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Then he sighed loudly, grabbed my mother by the hair, and pulled her away from us over the deck. Screaming, she pleaded for mercy while every bone in my body filled with terror and dread.
“I want you to watch me stab your wife in the stomach. Her death is going to be slow and painful, so you understand you are never to touch what is mine. Then I will move to your daughter. She’s so innocent, isn’t she? That’s why I am going to take her right in front of you,” Sebastian continued before taking out a wicked-looking knife from his jacket and running his finger over the blade.
Blinking back the tears, I kept telling myself this was just a nightmare, that it wasn’t happening for real. My father was now losing a lot of blood and if he didn’t get any help soon, he might die. I had to do something to convince this terrifying man to spare us.
My father was just a businessman. Although I wasn’t sure how he conducted his affairs, he couldn’t have hurt this Russina, couldn’t he? All of this had to be a huge misunderstanding.
My mother was trembling and I wanted to crawl to her, to comfort her, but the thug was squeezing my neck so tightly, I couldn’t move.
I almost gagged as I tried to pry his hands off me.
But then, I noticed how Mother averted her gaze from me. Pursing her lips, she looked up at our captor who seemed close to blowing her brains out.
“Sebastian, you need us and you need Marinka,” she said. “She looks like your late wife, so she can become her. Consider this our repayment for the mistake we have made. Vlad gave orders to his men—they weren’t supposed to hurt Russina, but something went wrong. Think about this, Sebastian. We will sell her to you in exchange for our lives,” she rambled on.
At first, I didn’t register what she was saying, but then I began to realise she wasn’t joking. She was absolutely serious.
Had she lost her mind?
My father shifted his stare from Sebastian to her, his mouth wide open in disbelief at what she’d just said.
My heart was jackhammering inside my chest. No, I couldn’t have heard right. She couldn’t have just offered to sell me off because I looked like this man’s dead wife.
Sebastian let go of her, his face impassive. He finally looked at me, so stoic—stone cold—I couldn’t read him. I felt like this man didn’t have a soul. Deep inside, he was as empty as he was beautiful.
Like I said, a dark angel.
He sighed loudly and then walked over to kneel in front of me, still holding that knife in his right hand.
“Are you saying you’re ready to sell your own daughter to me, just to patch up the deal I had with the Italians?” he asked, his back to my mother yet addressing her. “Is this supposed to be some kind of compensation?”
His calculating expression, as though he was actually considering the offer, sickened me more than the motion of the yacht. My stomach roiled and I felt like I was going to throw up.
No,this can’t be happening.My mother couldn’t be so callous.
Yet, I was well aware of some terrible things she’d done in her past. So, I had no reason to be as shocked as I was. Although both my parents spared me from their dealings, if I had to be honest with myself, I’d admit my suspicions about what went on at my house.
Murder in cold blood, though? That was a tough pill to swallow.
“Marta, what are you doing? You can’t … it’s Marinka…” my father ground out, then he groaned in pain, breathing hard.
“Shut up, Vlad. This is all your fault. Everyone has always believed Marinka is the split image of Russiana. Sebastian is going to spare us because of her!” Mother yelled, seeming so proud of herself.
I swallowed, the implications of what was going on sinking in. My father had killed this man’s wife, and now their captor sought payback. Retribution.
“That’s a very good idea. I do need her to play my wife. You have killed the only woman who could have kept peace between the Russians and the Serbians, so now I’m going to take your daughter away in exchange for both your lives. It seems your wife has more brains than anyone has ever thought, Vlad.” Sebastian gave me a dark smile that nearly twisted my heart.
My whole world collapsed like a house of cards.
“Mum, what are you talking about?” I finally managed. “Please, can someone explain what is happening?” The darkness was slowly obscuring my vision. I wanted to go to sleep and wake up to a different reality, to find this was just a dream. A nightmare.
I wanted to make it all go away.
My father whimpered again, his hand pressed over his leg. Blood stained the deck all around his limb, spreading like the consequences of his actions.
Sebastian pointed the gun at me and in that moment, I believed he’d changed his mind about keeping me and I was going to die.
Maybe that was best. Dead was better than trapped.
