Her Russian

Chapter 35-Confronting Ghosts

(picture of Igor Romanov.  He was the man that Galina found in photos with her mother, Allister, after she was supposedly dead)

Galina moaned as she tried to move her head but it hurt, bad.  And when she tried to put her hands up to her temples, she found she couldn't due to the fact that she was chained to a wall.

The room she was in was small, very small, the floor was concrete and it was poorly lit.  She wrinkled her nose because of the damp, moldy smell and as she looked around there was no furniture or anything.

"Hello?" she called out quietly.  No answer.  Nothing but silence.  And it continued that way for a while.  She wasn't even sure how long she'd been there, what day it was or where she was for that matter.

All she kept telling herself was Ilia would find her.  Sighing she laid her head back against the wall and let her eyes close and hoped to God this was all a bad dream and she would wake up soon.

Galina woke with a start when she felt someone throw cold water on her.  "Ah!" she screamed from the cold water.  Sitting there freezing and wet, she looked around and found a man staring at her.

His eyes were cold and dark, no hint of human feeling or emotion in there at all.  They were...dead.  And the scars on his face were scary and disgusting, but she recognized him and while she was trying to figure out where from, he started to talk.

"So, little miss Toykin" he sneered.  "That's not my name" she said defiantly.  "What did you say, suka?" he menaced.  "I said my name is not Toykin.  It's Ivanov" Galina answered.

A hard slap in the face is what she got for her trouble and she could taste the coppery metallic flavor of her blood inside her mouth.

"I didn't ask for your smart mouth, little girl" he said angrily.  "I want that money" he stated.  Shaking her head, she thought it's always about the money.

"You won't get it" Galina said bravely.  "It doesn't belong to you.  It belongs to the people that Dimitry Toykin stole it from and I don't for a second think that is you."

"You have no idea who you're messing with, you little whore" his words hurt but Galina tried to brush them away.  "I know your name is Igor Romanov and I know that you have something to do with my mother" she spit out.

He shut up for a moment, and then the most evil smile spread across his face.  "So, you aren't as dumb as you look" he said laughing.  "Eh, I suppose then it's time for a little family reunion, don't you think?" he asked walking to the door.

As soon as the door opened and the woman stepped over the threshold, Galina knew who it was.  Allister Grimov, her biological mother.

Galina just stared at the woman and everything became instantly clear.  She wanted that fifty million dollars.  For whatever reason, she had it in her mind that the money was hers.

"Well, you actually turned out prettier than I thought" the woman's voice was deeply accented.  "I take it, you know who I am?" she asked.  Galina nodded.

"You're Allister Grimov, my biological mother" Galina answered.  Clapping her hands, she looked at Igor and said "See, I told you my daughter took after me.  She is very intelligent."

Galina could tell from the sarcasm in her tone, that the woman was not the kind of mother you would want to be stuck with.  Even Mariska was better than her, she was just a victim of her own circumstances where Galina was concerned.

"Now, little girl.  We are going to have an adult conversation here, so try and keep up, k?" she stated hatefully.  "I want that fifty million dollars that old hag gave you and I want it now!" she yelled.

"Zoya Erin was not an old hag!  She was a better mother than you could have ever been!" Galina knew she was treading on dangerous ground, but no one talked bad about her babushka.

The slap Allister gave Galina could be heard echoing all around the tiny room.  "You watch your words, carefully, little one" she threatened.  "I was never given a choice.  My choice was taken away by your father.  I actually did want you, once upon a time.  But they told me you died and after that I never looked back.

Then I started hearing reports that you were alive and living in the United States, but I still didn't care.  Too much time had passed.  Ah, but the rumors about the money that Zoya had left for you, that's when I started to care.  It would seem that your sperm donor of a father had taken it and given it to that old woman for you."

It was clear to Galina that Allister was not only bitter but she was psychotic and she wasn't going to stand a chance in here for very long.

"Igor here is going to start helping you with your memory on where the money is and don't even think that Ilia Savin will come rescue you.  You aren't worth his time or effort.  You are forgotten to him.  No one will come looking for you, Galina" the way Allister said her name was ugly and forged with a hatred that Galina couldn't fathom.

Holding her head high, Galina looked right at Allister and said "That's where you're wrong.  Ilia Savin loves me and he will not stop until he finds me.  Of this I know."

The woman rolled her eyes at Galina and scoffed.  "Yeah, you keep holding on to that.  We're going to move you around so much, he won't have a chance to find you."  That thought scared Galina more than anything.

The thought of never holding him again, of never hearing him say I love you again, it broke her heart but she would not give up, she couldn't because that would mean that these people had won.

Allister left the room laughing, while Igor drug her up roughly to her feet and started to hit on her.  Closed fist, opened hand, he pinched her and would hit her with whatever he could find.

This went on until Galina could no longer stand and then her hand clutched her chest as she started to gasp for air.

"What the fuck are you on about?" Igor shouted, thus bringing Allister back into the room.  "It's her heart, you moron.  She needs one of these" she said pulling Galina's medicine bottle from her pocket.

Slipping a pill under her tongue, they waited for Galina to come around again and then the beatings started all over again.

Galina would never tell them that she gave the money to Ilia.  She didn't want him getting dragged into this mess.  She couldn't live with herself if something happened to him.

"Last chance" Igor said, his fist ready for action.  Galina just shook her head and he pummeled her sides, arms and thighs.  Finally, he'd left her a bloody mess on the floor.

"We'll pick this up again tomorrow, sweetheart" he toyed but she was already out of it, dreaming of Ilia coming to rescue her.  "Ilia" she whispered as she passed out.