Dimitri's voice was now as soft as velvet, yet every word pierced Sofia like venom. He seated himself with meticulous precision near her feet. Taking the little vermillion container in his hand, he began to trace it slowly along the soles of Sofia's bare feet.
As the tip of his finger touched her toes, he gave a mysterious smile and said:
"You know, Sofia, though Victor and I share the same blood, our madness is identical. The way I touch your feet with this vermillion, Victor tends to Alia in exactly the same manner. The phoenix tattoo on your back? Victor painted a similar one on Alia's back with his own hands."
Sofia remained frozen, unable to speak. Dimitri continued:
"We don't just love our women—we carve our ownership into them. Just as Alia is Victor's obsession, you have become my obsession. Victor looked at you with suspicion because he recognized in you the same fire he found in Alia."
Finishing the last stroke of vermillion on her toes, Dimitri stood up. His eyes burned with a strange mania. Fixing his gaze on hers, he said:
"From now on, you will exist only for me. Every breath, every movement will be for me. And tell those DGFI agents—let them not dare look at the tattoo on Alia's back. If they do, their hearts won't survive the sight."
Meanwhile, in the control room:
The young DGFI agent sat in front of the screens, utterly frantic. Somehow, he had managed to decode Dimitri's words from the faint signal of Sofia's iris scanner. Overwhelmed, he buried his face in his hands.
He muttered:
"Oh my God… Alia and Sofia… so these two brothers have trapped two agents in the same mold? Dimitri and Victor aren't just mafia—they're artistic maniacs!"
He signaled his team.
"We need to run a background check on Alia Zarin immediately. Was she ever one of ours, or did she become a branch of Dimitri while pruning his network?"
A deathly silence fell over the control room. With trembling hands, the young agent opened Alia Zarin's file from the dark web and intelligence databases. His eyes froze. The cold blue light of the screen made his face ghostly pale.
What he saw drained all blood from his body. He released the mouse and slid back from his chair, sweat dripping from his forehead. In a terrified whisper, he said:
"No… no, I can't! This is beyond me. This Alia isn't an ordinary mafia queen—she's something lethal! Whatever she's done… no sane person could sleep after hearing it."
The file revealed:
Bloody Past: Alia Zarin had been a former Interpol agent, sent to capture Victor. But instead of catching him, she joined forces with him, massacring her entire team in a single night.
Dangerous Profile: She is not just Victor's wife—she is his entire "operational brain." What Victor destroys, Alia conceals. She is known as The Silent Death.
The young agent, frantically closing files, shouted:
"She's ten times more dangerous than Sofia! If she ever finds out we're snooping, she won't take ten minutes to locate our control room in Moscow!"
He threw off his headphones.
"Tell the commander—I'm out of this mission. Dimitri may be a psycho, but Alia… Alia is a living witch! I can't handle it!"
Meanwhile, in Dimitri's palace:
Dimitri waited for the vermillion on Sofia's feet to dry. He looked at her fearful face and gave a mysterious smile. He knew that if anyone opened Alia's file, their souls would tremble.
Leaning close to Sofia's ear, he whispered:
"What's the matter, Sofia? Why has your face gone pale? Have your friends discovered Alia's true identity? Remember—whoever messes with Alia doesn't even get a grave."
He took a gold coin from his pocket and placed it in Sofia's hand.
"Alia has invited you tomorrow morning. She wants to see the tattoo on your back herself. Will you go… or are you afraid?". Dimitri's sudden change in behavior made the air in the room feel unbearably heavy. Without saying a word, he calmly unfastened the buckle of his expensive leather belt. The metallic sound cracked through the silent room like a whip. The softness of the artist was gone from his face—what remained was something primitive, something authoritarian.
Sofia pressed herself against the wall, staring at him with wide eyes. Her heartbeat was so loud she could hear it in her own ears. Dimitri wrapped the belt once around his hand and took a slow step toward her.
He stopped very close. Strands of his golden hair fell across his forehead, and his eyes burned like fire. He gently lifted the belt and pressed it under Sofia's chin.
"Are you afraid, Sofia? Do you think I'm going to hurt you? No… I won't hurt you. I just want to remind you of something—just as this belt stays around my waist, you too will remain under my control. Tomorrow, when you stand before Alia, this fear must not be in your eyes."
He leaned close to her ear, his voice now cold as ice:
"Tomorrow, in front of Alia, you must prove that you are worthy of Dimitri. If you make even the slightest mistake, Victor and Alia will tear you apart. And then, even if I want to, I won't be able to save you. Now lie down. Tomorrow is the hardest test of your life."
Meanwhile, in the control room:
The young DGFI agent had heard the metallic belt sound through the last signal. He sat there covering his face with his hands, his whole body trembling. He had no idea what was happening inside.
He muttered,
"It's over… the mission is no longer in our control. Dimitri is mentally breaking Sofia apart. Will she be able to stand in front of that witch, Alia?"
He frantically tried to log back into his system.
"We have to do something! We can't leave Sofia alone like this!"
Back in Dimitri's room:
As Dimitri stood close to Sofia, his sharp eyes suddenly focused on her pupils. They looked slightly brighter than normal, and a very faint blue light blinked intermittently.
Dimitri wasted no time. He realized it immediately—this was not a normal eye. An iris scanner and camera chip had been implanted inside.
"Sofia… did you think I only see with naked eyes?" His voice carried a sadistic excitement.
