38

I could see that arguing was pointless. Judging by the men’s appearance, I understood that they would do as they were told by any means necessary. Reluctantly, we handed over the remaining bags and got into the huge SUV. There was plenty of space in the back, but we held the children in our arms—the anxiety didn’t leave us. One giant took the wheel, the other sat in the front passenger seat.

A bad premonition surged quickly and stronger up my throat. And when I saw that on the highway we were turning not toward the city but in the completely opposite direction, real panic set in.

"Where are we going?" I demanded, but my voice betrayed me, quivering pitifully. "Our house is in the other direction."

"I never said we were taking you to your address. We have our own," replied, apparently the leader of the two.

It felt completely awful, terrifying to the core. Valentina went pale too, and we realized we were in deep trouble.

"This is a kidnapping!" I protested, but I fully understood that I simply couldn’t do anything to stop them. I hardly had enough money to bribe these giants, considering the car taking us into the unknown. "This is a crime! Where are you taking us?"

"To your new home," came the short reply, and I felt sick.

"What about the children?" I asked the most terrifying question for me, holding my two treasures closer.

"You and the children will be fine. You won’t be harmed, quite the opposite," the hulk tried to reassure, but could one trust kidnappers?

We drove for a long time, over two hours already, and in my mind I had painted the worst possible scenarios for our near future. Surprisingly, the boys behaved calmly, often falling asleep from the motion of the road. But then I noticed a familiar smell—thanks to Egor.

"We need to stop. I need to change the children’s diapers," I tried to get through to the giants.

"Not much longer. You’ll change them later."

"They’ve pooped!" I barked. "Do you want to keep smelling baby surprises until the end of the ride? That’s your right, but then I’ll change the stinky diaper right here in the car! I don’t need irritation on their delicate little bottoms!"

With a heavy clomp and a sigh, the brutes heeded my words, and about five minutes later we stopped at the nearest gas station. Picking up the kids, Valentina and I headed for the restroom, with one of the hulks following us.

"Ladies, no jokes," the big guy warned, barging in with us into the restroom.

"What are you doing?!" I was dumbfounded by such audacity. "We’re not running away, I just need to change the diapers! This isn’t a sight for the faint-hearted!"

"Go ahead," the hulk sneered mockingly. "I’ve got two kids, so dirty bottoms definitely don’t scare me. Don’t be shy around me."

My outrage knew no bounds. Luckily, this gas station had a mother-and-child room with a changing table. Escape was impossible with such an imposing guard, so after doing all the necessary tasks, we returned to the car and continued on our way.

We drove for about another hour before I realized that we were being taken to some gated community with absolutely luxurious houses. My mind was racing with thoughts, but the one hammering most loudly in my temples was that we were being delivered to some rich family, who would simply take my children away—some wealthy people for themselves. Even thinking about them being dissected for organs made me nauseous.

Involuntary tears wanted to pour out like a real waterfall, but I stubbornly shoved them back.

Finally, we arrived at a huge house with a tall decorative fence covered in cameras. The gates slid open in front of the car, and we drove onto the property. My heart was pounding in my ears, and I could barely feel my legs from panic and all-consuming fear.

We got out of the car, and the leader gestured toward the house. Holding the children close, Valentina and I followed the indicated path into the house.

The mansion was luxurious and lavishly furnished, but I couldn’t take it all in. I saw someone coming down the stairs from the second floor, and I was very surprised when I recognized the man as one of Danil’s acquaintances—it seemed to be Mr. Oleg Yartsev.

"Vicky, I’m so glad to see you again," the man smiled warmly, looking piercingly at me and the nanny, and then carefully, with great interest, at my boys.

"What’s going on here?" I asked Mr. Yartsev in confusion. "Why did you kidnap us?"

"You weren’t kidnapped," I heard a familiar voice that sent chills from my head to my toes and back. "You were brought home."