When Alia returned to the palace with extreme caution, the entire house was deathly silent. She thought everyone had gone to sleep, but as she stepped into the drawing room, a cold shiver ran down her spine.
Viktor was sitting in the darkness on the sofa in front of her. No lights were on; only his two eyes glowed like blue fire in the moonlight filtering through the window. In his hand was a leather belt, which he kept striking against his palm the 'snap' sound echoing like a whip in the silent room.
Viktor: (In an incredibly low and terrifying voice) "Where had you gone this late at night, Alia?"
Alia's heart was pounding. She pulled the hem of her red dress tight, ensuring no damp spots caught Viktor's eye. Trying to keep her voice normal, she lied.
Alia: "I... I went to the garden (Bagane) behind the palace. I felt suffocated inside the room."
Viktor slowly stood up from the darkness. His tall frame loomed over Alia like a giant shadow. He slammed the belt hard onto the floor.
Viktor: "The garden? You were wandering in the garden wearing a thin red dress in this minus 10-degree Russian weather? Do you think I am like your stupid bodyguard, who can be bought with money?"
Viktor moved right up to Alia. The sharp gaze of his blue eyes seemed to pierce through her wall of lies. He tried to detect any snowflakes on her dress or the scent of unfamiliar perfume from her body.
Viktor: "I bring down hell if you lie, Alia. Why are your lips trembling? If you went to the garden, why are your legs shaking? Tell the truth, or today this belt will strip the skin off your beautiful body!"
Alia stood with her back against the wall. She knew that Viktor's 'blue eyes' meant extreme danger. If she were caught today, not only she, but Marco and her little child would also not escape the clutches of this beast. Seeing Viktor's manic state, Alia felt cornered. Viktor coiled the belt around his hand and growled through gritted teeth.
Viktor: (Screaming) "I'm telling you to tell me!Where do you get the courage to lie? Did you go to the garden or somewhere else? If you don't tell the truth, I'll finish you today!"
Alia was trembling, but at that moment, something clicked in her mind. She noticed as she entered the palace that the house was unusually silent. She realized that Viktor's father and other influential family members were not home today. She learned that Viktor's entire family is gone today (Family nei); they have all gone to Bengali to... (likely a trip to Bengal or a Bengali region) for 10 days.
Only Viktor and a few loyal guards were in the house. Knowing this gave Alia a desperate kind of courage. She knew if Viktor's father were there, things might have been even worse, but now she only had to handle Viktor.
Alia: (Hiding her fear with a stubborn tone) "I told you, I was in the garden! I can't do anything if you don't believe me. Since your family is away, are you going to torture me like an animal just because you have me alone?"
Viktor pressed the belt against Alia's throat. The blue glow in his eyes seemed to pour venom over her.
Viktor: "You think you're safe just because they've gone away for 10 days, don't you? Their absence means I am the absolute master of this palace now. Neither you nor your lies will be saved today. Since you won't open your mouth, I will find out the truth in my own way."
With a sudden jerk, Viktor grabbed Alia's hand and began dragging her toward the dark corridor. Alia realized that these 10 days would be the toughest of her life. The absence of Viktor's family meant he was now an unleashed, violent beast. Alia struggled to free herself from Viktor's iron grip. Her wrist was turning blue from the pain.
Alia: (Screaming) "Let me goViktor! You can't lay your hands on me like this. Let go!"
At that moment, the bodyguard whom Alia had bribed stepped forward from the dark corner of the stairs, trembling. Seeing Viktor's devastating form and the fire in his blue eyes, the bodyguard himself was scared for his life. He tried to stand between Alia and Viktor with a glass of water in his shaking hands.
Bodyguard: (Stammering) "Sir... Ma'am actually... some water . Sorry Ma'am , I think you've been tired since you came back from the garden."
The bodyguard took refuge in a lie to save Alia. He wanted to convince Viktor that he had been with her the whole time. Viktor glanced at the bodyguard a gaze that seemed to pierce through his soul.
Viktor: (Pointing the belt at the bodyguard) "You were guarding her? Then why was she alone before I arrived? And why are your hands shaking? Are you part of this game too?"
The bodyguard's condition was pathetic. He realized that being caught by Viktor meant death. He just stood there with his head bowed. Alia knew Viktor had easily caught onto their lie.
With a sudden jerk, Viktor snatched the glass from the bodyguard's hand and smashed it on the floor. Shards of glass scattered at the feet of Alia's red dress.
Viktor: "No one's help in this palace can save you today, Alia. Since the bodyguard says you're tired, come I'll arrange for your exhaustion to be 'cured'."
Viktor forcibly dragged Alia up the stairs. Alia looked back to see the bodyguard standing helplessly. The ten-day absence of Viktor's family seemed to have opened the gates of hell for her. Viktor dragged Alia into his bedroom and pushed her forcefully onto the bed. Her red dress became disheveled, and her golden anklets chimed in terror. Viktor kicked the door shut and locked it from the inside.
