#1 | The Aftermath - Phantom Rider Series

#30 | Ultimatum

Mila's POV

As the glasses slipped off the stranger's face, I couldn't believe my eyes. Panic froze me as I stared into the stranger's brown eyes.

"Bill?!"

That can't be true - he was in bed sleeping just moments ago. What the fuck is happening? I started hyperventilating. Something was very, very wrong.

Once the first wave of shock left my body, the second one hit me even harder. His posture was more relaxed, almost lazy, and his eyes lacked the familiar warmth - they were more tired, darker, but most importantly, he looked at me as if I were a complete stranger. There wasn't a soul I recognized.

It was not Bill.

I turned to the window, feeling my stomach turn upside down. I felt as if I was going to puke from the realization of who the person in front of me was.

"Hi, I'm Tom!" he leaned back in the car seat as if trying to relax. He looked exactly the same as Bill, but he had a completely different energy.

I couldn't speak. I looked into my dad's eyes, waiting for an explanation. Instead, he enjoyed the moment. He loved to bring out emotions from me - it made him feel powerful.

I wanted to jump out of the car, to run to Bill, to tell him about this. Shit, I was in such a panic I couldn't think properly anymore. I pushed the car door open, wind hitting everyone's faces, and I jumped.

Except I didn't. A strong arm grabbed me by the shoulder right before I could let myself fall and forcefully pushed me back into the seat. Tom's eyes burned with adrenaline. He held me in place, not letting me move.

My father shut the door.

"So, now listen to me carefully," my dad pulled me close to him by the very same shoulder. His ice-cold peppermint breath and sandalwood cologne hit my nostrils.

"I have an offer for you. You will not like it, but you don't have a choice," he stared into my soul. "You will either do what I say, or your favourite twin will never leave that bed he is sleeping in as we speak. I have been merciful for too long. His own guards will shoot him dead the moment he tries to leave or you go to him."

I looked at Tom, scanning for his emotions, but his face was completely blank. He fidgeted with his sunglasses in his hand, looking down. I couldn't tell if he was willingly in this situation or forced. He seemed too comfortable sitting next to my father. Yet, why the hell was he not doing anything? Victor just said he would kill his brother.

I felt pain in my chest. Bill had searched for him for so long, had been so desperate, so miserable... and there that motherfucker was, sitting in front of me - alive, completely fine, without a care in the world. He really is the evil twin, isn't he? All the rumors about him being cold, vicious, and calculated must be true.

The car stopped next to a forest. Victor stepped out, making me follow him. "We need to talk alone."

The conversation was not too long, but once it was done, I was left completely miserable. It all fell on me - my word broke and fell right on my shoulders. I silently sat back in the car, holding back tears, putting on a brave face mostly because I didn't want to feed the father my energy that he sucked out of me every time I showed him any emotion. I will need that energy for myself.

I looked at Tom once more. He looked back at me. I felt something I couldn't understand. Like Bill, he felt little bit familiar to me. I felt what he felt, but I couldn't get this feeling to the surface. It made me even more in pain.

They dropped me off at the same place I was picked up, coffee mugs still on the street next to my car.

I sat in my car, my hands started to shake uncontrollably.

I couldn't make the engine work. My body shook, tears ran down my cheeks like oceans. I couldn't breathe. "No, no, no... I have to figure something out! But who will help me? Sergei, who just betrayed me?"

I was pushed into a corner. There was nothing I could do to make it work. I wanted to die, to push the gas pedal to the floor and drive off a cliff. It was all too much, it was all too complicated. But the solution Victor gave me was simple, for everyone else. For me, it meant losing everything. Fuck it, I will do it - for Bill.

I went to the bakery bathroom and cleaned my smudged eyes. I put my handbag to my mouth, and a hysterical, muted scream escaped my lips. So much for being beautiful today. I got myself looking almost decent and headed back home.

They gave me two hours. Two hours against a lifetime felt like nothing. I felt like the world had just ripped me apart in the worst possible way.