After an eight-minute walk, they arrived at an elevator. Yustin pressed the button, and the doors slid open. He motioned for Clair to enter first, following closely behind her. Pressing the G button, the elevator descended smoothly. Clair observed as the numbers on the display decreased from four down to G. The doors opened onto the ground floor, revealing a wide rectangular room with three doors lining each wall.
"He's in one of these rooms," Yustin indicated the doors on the right side. "But before you see him, there's someone who wants to meet you first," he added.
He approached the middle door, withdrawing a card from his suit pocket and swiping it across the access control pad. The door slid open, and he motioned for Clair to enter first once more. She stepped inside.
Inside was a sterile white room, furnished with just a table and a tall wooden office chair positioned facing the wall. As the door closed behind them, the chair pivoted around, revealing a stout, elderly man with a thick beard seated upon it.
"Finally, I get to see you with my own eyes... Incredible. Your wings are truly magnificent, and your eyes - such beauty," he said calmly yet with an eager expression.
"And who are you?" Clair asked, her voice unwavering.
"Just call me Mr. Volkov. I own this place. You're inside... let's just say, my nest," he replied.
"I don't like long talks. Show him to me," she demanded.
Mr. Volkov studied her for a moment before smirking. "Young love, eh?" he remarked, lighting a cigarette. After exhaling a plume of smoke, he gestured towards Yustin. Yustin moved to the left side of the room and swiped his card on an access control pad embedded in the wall. Slowly, the entire wall began to ascend. Behind it, Zach slowly came into view, bound to a chair with a blindfold over his eyes, flanked by two armed men holding handguns.
Clair's fury surged at the sight of a bruised wound on Zach's lips, but she knew confronting them directly would be futile. She struggled to maintain her composure, masking her simmering anger.
"Remove his blindfold," commanded Mr. Volkov.
The man on Zach's right loosened the tight cloth around his head. As Zach's vision cleared, a wave of anguish washed over him as he beheld Clair standing on the opposite side of the room, silently observing him. He seethed with anger, knowing he had endangered her life. She saw the guilt etched on his face, recognizing his self-blame in that moment. "You shouldn't have come," he muttered, his voice filled with upset.
She didn't reply, instead fixing him with a resolved gaze that promised she would protect him at any cost. Then she turned her attention back to Mr. Volkov. "What do you want now?" she demanded, her voice fearless.
"Simple," he replied, taking a drag from his cigarette. "The boy lives if you surrender yourself to me."
"Don't you dare do it, Clair! I swear to God, I'll never forgive you if you let them do this. Please!" Zach pleaded desperately.
She met his gaze once more.
"Please... don't do it. Grab your weapon and get out of here," he pleaded, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"You know I can't do that," she replied softly, a sad smile playing on her lips.
"But you promised me... You promised me, Clair!" he burst out.
Unable to bear the sight of his crumbling expression, she looked away, her heart heavy. "If I do as you ask, will you let him go?" she asked Mr. Volkov.
"No! Please! Don't trust these people! They won't let me go. Just leave, Clair. I'm begging you," Zach implored.
"Cover his mouth so we can negotiate properly," Mr. Volkov commanded his men. They quickly complied, tightly securing the blindfold over Zach's mouth.
YOU ARE READING
Divine & Wicked: The Trapped Memories (Book2)
Fantasy(Fantasy•Romance) COMPLETED Zach woke up with an addled mind and empty heart a few days after his surgery. He seemed to feel that his life had begun again. As he continued with what he thought was his normal life, fragments of his lost past slowly b...