Only a small lamp was lit in the room, making Viktor's blue eyes look even more terrifying in the yellow light. He slowly began to fold the leather belt in his hand.
Viktor: (In an extremely calm but cruel voice) "10 days, Alia. For these 10 days, there is no one to watch over me. Didn't I tell you I'd finish you if you were disobedient? Today, you will be punished for your lies."
Alia backed away on the bed until she hit the wall. Her body was trembling with fear, but her mind was only on her small child. If Viktor caught the scent of milk on her, everything would be over.
Alia: (In a choked voice) "Viktor, you're making a mistake. I was really in the garden. Please, don't do this."
Viktor suddenly lunged closer to Alia. He tilted her chin up with the belt. Using his sharp sense of smell, he tried to catch any scent from her body. Suddenly, Viktor's brow furrowed. Beneath the scent of cold snow and perfume, he caught a strange, sweet milky fragrance the kind only found on a mother.
Viktor: (Whispering) "What is this scent, Alia? This isn't the smell of garden flowers. Do you think I understand nothing? You stopped taking the medication, didn't you?"
Alia's heart skipped a beat. She realized Viktor was very close to the truth.
Viktor: (Roaring) "Tell me! Who did you go to see? For whom has this motherhood awakened in your body? Did I not tell you that no child would exist in my palace?"
Maddened with rage, Viktor slammed the belt hard onto the bedside table. The glass vase shattered into pieces. Alia closed her eyes and screamed.
Now, in this locked room, before Viktor's demonic form, will Alia be able to protect her motherhood and her secret child? Or will the fire in Viktor's blue eyes burn everything to ashes today? Trembling with rage, Viktor tightened his powerful hand around Alia's throat. His blue eyes weren't just glowing anymore; they were dripping with the thirst for murder. He dragged Alia from the bed and brought her near the window, where the bone-chilling air from outside pressed against the glass.
Viktor: (Gritting his teeth) "You thought I was blind? Just because my family isn't here for 10 days, you'd run to your old lover and flaunt your motherhood? I gave you medicine so you would remain mine, but you... you betrayed me!"
With a sudden jerk, Viktor struck the belt hard against the sleeve of Alia's red dress. The sound made Alia cringe in pain.
Alia: (Screaming) "You can kill me, Viktor, but you can't kill the mother inside me! Yes, I went to my child! Do you think you can buy a mother's heart with money and power?"
This statement added fuel to the fire of Viktor's rage. He grabbed Alia's hair and brought his face inches from hers.
Viktor: "A mother's heart? Today, I will break that heart in such a way that you'll forget even your own name. Since you didn't take the medicine, you will remain locked in this room from now on. I will erase you from the outside world as if you never existed."
Viktor pulled his phone from his pocket and made a call. His voice was now entirely mechanical and ruthless.
Viktor: (On the phone) "Listen, everyone who was on duty today, especially that bodyguard—beat them like dogs. And listen, raid every Italian club in the city. Wherever Marco is, I want to see his body before me, even if he isn't alive!"
Hanging up, Viktor threw Alia onto the floor.
Viktor: "I will bury that little illegitimate brat and his so-called father beneath this Russian snow today. You will only watch through the window as the white snow turns red with their blood."
Alia began to wail on the floor. She realized that as a price for today's one mistake, she might lose the most precious people in her life. Viktor was no longer just a Mafia Lord; he was now a devastating storm that wouldn't stop until everything was destroyed. Falling to the floor, Alia tried to grab Viktor's feet. Tears streamed continuously from her large eyes, and the sleeves of her red dress were soaked from her weeping. Her voice was stifled by fear and desperation.
Alia: (Sobbing) "Viktor, don't do this beg of you, please have mercy. I will never goto see him again; I will never step foot in that club. I am telling the truth Viktor, just forgive me this once!"
Viktor looked down at Alia with cold disdain. Forget forgiveness there wasn't a drop of pity in his blue eyes. He coiled the belt around his hand again.
Viktor: "Telling the truth? I lost faith in your 'truth' a long time ago, Alia. Every time you open your mouth, a new lie comes out. You disobeyed me today; you stopped taking the medicine against my orders. The word 'forgiveness' doesn't exist in my dictionary."
When Alia saw that Viktor was completely unyielding, she became even more desperate. She knew Marco and her child's lives were hanging by a thread.
Alia: "Viktor, I will do whatever you say! I will take the medicine again, I will keep myself locked in this room just don't hurt them. Please, Viktor!"
Ignoring Alia's plea, Viktor looked out the window. The snowfall outside seemed to have intensified. He gave a cruel smile.
Viktor: "It's too late, Alia. My hunters have already surrounded the club by now. Tonight won't just be a lesson for you; it will be a lesson for everyone. You sit here and waittomorrow morning, all you'll see on the snow is a pile of corpses."
With a sudden jerk, Viktor pushed Alia's hands away and looked toward an iron chain in the corner of the room.