Silken Chains

chapter 6

Chapter Six: Unveiling the Past

Viktor sat in his study, the glow of his computer screen casting sharp shadows across his chiseled features. The rain that had been pounding against the windows all night had finally slowed to a soft drizzle, but Viktor barely noticed. His focus was entirely on the file open before him, the culmination of hours of work by his most trusted informants and hackers. Every detail, every piece of information had been meticulously gathered, all leading to this moment.

The file was marked with a single name: **Alex Wang**.

Viktor leaned back in his leather chair, a satisfied smirk playing on his lips. The name that had lingered in his thoughts for weeks now had a history attached to it, a life that Viktor was slowly but surely unraveling. He had been careful, methodical, ensuring that no stone was left unturned. This was not just about curiosity—this was about control.

Alex Wang, age twenty-one. A delicate young man, shorter than average, with a slender frame and a sweet, naive disposition that made him an easy target for manipulation. But Viktor already knew all of that. What he was interested in were the details, the pieces of Alex’s life that the boy had kept hidden, whether intentionally or not.

Viktor’s eyes scanned the report, taking in the details with the practiced efficiency of a man who had done this countless times before. Alex had grown up in a small, quiet neighborhood, raised by a single mother after his father had left when Alex was just a child. The mother had done her best, but the struggles of raising a child on her own had taken their toll. There were reports of financial difficulties, moving from place to place, always trying to find stability.

There were school records, too. Alex had been a good student, but not exceptional. Quiet, unassuming, always keeping to himself. There had been no close friends, no real social life to speak of. Viktor could almost see it—Alex, sitting alone at lunch, lost in his own world, dreaming of something more. The loneliness, the desire to be seen, to be cared for—it was all there, written between the lines.

Viktor’s fingers tapped lightly on the edge of his desk as he continued to read. There were medical records, too, revealing a history of anxiety and mild depression, treated with therapy and medication. Viktor’s smirk widened. Alex’s vulnerability was apparent in every line of this report, a vulnerability that Viktor had already begun to exploit.

But the most interesting part came near the end. A few months ago, Alex had stopped attending therapy, had stopped filling his prescriptions. There was a note from his last therapist, expressing concern but ultimately resigning to the fact that Alex had simply stopped showing up. Viktor’s mind raced with possibilities. Had Alex decided he didn’t need help anymore? Or had something happened to make him withdraw further into himself?

Viktor’s thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock at the door. He didn’t bother to turn around as one of his men entered the room, a thin envelope in hand.

“Sir,” the man said, his voice low and respectful. “We’ve finished the deeper background check you requested. Everything we could find is in here.”

Viktor nodded, taking the envelope without a word. As the man left, Viktor opened the envelope, pulling out a stack of papers. These were the things that weren’t in official records, the details that only someone with Viktor’s resources could uncover.

There were photos, too. Grainy images of Alex walking to work, sitting in a café, staring out a window with that same distant look in his eyes. Viktor studied each one, memorizing every detail. The way Alex carried himself, the way he seemed so small, so alone in the world. It was almost poetic, the way this delicate, beautiful creature had slipped into Viktor’s life, unaware of the storm that was brewing around him.

The last document in the stack caught Viktor’s attention. It was a report on Alex’s father, a man Viktor had initially dismissed as unimportant. But as he read, his interest piqued. The father had ties to a small-time criminal organization, nothing major, but enough to raise a few red flags. Viktor’s mind raced, connecting dots, considering possibilities. Could this be a way to dig even deeper into Alex’s psyche? A way to exploit his past, to push him further into Viktor’s grasp?

Viktor closed the file, his smirk fading into a look of cold determination. He had everything he needed now. Alex’s past, his vulnerabilities, his secrets—it was all laid out before him, ready to be used. Viktor knew how to play this game, knew how to manipulate, to twist and turn the truth until his prey was so entangled they couldn’t see a way out.

But Viktor also knew that this was just the beginning. The more he learned about Alex, the more he could control him. And the more he controlled him, the closer Alex would become to being truly his—mind, body, and soul.

Viktor reached for his glass of whiskey, taking a slow, deliberate sip as he stared at the closed file on his desk. The rain outside had picked up again, a soft, steady rhythm that echoed through the room. Viktor liked the rain. It reminded him of cleansing, of washing away the old to make way for the new.

And as he sat there, alone in his dark study, Viktor allowed himself a moment of satisfaction. The pieces were all falling into place, just as he had planned. Alex Wang was his, even if the boy didn’t realize it yet. It was only a matter of time before Viktor would close the final trap, leaving Alex with nowhere to run.

And when that moment came, Viktor would be there, waiting. Ready to claim what was rightfully his.