Page 25 of Twisted Obsession
Dmitri grabbed me by the arm and dragged me out of his study. He led me up the stairs silently, his staff running all around us in sheer panic. My eyes darted all around, trying to understand what was happening. Stepan said, “War.” But what did that even mean? Had his enemies decided to come after him?
He continued to pull me up the stairs, gripping my arm even tighter the more I tried to resist. “Dmitri. You’re hurting me.”
“Then be a good wife and don’t resist,” he replied in the icy tone I knew all too well.
“What’s going on?” I asked, demanding to know why everyone was panicking.
Instead of giving me an answer, he pushed open our bedroom door and shoved me inside. I lost my footing and ended up stumbling forward, barely able to catch my balance before falling on my ass. I hadn’t had a chance to look back at him before I saw the door close and lock engage. That asshole had locked me in. Something bad was happening outside of this room, and he had the audacity to lock me inside like a sitting duck.
“Dmitri, open this fucking door,” I yelled as I pounded my fist against the hard wood.
I rushed to the window to see if there was anything that would tell me what was going on. The window, unfortunately, looked out to the gardens and there wasn’t a soul in sight.
Hurrying back to the door, I placed my ear against the door to see if I could at least hear what was going on. The door was too thick, and it caused my blood to boil even hotter. Everything this man had done had been done against my will. It shouldn’t matter that he made my body feel things it had never felt before. Even the way he punished me left me wanting more. He was the devil, but one that had drawn me to his hell.Oh, my God! Was this Stockholm Syndrome? Was I falling for my captor?
After what seemed like an eternity of pounding the door with only sore fists to show for it, I lost the battle and took a seat on the bed and stared at the door to make it magically open. The memory of his touch burned into my skin. The way he took me over his desk. All I could think about was how it would feel with his cock deep inside me. It was so wrong on so many levels. Then again, I had to remember, he tricked me. I knew I couldn’t stop the wedding, but I thought I had more options to at least figure out a way to postpone it until I could come up with a better plan to escape.
His words about my father kept running in my head. If there was a chance that he was still alive I had to try to find him. I didn’t even know where to start. There was no one who could help me. No one except…
“Chloe,” I blurted before placing my hand over my mouth as though someone could hear me.
If there was one thing I knew about Dmitri, it was that I didn’t trust him. He probably had cameras watching me this very minute. He might be watching me, but he wouldn’t know what I was thinking. Somehow, I needed to get in touch with Chloe. She was the only person I could trust. Her father just might be able to help find my father with his connections. I just needed a way to contact her. I needed a cell phone.
~***~
I couldn’t tell how long Dmitri had kept me confined in the bedroom, but the golden hues of the setting sun painted the walls with a sense of urgency. Where on earth was he? Enough was enough. I pushed myself off the bed, my frustration fueling each step as I stormed toward the door. As I raised my fist to bang against the solid wood in protest, the unmistakable sound of a key turning in the lock reached my ears. I stepped back cautiously, anticipation coiling in my stomach, waiting for the door to swing open. But it remained closed, tauntingly so. Frustration surged through me as I seized the doorknob, turning it with determined intent and pulling the door open with deliberate slowness. Peering down the dimly lit hallway and over the intricately carved banister to the main floor below, I was met with an eerie silence. Just hours ago, the house had beenalive with noise and activity; now it was as silent as a grave. Unsettlingly silent.
My anger simmered beneath the surface, and the urge to shout for someone, anyone, was strong. However, I decided against it, choosing instead to search for Dmitri myself. As I descended into the foyer, my footsteps echoing softly, I headed straight for Dmitri’s study. Pushing the heavy door open, I scanned the room, confirming it was empty. Curiosity, they say, killed the cat, but I was desperate to uncover what secrets Dmitri might be hiding from me.
Leaving the door slightly ajar to watch for any approaching figures, I approached his immaculate desk. Dmitri was a stickler for order; the polished surface bore only a set of pens and a decanter of vodka perched on a glass tray on the corner, accompanied by two elegant crystal tumblers that caught the fading light.
Settling into his chair, I tested each of the desk drawers, feeling a jolt of irritation as they refused to budge, all securely locked, as expected. Of course, they were locked. With a glimmer of hope, I pulled the slender drawer beneath my legs, and to my surprise, it slid open effortlessly. Inside lay a letter-sized envelope, its presence alone enough to intrigue me. I quickly glanced at the door, ensuring the coast was clear, before gingerly extracting the envelope, my heart pounding with anticipation.
When I eased the contents out of the envelope and examined them, disbelief washed over me. Inside lay guardianship papers, signatures scrawled by my parents alongside a man named Giovanni Balestrini. As I leafed through the pages, a birth certificate emerged, the names Giovanni Balestrini as ‘father’ and Isabella Balestrini as ‘mother’ emblazoned at the top, with Larissa Giana Balestrini listed asthe child. What the hell? Could these two strangers be my real parents? All these years, the truth hidden from me. Why had they kept this secret? Suddenly, memories of that dreadful night flooded back—the night they murdered my mother.“We should have done the right thing long ago and told her the truth.”
I hastily crammed everything back into the envelope and slammed the drawer shut. Tears stung my eyes, but I brushed them away urgently. More than ever, I needed to escape this place.
As I swung the door open, two furious eyes locked onto mine. I was caught, and any hope of escape vanished instantly.
“What’s going on?” I demanded, trying to mask my panic and what I had found. “When I found the bedroom door unlocked, I came in here looking for you.”
Dmitri seized me by the neck, his grip unyielding, and shoved me back into his office. “You are going to tell me where your father is.”
“I don’t know where he is,” I gasped, struggling for air as Dmitri’s hold tightened around my throat. “Please, Dmitri. I can’t breathe.”
He shoved me backward, and my heel snagged on the edge of the ornate Persian rug, sending me sprawling to the floor. “Tell me everything about the night your mother was killed. And so help me God, Lara. You better not leave anything out.”
What kind of twisted game was he playing with me? He had been there that night. I remained on the floor, staring up at the man who was my husband. “I don’t know what you want me to tell you. I saw you shoot my mother in the head, and after that, I ran. When I reached my bedroom, I heard another shot. I knewyou had killed my father. I knew if I didn’t escape, I would be next.”
He didn’t need to hear the whispered words exchanged between my papa and my mama. He didn’t need to know that he took my mama’s life as an act of vengeance for his father’s death. He didn’t need to know because, deep down, he already knew.
“How many times do I need to tell you? I didn’t kill your mother or father!” he spat, his voice sharp and cutting, fists clenched so tightly at his sides that his knuckles turned white as he advanced toward me.
“You were there,” I insisted, my voice trembling slightly as I edged away from him, the weight of accusation hanging heavy in the air.
“Stepan!” he bellowed over his shoulder, his eyes never leaving mine, filled with an intensity that could pierce through steel.
Stepan appeared in the doorway, a shadowy figure against the dim light. Dmitri’s command was swift and authoritative. “Round up all the men of the brotherhood and have them meet me in the dining room.”
