Chapter 2 - She Discovers Where She Is

ELENA PETROVA woke to a silence. For a few seconds, she stared at the ornate coffered ceiling above her, surrounded by dark wood and expensive details she couldn't afford to name. Then memory returned. The men. The ruined apartment. Aditya Volkov. Her heart slammed against her ribs. Elena sat up and immediately scanned the room. A faint red light blinked in the far corner near the ceiling. A surveillance camera. She threw the covers aside and hurried toward the floor-to-ceiling windows. Beyond them stretched a pristine cobblestone courtyard surrounded by dense forest. She pressed her knuckles against the glass. A dull, solid thud answered. Bulletproof. Her gaze moved across the grounds. Armed guards patrolled the perimeter. Security cameras covered every visible angle. Elena turned toward the door. She crossed the room, grabbed the handle, and pulled. Locked from the outside. She stared at it for several seconds before looking down at herself. Her torn jeans and bloodstained sweater were gone. Someone had changed her into a plain gray cotton dress and left it folded neatly over a chair. Her phone was missing. So were her keys, wallet, and her mother's silver necklace. Every connection to her old life had been stripped away. Elena slowly looked around the luxurious bedroom. She wasn't a guest. She was a prisoner. An hour passed before the lock finally clicked. A young maid entered carrying a basket of fresh linens. “Where am I?” Elena asked immediately. “Whose house is this?” The maid kept her eyes lowered. “Please,” Elena pressed. “Just tell me what city we're in.” The woman placed the linens on a side table without answering. Elena stepped closer. “Does my father know where I am?” The maid's hands trembled. She said nothing. Then she hurried from the room as though speaking to Elena might cost her life. The door locked again. Elena closed her eyes and took a slow breath. Panic would accomplish nothing. If nobody was willing to give her information, she would collect it herself. For the next thirty minutes, she studied everything she could see from the window. She tracked the security cameras, memorizing their angles and blind spots. She studied the electronic lock on her bedroom door and the placement of the guards outside. There had to be a weakness somewhere. Every system had one. She was still studying the courtyard when the lock clicked again. This time, a woman entered. She was breathtakingly beautiful, dressed in a floor-length emerald gown that emphasized her tall, elegant figure. Her blonde hair was arranged in a flawless chignon, and her green eyes swept over Elena with immediate hostility. “So this is Viktor's daughter.” The woman's voice was smooth, almost pleasant. “I expected someone more impressive,” she added. Elena straightened. “Who are you?” The woman smiled. “Katarina. Aditya's fiancée.” She emphasized the title as though it were a crown. “I came to meet the daughter of the man who stole from us. Do you have any idea what your father has done, little girl?” “I know what he supposedly did,” Elena replied. “I also know I had nothing to do with it.” Katarina gave a soft laugh. “How naive.” She moved slowly around the room, inspecting Elena as though she were an object that had been delivered to the house. “Inside Aditya's world, responsibility isn't determined by law or logic. It is determined by him. And right now, you are Viktor Petrova's daughter.” “I didn't steal anything.” “No, but you're the one standing here while your father is missing.” Katarina stopped in front of her. “You should understand something, Elena. Aditya may need your mind, but that doesn't make you important. You're simply useful.” Her gaze dropped to Elena's simple gray dress. “A little computer mouse pulled from a cheap apartment.” Elena's jaw tightened. “You don't belong here,” Katarina continued quietly. “And you certainly won't survive here if you forget your place.” A guard entered carrying a silver tray covered with a prepared breakfast. Katarina glanced at it. “Take it away.” The guard hesitated. “Aditya ordered that she be fed.” “I said take it away.” Her voice hardened. “She can learn what hunger feels like before she earns the privilege of eating in this house.” The guard lowered his head, retrieved the tray, and left. Katarina waited. Elena understood exactly what she wanted. Fear. She gave her nothing. Instead, Elena folded her arms and held Katarina's gaze. The older woman's smile slowly disappeared. “Aditya may need you for now,” Katarina said. “That doesn't mean you're safe. Remember that.” Katarina left, allowing the door to close behind her. Elena remained still for several seconds. Then she exhaled. That woman wasn't merely jealous. She was dangerous. The door opened again a few minutes later. A tall, broad-shouldered man stepped inside. Unlike Aditya's polished elegance, this man carried the presence of someone who had spent years around violence. Elena recognized him from photographs she'd seen in intelligence reports. Lev Sokolov. Aditya's most trusted underboss. Lev walked directly toward the window and inspected the frame before adjusting the security camera in the corner. “Are you going to threaten me too?” Elena asked. He turned toward her. “I don't waste time with threats.” “Then tell me where I am.” He said nothing. “How long am I staying here?” Again, silence. Instead, Lev's gaze shifted toward the bedside table. Elena followed it. Her notebook was open. The rough security map she had drawn was visible on the page. A flicker of something resembling respect crossed his expression. “You've been studying the cameras and guard rotations.” Elena lifted her chin. “Wouldn't you?” “Probably. But it won't help you escape.” “Why not?” “The estate is monitored twenty-four hours a day. Armed guards cover the perimeter, and the gates are reinforced. There are cameras in every major corridor.” “So you're telling me there's no way out.” “I'm telling you that trying right now would get you killed.” Elena studied him. “Is that a threat?” “No.” Lev's voice remained calm. “A warning.” He reached inside his jacket and removed a sleek silver laptop. He placed it on the desk. “Your workstation.” Elena approached cautiously. “It contains the financial system recovered from your father's primary servers. There's no internet access and no external signal. You won't be able to contact anyone.” She opened the laptop. The damaged architecture filled the screen. Her stomach tightened. Even from the fragments, she could see how badly the system had been compromised. “Why are you helping him keep me prisoner?” “Because Aditya ordered it.” Lev paused. “I follow his orders.” He turned toward the door, then stopped. “One piece of advice.” Elena looked at him. “Don't provoke Katarina. She's dangerous when she feels threatened.” He held her gaze. “And never lie to Aditya.” “Why?” “He tolerates mistakes.” Lev's expression hardened. “He doesn't tolerate lies.”