Page 93 of Hunter

My stomach sinks for a second, but then an idea starts forming in my mind. I don’t need to tell him. He’ll know the moment I step outside these walls.

Before heading to my car, I go to Maxim’s drawer and grab his spear gun. I don’t know what I’m walking into, but I’ll take any protection I can get.

I stop for a moment, closing my eyes and taking several deep breaths. Calm down. Let the fear go. Channel the badass, strong woman that has been buried deep inside.

You can do this. You can face your demons.

“Fuck yeah, I can.”

THIRTY-SEVEN

SOPHIA

“Elena?” I call out as I step into the clinic’s dark, empty lobby. My voice echoes slightly in the silence.

“Are you alone?” Her voice comes from somewhere deeper in the office, low and cautious.

“Yes,” I answer, hesitating.

After a moment, she steps out from the back room. I nearly gasp but catch myself. She looks like a shadow of the person I once knew—her frame skeletal, her skin pale with a sickly gray tinge. My chest tightens. What has she been through? I plant my feet, resisting the urge to rush toward her. I don’t know what she’s capable of—or if someone else is lurking in the shadows.

“Where’s the baby, Elena?” I ask, my voice steady, but my stomach churns.

“The baby is safe,” she says, her tone flat. “Being taken care of, away from all this mess.”

My shoulders sag with relief. It doesn’t even occur to me to ask who’s taking care of the baby—that’s her and Andrei’s problem for now.

Elena moves closer, extending a piece of paper toward me. I glance at her bony hand before taking it, careful to keep my distance.

“What is this?” I ask, looking at the paper. It’s a website URL with a username and password scrawled below.

She stares at me, her sunken eyes hollow and unreadable. “I don’t have anything against you or Maxim, Sophia. On the contrary, you’ve both been kind to me. But my baby is more important than either of you. I hope one day, you’ll forgive me for the part I played in all this.”

Her words send a chill down my spine. My pulse quickens as my mind races. What did she do?

She takes a step back, her eyes darting toward the door. Panic surges through me. I reach for Maxim’s spear gun, pull it from the waistband of my jeans, and point it at her.

“You’re not going anywhere,” I snap, my voice shaking despite my effort to steady it.

Elena freezes, her arms shooting up in surrender.

“Sit down,” I order, gesturing to a nearby chair with the gun.

For a moment, I think she might bolt, but then she moves slowly toward the chair and sits. Relief washes over me—at least I didn’t have to pull the trigger.

I take a deep breath, my grip tightening on the gun. “What is this?” I shake the paper at her with my free hand.

“I don’t know,” she says. “I was told to lure you out and bring you here, give you that paper.”

“Who told you to do that?” My palms are damp, and the gun feels heavier in my hand.

Elena hesitates, her frail shoulders curling inward. Her eyes meet mine, and for a moment, I think she’s going to stay silent.

“Who?” I repeat, sharper this time, bracing myself for her answer.

She exhales shakily, her voice dropping to a whisper. “Your sister.”

The words hit me like a slap. My mind blanks for a second, my body stiffening in disbelief.

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