Someone needs to be reminded who they tried to steal from.
The words echoed in my mind long after the hallway went silent.
I stepped away from the door slowly.
My heart was beating faster than it should have been.
Steal.
What did that even mean?
Claire and I had nothing worth stealing. We barely had enough money to survive most weeks. The only thing Cyprian Volkov had taken from us was control over our lives.
Yet the way he had said it didn't sound like a man talking about money.
It sounded like a man talking about territory.
Or property.
A strange uneasiness settled in my stomach.
I forced myself back to the bed, but sleep didn't come easily. Every small sound from the hallway made my eyes open again.
Doors opening.
Footsteps moving.
Men speaking quietly.
This house never truly slept.
At some point during the night I must have drifted off, because when I opened my eyes again the room was bright with morning light.
The door opened a moment later.
The same maid from earlier stepped inside carrying a tray.
"Good morning, madam."
I pushed myself upright slowly.
"Stop calling me that."
She hesitated.
"But that is what you are now."
The reminder made my jaw tighten.
She placed the tray on the table near the bed.
"Mr. Volkov asked that you eat."
I glanced at the food.
Toast.
Fruit.
Tea.
Simple, but far better than anything I had eaten in weeks.
"I'm not hungry."
The maid looked uncertain.
"He said you would say that."
My eyes narrowed slightly.
"Oh?"
She nodded carefully.
"And he said to remind you that refusing to eat will not make him change his mind."
Of course it wouldn't.
Men like Cyprian didn't change their minds.
They changed the world around them until it bent the way they wanted.
I took the tea just to prove I wasn't weak.
The warmth spread slowly through my chest.
"Where is he?" I asked.
The maid lowered her eyes again.
"He left early this morning."
Something about that answer didn't feel right.
"Left where?"
"I… don't know."
Which probably meant she did know and wasn't allowed to say.
Before I could ask anything else, the sound of raised voices echoed faintly from somewhere down the hallway.
The maid froze.
I stood up slowly.
"What is that?"
She didn't answer.
Another voice echoed down the corridor.
Angrier this time.
Male.
The maid looked nervous.
"You should stay here."
But I was already walking toward the door.
The guards outside straightened immediately.
"Mrs. Volkov....."
"What's going on?"
Neither of them answered.
Which was answer enough.
More shouting came from downstairs.
Then suddenly....
A loud crash.
Something heavy hitting the floor.
My pulse spiked.
Before the guards could stop me, I moved past them and started down the staircase.
Each step felt slower than the last.
The massive living room below slowly came into view.
And I froze.
Three men were kneeling in the center of the marble floor.
Their hands were tied behind their backs.
Their faces bruised.
One of them had blood running down the side of his mouth.
Another could barely hold his head up.
Cyprian stood in front of them.
Perfectly calm.
Perfectly still.
Like a king deciding someone's fate.
Two of his men stood behind him, silent and armed.
The air in the room felt heavy.
Dangerous.
One of the kneeling men looked up desperately.
"You don't understand..."
Cyprian tilted his head slightly.
"I understand perfectly."
His voice was quiet.
Controlled.
Which somehow made it far more terrifying.
"You thought because she was alone… you could take what belongs to me."
My breath caught.
She.
My stomach dropped.
The man shook his head frantically.
"We didn't know she was yours!"
Cyprian's eyes darkened.
"You should have."
The man beside him began to panic.
"We swear we didn't touch her! We were only following orders!"
Cyprian finally moved.
Just one step forward.
But the man immediately flinched like a frightened animal.
"Whose orders?" Cyprian asked calmly.
The man hesitated.
A mistake.
Cyprian sighed softly.
Then without warning....
He grabbed the man by the collar and forced him to his feet.
The movement was so sudden the other two prisoners jumped.
Cyprian leaned closer to him.
"Let me explain something to you."
His voice dropped low.
Dangerously low.
"You saw a woman who was alone."
The man nodded quickly, trembling.
"You thought she was easy prey."
"No...."
Cyprian's grip tightened.
"But that woman…"
His eyes turned cold.
"…belongs to me."
My fingers tightened around the banister upstairs.
The words sent something strange through my chest.
Fear.
Anger.
Something else I didn't want to name.
Cyprian released the man suddenly, letting him collapse back to his knees.
Silence swallowed the room.
Cyprian's eyes lifted.
Straight to the staircase.
Straight to me.
For a moment the entire room seemed to stop breathing.
The guards noticed me immediately.
"Mrs. Volkov....."
Too late.
Cyprian had already seen me.
His expression didn't change, but something in his eyes sharpened.
Dark.
Possessive.
Dangerous.
My voice came out before I could stop it.
"Where is Claire?"
The question echoed through the room.
Several of the men looked surprised.
Cyprian's gaze didn't leave mine.
"She is safe."
"That's not an answer," I said, my grip tightening on the banister. "Where is she?"
A brief silence passed.
Then he replied calmly.
"In the guest wing. Exactly where I said she would be."
My chest loosened slightly, but the tension in the room didn't fade.
Cyprian's eyes moved over my face slowly.
"You should not be here."
I swallowed.
"Neither should they."
My eyes flicked to the men kneeling on the floor.
Cyprian followed my gaze.
And the air in the room turned cold again.
"Take them away," he said quietly.
Silence returned.
Cyprian finally looked back up at me.
And for the first time since meeting him…
I truly understood something.
I hadn't married a powerful man.
I had married a monster.
And somehow…
That monster believed I belonged to him.