Three weeks since the night
To say that I was bored out of my mind was an understatement.
One week had passed since I last saw Vlad at the dining table. And one week since I started planning what was going to become the biggest mission of my life.
I wasn't just about to try and kill Vlad. I was about to kill an abuser. A man that owned the Bratva. It wasn't just some random man. It was a man that had guards around him at any given second because his head was worth millions.
I left the bathroom after spending an hour in the shower staring at the tiles. At this point, I'd memorized them so well I knew which ones were chipped. There were many.
I put on some clothes that Valentina had brought me earlier. She was excited about something and as much as I tried to strike up a conversation throughout the week, she kept quiet.
What had she been hiding that was so forbidden so I couldn't know?
But I didn't push her. I knew there was something more than just keeping things from me. Maybe she wanted to earn my trust. To make sure I wouldn't snitch on her if I found out she'd want to help me. But somewhere deep inside me, I thought she did so because of how much she didn't want to help me.
I was a part of the family that left her. Even if I didn't do anything against her since I hadn't even been born, she held that grudge against me. And only after years, did we begin to question her story. After all, it wasn't that out in the open.
The door burst open, making me jerk my head in its direction. Valentina walked inside with a bag in her left hand. She threw it on the bed before walking over to the windows and pulling the curtains closed. I frowned as I watched her do whatever she intended to do.
"What-"
"Zitti," I shut my mouth and waited until she was back near the bed and opened the black leather bag. I watched her closely as she took out a silver Mackbook and two phones. I crossed my arms over my chest as I stared at her every move. She placed the devices on the bed near the bag and took out two guns. My eyes widened at the sight of them.
"Valentina-" she held her hand out, stopping me. She took out two sets of knives with two leather straps to which they were attached. The last thing she took out was a small glass bottle. I knew it had to be poison. I've seen similar packaging at our estate's weapon storage room.
"Okay," she looked up at me, finding my questionable expression. No wonder she closed the curtains. She couldn't even risk the birds finding this out. If there even were any. I didn't know, I spent most of the time looking at the walls and trying to find some kind of escape. "I've made a plan," I nodded very slowly, making look as if I wasn't sure I heard anything correctly. "We're leaving in two hours." I frowned.
"To-"
"Vlad is leaving for New York and is taking you with him. He can't risk leaving you here considering the fact that you're bold enough to throw a fit in front of the guards," she held her hands out in defence. "His words, not mine," I rolled my eyes before she continued. "We'll be staying in one of his secret penthouses near the centre and should stay there for about a week," I nodded, trying to keep track of the new information.
She continued. "Once we're there, I'm going to find the diary," another frown made its way to my face.
"Diary? You mean... Your mother's?" She sighed and nodded. "Sorry, it's just overwhelming," she gave me a faint smile, letting Matteo's features shine like the daylight. She was almost the spitting image of her father.
"It's okay. It's not every day you have to go through an escape plan," I chuckled before nodding.
"True."
"I know it's been kept there since Tyler was instructed to take it there," I mentally cursed out Tyler, still unable to believe he was like this all along.
"Can I ask you something?" She looked quite annoyed I'd interrupted but nodded anyway. "Was Tyler always working for Vlad?" She shook her head no.
"Not until a few months ago."
"Do you know why he'd joined?" She shrugged as she twisted a piece of the duvet in her hand.
"I assume it had something to do with you. But no one knows. I doubt Vlad knows." I nodded before I looked away from her.
If he had actually betrayed me over the fact I'd chosen Liamover him, he was a piece of shit. One that lost any brain cells in one damn night. I regretted the time I lost spending with him. But I couldn't go back and change anything. What I could do was hurt him.
"As I'll do that, you'll go to one of my good friends in downtown New York and grab the keys to his place," she said before looking down at the duvet. "It's a deserted place that will serve us good after we come back," I nodded as she brought her eyes back up. "We'll leave with him back to Moscow and then we'll strike. And I can tell you know how to do it," I frowned as my eyes looked over to the nightstand on my side of the bed.
"You-"
"Yes, Celeste. I found your journal. And I completely agree with your ways of torture. Just..." she walked over to me before placing her hands on my shoulders, "Think about the other three. You can't leave behind actual suspects."
I had thought of Elijah. He has abused women in the past and wanted to do the same with me. He was the actual clone of Vlad in some aspects. He had the same goals, pretty similar morals and the same sense of humour. At least that was what my father had told me.
"Are you okay?" Valentina asked, bringing me away from another thought. I looked at her and nodded.
"Yeah, as much as I can be, why?" She frowned as her eyes looked down at my stomach.
