Page 3 of Cruel Submission

I bury my face in her shoulder, and the tears come again, quieter this time.

When I pull back, her expression is grim. “We need to get you to a doctor,” she says. “The baby—”

“The baby’s fine,” I assure her. “I got a few bruises and scrapes, but mainly, I was terrified. I just need a bit of time to regroup.”

Diane looks skeptical, but doesn’t argue. “If you’re certain…”

“Absolutely certain,” I assure her. “I have a lot more to think about right now.”

“Jesus. There’s more?” Diane is incredulous.

“Yeah.” I sound exhausted even to myself. “I need to tell you all of it.”

“Okay.”

So I do.

I tell her about Stefan—the man from the woods six years ago, the one I thought took Debra. How seeing him at Arkady’s house made me spiral.

I tell her about how I’ve been hiding my pregnancy because the second Arkady finds out, I’m done. And no job means no treatment for Dad, who looks like he might not actually make it anyhow.

I tell her how I’m pretty sure that Arkady’s involved in shady business, and that I’m afraid, most of all, of what he might do to me if I make him angry enough.

By the time I finish, Diane looks stunned.

“This is a horror story, Mirabel.” Her voice is low. “You can’t go back to that house.”

“Dad still needs the money.” I sound flat. Dead. “It’s my fault Debra disappeared. It’s my fault Dad got sick. And now there’s a baby.”

The guilt sits in my chest like a stone.

“Mirabel.” Diane leans forward. “You have to tell Arkady about the baby. You should—”

“I can’t.”

“But—”

“If I tell him, I lose everything.” My voice cracks. “The job. The money. Dad’s treatment.”

“What about the police?” She grips my hand. “You were almost kidnapped. Those men could still be looking for you.”

I half laugh. It comes out bitter.

“The police.” I shake my head. “Did they help when Debra disappeared? Did they do anything?”

Diane’s mouth opens. Closes.

“You really think the police can touch people like Arkady?” I pull my hand back. “People like Stefan? Like Gavriil Laurov?”

She has no answer.

Because we both know the truth.

Men like that don’t get touched by the law.

“Stay here tonight.” Diane’s voice is quiet now. Almost defeated. “We’ll figure it out tomorrow.”

I nod. Too tired to argue.