3.Until I find them, you're mine...

~~Ines~~

Roman Volkov.

The Don of the Bratva syndicate.

Everyone knew his name.

He was ruthless to the core, the kind of man people whispered about because saying his name too loudly felt like inviting trouble.

They called him the Black Prince, partly because of his dark reputation and partly because, unfortunately, the man was handsome enough to make the nickname fit.

But standing there in front of him, I couldn't see anything handsome about him.

All I could see was danger.

There was a small scar near his left eye, and dark tattoos disappeared beneath the collar of his coat before continuing down his hand. Even with most of his body covered, I could still make out parts of the pattern against his skin.

My entire body trembled as I stared at him.

I wanted to move, but my legs refused to cooperate, as if someone had nailed my feet to the floor. My fingers felt cold, and I could barely feel the phone still clutched in my hand.

What had my family done to bring a man like Roman Volkov to my doorstep?

And was he somehow connected to my family's disappearance?

My thoughts were running in circles, each one worse than the last, until his voice cut through them.

“And where does the little mouse think she's running to?” His voice was low and cold, and the way he looked at me made my skin crawl.

I swallowed hard but said nothing.

My mouth felt dry, and my mind was still trying to catch up with what was happening.

Roman's eyes stayed on me for another second before he spoke again.

“Get her off my feet.”

I barely had time to understand what he meant before one of his men grabbed both my arms and hauled me upright.

“Let go of me!” I twisted and struggled against his grip, but it was useless.

His hands felt like iron around my arms, and no matter how hard I pulled, he didn't even move.

What had I been thinking?

Compared to these men, I might as well have been made of sand.

Roman walked farther into the house, his eyes slowly moving over the room.

His nose wrinkled slightly, and a faint look of disgust crossed his face.

“Well, well, Karla,” he murmured, a small smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. “You really do live in a shit hole.”

My brows pulled together.

Karla? He knew my sister.

A horrible feeling settled in my stomach.

“What did you do to my sister?” I demanded, struggling against the hands holding me.

My voice came out sharper than I expected, even though my knees were still shaking.

Roman slowly sucked in a breath before dropping into the armchair that belonged to my father, making himself comfortable as if he owned the place.

Then he looked at me. His eyes moved over my face for a few seconds, almost like he was seeing me for the first time.

“And you are?”

I swallowed and forced myself to straighten.

“Ines,” I replied, trying desperately to steady my breathing. “I'm Karla's sister.”

“Ah.” He gave a slow nod. Then that faint smirk returned. “The despised daughter.”

The words hit me like a slap. How the hell did he even know that?

My chest rose and fell quickly as I shook my head.

“That’s a lie,” I said, my voice coming out breathless.

Roman let out a quiet chuckle, but there was nothing funny about it.

“I know things about your family that you don't even know.”

My stomach twisted.

For a second, hope flickered inside me despite everything.

If he knew so much about my family, maybe he knew where they had gone.

Maybe he could tell me why they had left me behind.

But before I could ask, he leaned back slightly.

“But I'm not here for that bullshit,” he said, his thick Russian accent making every word sound heavier. “Your sister owes me money. A lot of it.”

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as his eyes stayed fixed on me.

“And judging by the silence in this house…” His gaze slowly moved around the empty living room before settling on me again. “It seems they left you here to pay the price.”

My heart slammed against my ribs.

Cold prickles spread across my arms, and suddenly the room felt too cold despite the heat that had been trapped inside the apartment all day.

“What are you talking about?”

“Your sister owes me one million dollars.”

My eyes widened. For a moment, I honestly thought I had heard him wrong.

“One…Million–” My voice cracked on the last word.

What the fuck had Karla done with that kind of money?

My mind started putting everything together, and with every piece that fell into place, the truth became clearer.

Karla had been in debt to Roman.

They all knew.

They knew exactly what was waiting for her, so they packed their bags and disappeared while leaving me behind to deal with it.

My breathing became shallow.

“No.” I shook my head quickly, refusing to accept it. “No, that can't be possible.”

Roman's expression didn't change.

“I'm not here to convince you whether it's possible or not.” His voice remained calm, but there was something underneath it now, something that told me his patience was running thin. “I came here to collect my money.”

I swallowed hard.

“I…I’m not the one who owes you.”

“Yes, you're not.” His answer came so easily that for a second, I almost felt relieved.

Then he continued.

“But you will pay.”

My relief disappeared just as quickly.

“Your sister signed the agreement. If she couldn't pay, her family would. And you're her family which now makes the debt yours.”

“You can't expect me to pay a debt I know nothing about,” I shot back, forcing my voice to stay steady even though my hands were shaking. “I didn't borrow your money. I don't even know what she used it for.”

I hoped he would listen. I hoped he would realize I had nothing to do with Karla's mess and go after the person who had actually caused it.

Instead, a small smirk tugged at his lips.

He turned his head toward one of the men standing behind him.

“Go. Search the entire house for the rest of her family.”

“Yes, Don.”

The man immediately turned and headed toward the staircase.

I watched him disappear upstairs, my heart pounding so hard that I could hear it in my ears.

Nobody spoke.

The silence stretched on until I could hear the faint ticking of the clock on the wall.

Then footsteps sounded from upstairs.

A few moments later, the man returned.

“There's no one here, boss,” he said, lowering his head slightly.

Roman didn't answer. He sat there silently for a moment, his jaw tightening as his eyes fixed on the floor.

His fingers slowly curled into a fist.

Then he let out a quiet breath that sounded like a scoff.

“You think you played this well, Karla,” he murmured, almost as if he had forgotten I was standing there. “But I'll find you.”

He rose from the chair and straightened his coat before walking toward the door.

For one stupid second, I thought that meant I was safe.

Then the man holding my arms spoke.

“Don, what do we do with her?”

Roman stopped and slowly turned around.

His eyes landed on me, and whatever tiny bit of hope I had been holding onto disappeared.

His face was completely emotionless.

“Bring her along.”

I stared at him.

“What?”

He looked me over once before adding, almost casually,

“She'll be fit for a slave.”

My blood ran cold.

A slave?

No.

My entire body jerked against the man's grip.

“No, no, no!” I struggled harder, twisting my arms and trying to pull myself free. “Let me go! I don't know anything about this!”

The man's grip only tightened around me.

Roman watched my struggle without blinking.

“You don’t.” His voice was low now, darker than before. “But you'll pay for their sins.”

He stepped closer, and every instinct in my body screamed at me to get away from him.

His eyes held mine as he spoke the words that made my stomach drop.

“And until I find them…” He paused, his gaze moving slowly over my terrified face. “You're mine.”