’re behind this.”

Alexei chuckles softly, crouching beside me. “I told you, Nikolai. Always know who your enemies are. But you never saw this coming, did you?”

The room spins as his words sink in, and I struggle to stay conscious. The faint sound of Alice’s muffled cries reaches me again, snapping me back to the present.

The pain in my head is blinding, each throb like a hammer pounding against my skull. I try to move, but Alexei grabs me by the collar and drags me across the dusty floor like I’m nothing more than dead weight. The gun I had clatters away, disappearing into the shadows, and I grit my teeth, trying to push through the haze clouding my mind.

“Why?” I manage, my voice hoarse. “Why would you do this?”

Alexei crouches down, his calm, calculating smile chilling. “Because no one gave me a choice, Nikolai. Not then. Not now.”

His words are cold, measured, like he’s thought about this moment for years. “You think you know the Morozov family,” he continues, shaking his head. “But you only know the surface. The veneer your father and his perfect little legacy worked so hard to build.”

“What are you talking about?” I hiss, trying to shift upright, but he presses a hand to my chest, shoving me back down.

“I’m talking about being the second son,” Alexei sneers. “The spare. Always the spare. Your grandfather—he only had eyes for his firstborn. Your father. I was smarter, more capable, more ruthless. But did it matter? No. My life was decided before I even had a say in it.”

I grit my teeth, the pieces of his twisted logic starting to come together. “So what? You decided to betray the family because you didn’t get a promotion?”

Alexei’s smile sharpens. “It’s not about betrayal. It’s about taking what’s mine. What should have been mine all along.”

“And Elena?” I press, my voice shaking with anger. “What did she have to do with this?”

At the mention of her name, Alexei’s eyes darken. He shifts his weight, his posture growing more menacing. “Elena,” he says, his voice dripping with venom. “She was supposed to be my ticket. My way to finally have what I deserved.”

I stare at him, disbelief twisting in my gut. “What are you saying?”

He straightens, his voice taking on a cold, calculated tone. “I convinced her I loved her. I told her Ivan wasn’t worthy of her, that I could give her more. And for a while, she believed me. We had an affair. I thought she’d finally help me secure what was rightfully mine.”

My stomach churns, disgust and fury swirling together. “You seduced your nephew’s wife?”

Alexei smirks. “It wasn’t hard. Elena was lonely, disillusioned. Ivan was too busy running the family, too distracted to notice what was right under his nose. She wanted someone to pay attention to her. I gave her that.”

“Why?” I ask, my voice rising despite the ache in my head. “Why would you destroy your own family like that?”

He leans closer, his smile fading into something more sinister. “Because I wanted my children to inherit everything. The power,the name, the legacy. And for a while, I thought they would. Elena told me the twins were mine. That Ivan would never know.”

“But the bitch lied,” he spits. “They’re not mine. They never were. She strung me along, fed me promises, only to betray me.”

I think of Mila and Luka, their innocent faces flashing in my mind. My hands clench into fists as Alexei continues.

“When I found out the truth, I knew she had to pay,” he says, his voice low and dangerous. “She thought she could play me, make a fool of me. But no one crosses me, Nikolai. No one.”

“You killed her,” I say, the words leaving my mouth like a curse.

---