Vladimir's POV in 3rd person."Avtoritet Vladimir please, we're both parts of a close-knit Bratva, which I would never betray, you know me!" The bald man beseeches, shirtless body suppressing the tremors under coils of ropes bounding him to a chair.He's striving to keep his fear hidden from the formidable eyes of the avtoritet.He leisurely paces back and forth in front of the trembling man under harsh fluorescent lighting.The soft clicking of boots echoes sinisterly throughout the vast storage area of the closed cargo port. The avtoritet finally arrives to a disquieting halt, inches away from the bald man.The bounded man's eyes nervously flit towards the trademark silver gun holstered at the belt of the notorious avtoritet, the one in authority. The one imminently feared by many amongst the ranks of the Molotov Russkaya Mafiya."Nikita, Nikita, Nikita... To think you would have abjured by now." Ensures the sleek velvety reply, as black leather gloves are slowly peeled off, reveal

"You want us to take the entire day off to spend in a spa?" Mrs. Agnelli looks at him with complete bewilderment. Both Anya and Lorna share similar expressions."You've heard me the first time, Mrs. Agnelli." Vladimir solemnly confirms, voice nearing the edge of irritability. "All three of you are free of your duties for the day. An entire morning till late afternoon is scheduled at a spa for you, followed by a shopping spree and a five-star restaurant. I've also booked for the day, the grand suite rooms for each of you in one of my hotel chains."The three women, exchange with each other puzzled glances before Mrs. Agnelli asks. "But why are you doing this for us?"He nearly suppresses himself from glaring at her in vexation as he tightly answers. "You three labor so much for us, you deserve a day off today. Now go on and prepare, do not waste my time any further. I expect you gone within half an hour along with Duffield. He's also to receive treatment of likewise manner."The women

Hazel -You're much more enduring than this Hazel!Don't allow despair to chew you up, swallow you in and spit you out as misery. Prevent repeating such a vicious cycle all over again.Just another week and you'll make it out of here, away from that psycho.Yet my reflection in the mirror remains cloaked by tragedy. I wondered if anyone else saw the debris of shame and guilt cemented all over my countenance. I pondered if it was only the mirror reflection bearing such abject secrets. An immense part of me was concerned over the revelation of my shameless behavior three days ago. I viewed myself as a complete tragedy for the past three days."Are you ready yet?" Katie's voice emanates through the closed bathroom door, obstructing me from my vague scrutiny."Just a sec!" I call out, as I finish pinning the rest of my hijab. I cast my eyes down at the basin while tucking in the last pin, so I wouldn't get carried away by my guilty reflection again.After three days spent self-mourning, I

Hazel's Pov "I'm only going through with this soirée so Vladimir doesn't suspect a thing and then I plan on running away temporarily with Tommy," Katie reveals to me as we are both preparing in her room to head downstairs for her courting banquet and ball."What?" Confounded, I can only but gape at her. "Temporarily running away?""Yeah, it would, unfortunately, be temporary since Vladimir would find me easily." She rolls her eyes in apparent vexation of him. "So what's the point of running away if it's temporary?" I query while adjusting my peach-pink-colored hijab in the vanity mirror.She completes applying the last coats of lipgloss and then answers. "So that Tommy and I could get married quick and then Vladimir can't kill him for touching me because I may end up getting pregnant. So obviously my brother won't want me to raise a child without a father present."Instead of meeting her gaze in the mirror, I speechlessly look directly into her eyes with raised brows. She pouts in d

"I can't believe we got out of security so easily !" I marvel as we clamber into a taxi."Told you they wouldn't recognize us!" Bev reminds, a satisfactory smile on her heavily make-up-caked face. "I didn't attend cinematic Makeup school for nothing!""She's a refined cosmetologist alright!" Katie agrees.The three of us were caked in specialized theatre makeup, I was the one with the lightest makeup actually. Both Bev and Katie wore black-haired wigs while I wore a blonde one over my hijab.Our clothes were entirely different from the ones we had entered the building with, albeit mine was still covering all necessary parts of my body.All three of us wore black shades over our eyes. I found it odd that no security guards displayed the slightest a mount of suspicion. Bev, a month earlier had rigged and sabotaged the security cameras on her apartments floor.She had managed to befriend some security personnel, and they had shown her around the surveillance camera room, after which she'