Now doesn’t feel like the moment to be brave, though. Now, I just feel incredibly exhausted. I actually wish I had listened to the guard and stayed upstairs. I turn on my heel without another word and slowly start the climb up, with the guard once again trailing me.
I sit back on my bed and try not to think about the dress or the note. I know it’s no use. I carefully lie down, deliberate with every single movement. I close my eyes for just a moment when I hear a knock on the door.
“Enter,” I answer, annoyed, expecting Viktor has come to check on me.
It isn’t him, though. It’s a guard, and not the same one who was stationed outside my door earlier. In fact, I don’t know this guard. I’m sure I’ve never seen him before. If I were in better shape, I’d sit up quickly and take a defensive stance, but that kind of movement now would cost me.
“Ms. Malenkova,” he says.
I look at him slowly.
“What?” I nearly bark.
He hesitates, then holds something out in his hand. It’s a small, black phone. It looks ancient, but it’s a working cell phone. I haven’t had one in months. My pulse jumps hard enough that I feel it in my ribs and I wince.
“Where did you get that?” I ask.
He swallows. “Mr. Kovalev wanted you to have it,” he answers evasively.
My guard immediately goes up. I should tell him to leave and call Viktor right away. I should call for help. Instead, I decide to handle this myself.
“Who really told you to bring that to me?” I ask, challenging him.
“Please, Ms. Malenkova, just take it.”
I look at him more closely. He’s so young and looks so afraid. He and I both know that Viktor knows nothing about this phone, but he’s willing to lie about it. Someone probably threatened him to bring me this phone. The question is, was it Mikhail or my father?
“Give it here,” I say, resigning myself to my fate.
His hand trembles slightly as he passes it to me.
“You didn’t get it from me,” he adds quickly.
“That depends,” I say. “If Viktor asks, you’re going to tell him the truth.”
His eyes widen. “He’ll kill me.”
I hold his gaze. “Then you should start thinking harder about who you trust.”
He swallows again and nods once, then leaves quickly. My hands are steady as I turn the phone over, but my stomach gives a sharp roll. Just because I took the phone doesn’t mean I have to use it. Then again, this is the only contact I’ve had with the outside world in over a month.
The phone vibrates in my palm before I can decide what to do. A number I know by heart fills the screen. Home. I immediately answer, but I’m too emotional to speak.
“Anya,” my father’s voice says immediately.
I almost sob. Hearing his voice feels like putting healing ointment on a wound. It stings a little, but ultimately it will take the pain away. Then, I remember that he basically sold me to Mikhail, and he’s probably going to ask me to return. The warm feeling runs cold very quickly.
“Otets,” I say, my voice coming out harsh.
He exhales sharply. “So, you are alive.”
“I am,” I confirm.
His voice tightens. “Good,” he says, though he doesn’t sound relieved at all. “That’s good. You need to come home.”
I let out a short breath through my nose.
“No,” I answer immediately. “That’s not going to happen.”
