Se connecterI met him in a place no sane woman should ever be in Blackgate Prison. As a prison therapist, I was trained to see danger. Every part of me screamed to stay away, but I couldn’t. He was a legend behind bars, Nikolai Sokolov, ruthless, untouchable, the leader of one of Russia’s most feared Mafia syndicates. Darkness clung to him like a second skin. The dim light carved his face into something sharp and dangerous. He looked at me, cold and unreadable, and held me in place with his gaze. “Who are you?” His voice was rough, heavy with threats and scars I couldn’t see. I forced a smile, trying to keep my voice steady. And yet… a part of me felt at home in this danger, a shadow inside I had never admitted, one that hummed quietly at his presence. It was darkness like his, though he couldn’t know it. “I’m Dr. Korovin. I’m here to evaluate you.” The chains rattled as he shifted, a predator testing the limits of his cage. His lips curved, not into a smile, but into a warning. “My name is Nikolai,” he said slowly, deliberately, heavy with threat. “Remember it, Doctor.” I should have been scared. I should have run. But something inside me stirred, something dark, like him, and I didn’t yet understand it.
Voir plusNATALIA'S POV The phone rang.I answered immediately.“Yes?” I said, already standing.There was no greeting on the other end. Just breathing. Controlled. Careful.“Well?” I pressed. “Did she die?”“She survived.”The word hit harder than it should have.“…Say that again.”“She survived the crash. She’s in the hospital. ICU, but stable.”I closed my eyes slowly.“You’re telling me,” I said evenly, “that after everything, after the brakes failed exactly when I instructed, after the speed, the impact, the timing—she survived?”“Yes.”My grip tightened on the phone. “And Nikolai?”“He arrived within minutes. He’s still there.”That did it.The glass in my hand shattered against the floor. I didn’t flinch.“Useless,” I said softly. “Every single one of you is useless.”“We followed your instructions—”“And failed,” I snapped. “Do you know what happens when you fail me?”Silence.“Disappear,” I said. “If I see you again, you won’t need an accident.”The line went dead.I stood there, ches
NIKOLAI'S POV I moved to the waiting area without being told, sitting down hard, elbows on my knees, staring at nothing. The sterile smell of disinfectant mixed with the low hum of machines made my skin crawl.Sergei remained standing. “Security is already pulling traffic footage.”“Good.”“And Nikolai,” he added quietly, “Larisa will hear about this.”I looked up slowly.“Let her.”My phone vibrated.Once.Then again.Larisa’s name lit up the screen.I didn’t answer.Instead, I stood, turning toward the ICU doors—those heavy glass barriers separating me from her.She had laughed in my house. Challenged me. Looked at me like I was both a threat and a mystery.And now she was lying behind those doors, unconscious, broken, alone.“I told her I’d protect her,” I said quietly.Sergei didn’t respond.“I told her I wouldn’t let anyone hurt her again.”My fists clenched. “And the moment she leaves my sight—this happens.”“This may not be connected,” Sergei said cautiously.I looked at him.
NIKOLAI'S POV The door hadn’t even finished closing behind Anastasia when I turned back to them.The silence she left behind was suffocating, but I didn’t give it time to settle.“This ends now.”Elena stiffened first. Larisa followed more slowly, her face already hardening into that familiar mask of control.“You will not speak to me like that,” Larisa said coldly.I stepped forward. “I will speak however I like. You’ve both pushed far enough.”Elena scoffed, crossing her arms. “This is because of her, isn’t it? One appearance and suddenly you’re throwing everything away?”I turned to her fully, my gaze sharp. “There was never an everything to throw away.”Her eyes widened. “Excuse me?”“You were never my choice,” I said flatly. “You were a contract. A strategy. And it’s over.”Larisa slammed her palm against the table. “You don’t get to decide that alone!”I laughed—once, humorless. “Watch me.”Elena’s voice shook with anger. “You stood there and humiliated me in front of her.”“No
ANASTASIA'S POV I leaned back, letting it all sink in—the fear in Larisa’s eyes, the helplessness of Elena, and the strength radiating from Nikolai. And I realized something terrifying and thrilling: I wasn’t the only one in control anymore.I had him. And for the first time since the crash, since the accident, since the haze of memory loss… I felt alive.The silence that followed was heavy, brittle, like glass stretched too thin.Larisa was the first to move.“You’re enjoying this,” she said to me, her voice sharp with accusation. “Playing games in a house you don’t understand.”I smiled slowly. “Funny. I was thinking the same about you.”Nikolai didn’t turn, but I felt the shift in him immediately. “Mother.”“Don’t,” Larisa snapped. “Don’t defend her again. She doesn’t belong here.”I tilted my head, studying her openly now. “You keep saying that. But you haven’t explained why.”Her lips pressed into a thin line.I pushed. “Is it because I survived?”Elena inhaled sharply. Larisa’s
ANASTASIA'S POV The next dayI didn’t hesitate when I woke up.There was no dramatic moment of doubt, no internal argument about whether I should go or not. The decision had already been made the night before, sitting quietly in my chest, solid and unmovable.Nikolai Volkov had looked at me like h
ANASTASIA'S POV The house has just settled when the security alert flickers once on the wall screen.Not red.Not hostile.Acknowledged.That’s what makes me pause.I stop halfway up the stairs, hand resting on the rail, eyes lifting to the monitor. No alarms. No breach indicators. Just a single l
ANASTASIA'S POV I close my eyes briefly.“Darya,” I say. “You’re brave or stupid.”“Tonight?” she replies. “Probably both.”She steps into the room, shrugging out of her coat. Her gaze sweeps the space quickly, windows, corners, exits—before landing on me.Then she notices the ring.She stops.Slo
NIKOLAI'S POV I don’t go upstairs immediately.That would feel like retreat.Instead, I walk.Through the east wing first, then the corridor that overlooks the gardens, my footsteps echoing too loudly in a house that was designed to absorb sound. The chandeliers are dimmed for the night, casting






Welcome to GoodNovel world of fiction. If you like this novel, or you are an idealist hoping to explore a perfect world, and also want to become an original novel author online to increase income, you can join our family to read or create various types of books, such as romance novel, epic reading, werewolf novel, fantasy novel, history novel and so on. If you are a reader, high quality novels can be selected here. If you are an author, you can obtain more inspiration from others to create more brilliant works, what's more, your works on our platform will catch more attention and win more admiration from readers.