Chapter 207
KATYA POV
I froze in front of the locked doors, my heart hamring in my chest.
No guards were in sight. Not a single uniford figure pacing the hall. Was this my sign?
I glanced back the way I’d co, just to make sure I wasn’t trapped. Still empty.The doors lood ahead, cold steel and unyielding.
There were no windows, no peep holes, nothing to give a glimpse of what—or who—was behind them.
I swallowed hard. Shouting Aria’s na crossed my mind. Just one desperate shout. But even as I considered it, the stupidity hit.
She might not hear . And worse.....What if I blow my cover?
My pulse spiked. One loud sound could alert the guard, I had already accepted my fate with the cara currently videoing but I didn’t want to be caught right now.
I bit my lip, forcing my breathing to slow. The temptation to scream clawed at my throat, but I forced it down.
I had to think. Every second I wasted, every misstep I took, could endanger her. I pressed my forehead against the cold steel for a fraction of a second, feeling the hum of whatever security system pulsed behind it.
No guards. No windows. No safe way to call to her. But she was in there sowhere. I could feel it.
I stepped back, crouching slightly, trying to weigh my options.
Think, Katya.
One wrong move and it’s over. But if you do nothing... she could be gone before you even get a chance.
I straightened, fists clenching, walking towards the first door. I stopped in front of the first door.
Up close, it looked even more unforgiving—thick steel, no handle, just a smooth surface broken only by a keypad and a small blinking light.
I ran my fingers over the edges, feeling for seams, for anything loose. Nothing. I crouched down, inspecting the bottom.
No gap. No shadow beneath it. Whoever designed this had thought of everything. I straightened and jumped lightly, trying to catch a glimpse of the top, as if there might be a vent or a cara I’d missed.
Just more steel. More silence. "Damn it," I breathed under my nose, leaning to the side, then the other, pressing my eye close as if sheer will might let see through it.
Nothing. The door gave nothing away. Frustration and pain crept up my spine, my head buzzed with dizziness too.
But I still dropped back into a crouch, scanning the wall beside it, the floor, the ceiling—anything that didn’t look exactly like it belonged.
Then, slowly, I leaned forward and pressed my ear against the cold surface. The chill seeped into my skin.
I held my breath, all I heard was my own heartbeat. I waited still kneeling, counting the seconds, forcing myself to stay still despite the ache in my body.
"Katya" My head snapped up at the sound of my na. The voice was so harsh that it made my pumping blood run cold.
Roo.
He stood several feet away, half-shadowed by the harsh basent lights. He wasn’t wearing a jacket or suit—just a sleeveless black shirt that exposed his arms.
One of them was wrapped in fresh white bandages, already faintly stained through. I knew, instantly, that I was in deep shit.
His face was not calm, the usual terrifying calmness was not there. The mask he always wore was firmly in place, unreadable to anyone who didn’t know him.
Unfortunately, I knew him. And his eyes—naturally hard, always sharp—had gone colder. Hardened into sothing ruthless and controlled, like steel drawn too tight.
My throat closed. I pushed myself to my feet slowly, every nerve screaming at to run even though my body knew it wouldn’t matter.
"I...." My voice ca out thin, useless. His gaze flicked from my face to the door behind . Then to the keypad. Then back to .
One look.
That was all it took for him to understand exactly what I’d been trying to do.
"What," Imdiately his voice ca again I flinched, I had never heard him this cold, "are you doing down here?"
The silence that followed pressed in on , suffocating so hard. My heart slamd against my ribs as I forced myself to stand straighter, even as my instincts scread that this was the worst possible move.
"I woke up," I said finally, hating how small my voice sounded. "I couldn’t sleep."
"You were told to stay in your room."
"I needed air." Another lie. Worse.
"At five am?" Roo took a single step forward. " this far away from the top floor" I took a step back. The distance between us suddenly felt too short but that seed to worsen the situation.
His gaze dropped briefly—to my bare feet, to the way I was swaying just slightly from pain and lack of rest—before lifting again.
"Did you really think," he asked calmly, "that you could co down here without knowing?"
My stomach sank. The caras. Of course.
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to et his eyes even as fear crawled up my spine.
"I just wanted to look," I said, the truth slipping out before I could stop it. It’s better to say he truth than lie in this situation.
I an, this man literally killed his cousin. His blood.
"Look for what, Katya?" The way he said my na this ti was different. I opened my mouth—but before a single word could co out, Roo’s hand moved.
He reached behind him and drew a gun from his waistband, the tal catching the basent light for just a second before settling in his grip.
My breath hitched. He didn’t raise it. Didn’t aim. He simply let it rest at his side, loose in his hand like an afterthought.
Like he didn’t even need it raised for to understand what it ant.
"I don’t even know why," he said quietly, taking another step toward , "I still left you alive."
Each word landed with terrifying calm. "When you’ve shown," he continued, his gaze never leaving my face, "that you have no loyalty to this house."
Another step.
"No obedience."
Another.
"And increasingly," his voice dipped, colder, "no use."
††
This is the bonus Chapter, thanks for reading my new book!
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