"You're holding your hand on your stomach," I followed her eyes and found my hand on my lower stomach. I frowned, wondering how that could've happened. I didn't even notice. "It looked like you were pressing down on it so I thought you must be in pain," I smiled faintly at her.
"I'm fin-" As if I just got slammed by something, I realised what I hadn't thought about at all since I died.
"What?" She asked as her hand touched my forearm for comfort.
"My..." I sucked in a breath before I sat down on the bed, breathing heavily. "My child," I whispered as everything dawned on me.
"Your what?" She walked over to me and sat down right beside me before wrapping an arm around me. "Child?" I nodded slowly.
I must have lost it, right? There shouldn't have been any way that it had survived. But they would've known. The doctor would've told Vlad I was pregnant.
"Did... did the doctor say anything regarding my ovaries?" She shook her head slowly as she stared at me.
"I don't recall. But I would've caught on to that kind of information if it was said," I breathed out a small bit of relief.
It was already hard to know I'd have to abort it even if the decision was easy. But if the child was alive now and I wasn't aware, I wouldn't want to bear that kind of guilt. Because what was about to happen wasn't kid-friendly.
"Do you feel pregnant?" I frowned as I looked over at her.
"How the hell does being pregnant feel?" She shrugged.
"I don't know. I've never had these issues so I guess I'm panicking." I smiled briefly before turning my head away from her and looking down onto my lap. "When are you supposed to have your period?"
"What day of the month is it?"
"The twenty-seventh," I shook my head.
"My period comes at the start of the month. Or somewhere around then."
"And you're a hundred per cent sure that you were pregnant?" I nodded.
"I took tests. But I had booked an appointment at the clinic for a few days after the funeral," she gently caressed my shoulder.
"You know, I've always wanted to have kids," I smiled as I stared at the floor. "But I knew I would never. Not only are the circumstances I live in horrible for a child but I knew I've been infertile since I was eighteen. I never got my period and because of it, I asked my good friend that was Vlad's doctor to book me an appointment at the doctor's office. I don't even think I was sad. Disappointed? Maybe. But I had this feeling I wouldn't be granted the chance to give birth since teenagehood."
"Because of where you were kept?"
"I guess. And the fact that any kind of pain would be the death of me. Just imagine the pain the women go through," she shivered, making me smile. "Horrible. But huge respect to them. They show just how much women are stronger than men," I nodded.
"Exactly." Her hand continued caressing my arm, giving me some comfort as we sat there and talked. Easing the fact that we were under Vlad's roof and at any given moment he could barge into this room and find us with weapons and plans of escape behind us.
"Why didn't you want to keep it?"
"I still don't. I'm not saying I wouldn't want to have a child. Of course, I want one. Just one though. And not only because of my desires but also because of the fact that my family needs an heir. Sure Aldo or Georgio's kids could take over but I was fond of this tradition. And I think my father would be very happy if I continued it."
"Dante," she said quietly. "I'm assuming he's not the man he was before," I frowned.
"He's a great father. Sure, before he had his guard up at any given moment but he's changed for the better. He was the one that killed Vincenzo," a light chuckle escaped Valentina's mouth. "Trust me, you aren't the only one that was relieved when it happened."
"Who's the father?" I sighed as memories of Liam and I started to food my brain.
"Liam. The Martinelli don," I could sense she was taken aback as her hand slowed on my arm. "And no one apart from my two best friends and you knows. I haven't even told him that." I looked up towards the windows as I continued. "He's one of the reasons I don't want to keep it. Not because I don't love the man or think that he would be a terrible father. But the situation that we're in. We're from rival families. His father would try to kill me himself if he found out. And once the child is born, it would solidify a permanent connection between the families." I took in a deep breath. "I don't know if it's the right time to do so."
I can't lie and say that it wouldn't make me happy to see Liam with his child. But I don't want to put my offspring in more danger than they should be in. After the people that were against me were taken out of the picture, I'd gladly reevaluate my opinion.
"He'd understand. But for now, just keep your head held high and don't worry about it. If by any chance you haven't had a miscarriage, then just wait until you get back to your family. We won't take long." I smiled before I nodded.
I surely didn't need another distraction among many added to my mind. But I couldn't change anything. And going to a doctor of some sort would be far too risky. I don't doubt that any news could easily get back to Vlad or one of his minions.
"Thank you, Valentina." She stood up and walked over to the bag. I appreciated her presence now more than ever. Whether she knew it or not.
"Grab the journal, we don't want to leave behind evidence, now do we?" She shot me a mischievous grin before putting everything into her bag.
I was finally ready to get my revenge.
And it didn't matter whether I'd get hurt or not. All I knew was that after he was dead, I could go back to my family.
But it wasn't that simple.
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