In one swift motion, he grabbed her face tightly. The strength of his hand froze her jaw. Dimitri pulled a small laser pen from his pocket—one typically used to burn electronic circuits.
He held the laser very close to Sofia's eye. She tried to scream in pain and terror, but under Dimitri's grip only muffled groans escaped.
"Here goes your last window to the world."
He switched on the laser.
A sharp blue beam fell directly onto Sofia's eye. For a second, everything in her vision turned white. The tiny lens and iris chip inside burned instantly under the heat of the laser.
In the control room:
The young DGFI agent jolted back from the screen. A blinding white flash appeared on the monitor, then everything went dark. A piercing beep rang through his headphones.
Clutching his ears, he cried out,
"Ahhh! My ears! It's over… he burned the lens! Dimitri found the lens in Sofia's eye and destroyed it!"
He began smashing the keyboard in panic.
"Now we're completely blind! We have no idea what's happening inside! Sofia's eye might be damaged! Commander… he's going to kill her!"
In Dimitri's room:
Dimitri pulled the laser away. Tears streamed from Sofia's eyes; her eyelids were tightly shut in pain. He pushed her onto the bed and fastened his belt again.
In a low, amused tone, he said:
"Now you are completely under my control. Your agents can only see darkness now. Tomorrow, when you stand before Alia, your eyes will hold only my image—no one else's."
Dimitri switched off the light.
In the pitch darkness, only the faint glow of his golden hair and the sound of Sofia's quiet sobbing could be heard.The silence of the room was now heavy, like a toxic vapor. After the metallic clatter of Dimitri's belt hitting the floor, what happened next was beyond Sofia's wildest imagination. As Dimitri slowly disrobed, exposing his raw, naked dominance, the world seemed to go dark before Sofia's eyes.
She stared, paralyzed, at his imposing form. The veins on his manhood were throbbing and prominent—a clear sign of his primal arousal and predatory intent. Sofia wanted to look away, but terror had robbed her of even the ability to blink.
Dimitri stepped forward, one calculated pace at a time. The familiar, mysterious smile lingered on his lips, but his eyes burned with the cruelty of a hungry beast. In one sudden motion, he lunged, pinning Sofia down onto the bed.
As her back hit the mattress, Sofia tried to scream, but Dimitri's iron-like hands instantly clamped down on her wrists. Pinning them above her head, he released the full weight of his body onto hers.
Leaning close to her ear, Dimitri began to whisper in a low, chilling tone:
"Don't struggle, Sofia. This pressure on your wrists—it isn't an injury; it's my signature. From this day forward, my name will be written in every vein of your body. Just as Victor carved Alia from blood and fire, I will give you a new birth through my madness."
Sofia felt his hot breath crashing against her neck. The grip on her wrists was so tight that the circulation felt cut off. Every muscle in Dimitri's body was taut, and she could feel the searing heat of his veins against her thigh, pulsing like a volcano ready to erupt.
Looking directly into her eyes, he said,
"Tomorrow morning, when Alia sees you, she must see only my shadow in your gaze. Remember—you are no longer an agent... you are Dimitri's personal property."
In the darkness, Sofia's tears began to soak into the pillow, but there was no escape from his ruthless embrace.
The Point of No Return
In the dim light, Dimitri's silhouette appeared like a cruel, ancient deity. Pressing her hands firmly into the bed, he anchored himself over her. Sofia could feel the throbbing intensity of his veins as he prepared to consume her.
Dimitri did not rush. Maintaining unwavering eye contact, he began to slowly penetrate her, forcing his existence into her very core.
Sofia felt as if her body was being torn in two. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead from the sheer agony; she bit her lip, trying to stifle the scream rising in her throat. But Dimitri showed no mercy. He whispered calmly:
"Don't cry out, Sofia. Feel this pain. This is the bond that chains you to me for a lifetime. From now on, my venom flows in your blood."
Every movement was slow, deliberate, and authoritative. Sofia realized this wasn't just a physical act—it was the ultimate declaration of Dimitri's ownership. Each inch was a reminder that she was no longer a free woman or a brave agent; she was a prized captive.
Outside, the Moscow night grew colder, the wind lashing against the palace walls. But inside this locked room, Sofia was being incinerated in an unbearable fire. The madness in Dimitri's eyes and the rhythmic pulse of his body served as a final reminder: she was trapped in a web with no way back.
Tomorrow, she would have to stand before Alia. But after this total violation, was there anything left of the original Sofia to recognize in the mirror?
The Echo of Despair
Sofia's scream—a sharp, broken "Ahhhh!"—echoed off the walls. It wasn't just a sound of physical pain; it was the sound of absolute helplessness and a forced surrender. Dimitri's slow, calculated cruelty was systematically dismantling her mind.
Dimitri didn't stop. He lowered his face to the curve of her neck, measuring the frantic pace of her heartbeat against his skin. Sofia's body trembled violently, while the shackles of his hands only tightened around her wrists.
Dimitri's Whisper:
Wiping a tear from her cheek with his thumb, he spoke with a mocking tenderness, "There it is, Sofia... this pain is what will remind you who you belong to. Just like Victor's Alia, you have become a living ghost, and I am your only master."
Silence in the Control Room:
Miles away, the young DGFI agent sat in a deathly silence. Though the video feed was dead, the audio signal had captured that one final, stifled cry. He knew then that their best agent was gone. She didn't exist anymore—she had been swallowed by Dimitri's shadow.