A cold touch of revenge lingered in the air. As Sofia accepted Dimitri's affection in that sheer dress, the sound of children's laughter suddenly echoed from a corner of the hall. Alia's five children entered one by one, starting with the eldest at seventeen, down to the youngest at fourteen. They walked in perfect order, accustomed to showing respect to their mother, Alia, and father, Viktor. At the very end came Aya, the nanny, holding Alia's youngest a six-month-old baby.
Sofia stood abruptly. Over her seductive dress, she reached out and took the baby from Aya's arms, cradling it in her own. She stepped directly in front of Viktor.
Viktor, still fuming with anger, froze when he saw his six-month-old child in Sofia's arms. Sofia pressed a gentle kiss to the baby's forehead and looked straight at Viktor with a strange, enchanting voice:
Sofia:
"Oh… how cute! Right, Viktor? Those blue eyes are just like yours. Alia, you are truly fortunate mother of six! Seventeen, fourteen… and this little one."
Sofia leaned closer to Viktor with the baby in her arms. The sheer fabric of her dress brushed against him, while cradling his innocent child. It was a dangerously clever move. Sofia wanted to show that she could control the family's future if she wished.
Sofia (whispering in Viktor's ear):
"You can lock me in the basement, but your blood now rests in my arms. This child doesn't know how corrupt its father really is. If I walked out of here with them now, could you stop me? Or would your love for these six children force you to surrender to me?"
Alia rose from her chair, her face showing clear fear. She realized that Sofia was no longer her little sister she had become a vengeful sorceress.
Alia:
"Sofia! Give me the baby. Don't play these filthy games with them."
Sofia smiled strangely and continued to caress the child, still staring Viktor down. Viktor stood like stone, realizing that Sofia had placed him in a devastating check. On one side was his child, on the other, his pride.
Sofia's dual image on one side the seductive sheer dress, on the other the innocent baby in her arms stirred a primal obsession in Dimitri. He had previously seen Sofia as merely a 'target,' but now he realized she was worthy of being the true queen of this empire.
Dimitri moved from the table and stood behind Sofia. He placed a hand on her shoulder, looking at Viktor's child. His eyes glimmered with a fierce hunger. Speaking to Viktor, he said:
Dimitri:
"Sofia… seeing you like this sets my blood on fire. Viktor has six children, a full family. But me? I need a child like this too, with eyes as poisonous and beautiful as yours. Sofia, I want you to be the mother of my child. Now."
The hall grew heavy with tension at Dimitri's direct demand. Viktor still stood there, his own child in Sofia's arms. Alia's face had gone pale.
Sofia did not flinch. She hugged the child tighter and turned to Dimitri with a contemptuous smile.
Sofia:
"A child, huh? Feeling ambitious, Dimitri? But perhaps you forgot we aren't even married yet. A man who cannot save his future bride from the dark basement, who crouches like a dog beneath his brother, dares to dream of a child?"
Sofia then aimed her words at Viktor while using Dimitri as the target:
"In this palace, without marriage, only sin is born. Would Viktor allow any 'illegitimate' child to grow up here? Or would the elder brother first seat us at the wedding table? What say you, Viktor? Shall the date be set today?"
Sofia had cleverly attacked Viktor directly, using Dimitri as her tool. She knew Viktor would never want Sofia and Dimitri to marry, because Viktor himself desired to claim Sofia for himself.
Viktor (in an extremely low, grave voice):
"Marriage? Dimitri, do you truly think this girl loves you? She is using you as a weapon against me. And you, Sofia… talking about a child? First ensure that you survive the night."
Alia could no longer remain silent. She stepped forward and snatched her child from Sofia's arms.
Alia:
"That's enough! Stop playing these dirty bargaining games with my children. Dimitri, if you want to marry, then do so. But know this if Sofia enters this house, she will never see happiness again."Sofia could no longer hold herself together. Dimitri's demand for a child, his hypocrisy, everything inside her collapsed into tears and fury. She lunged toward him, grabbing his collar, shouting through sobs.
Sofia:
"You're a fraud! What do you know about my pain? My life is ruined because of you. Do you even know who I was? I was an agent. I had a career, a name, an identity. Now I'm trapped in this filthy mafia web of yours, and my job, my future, everything is about to disappear because of you and your monster of a brother."
She struck his chest with her fists as she cried.
"You talk about wanting a child? From me? You couldn't even save me. You handed me over to Viktor. If my agency finds out where I am and in what state, they'll bury me alive. Because of you, I'm nothing but a homeless, nameless disgrace."
The entire hall fell silent. Dimitri's arrogance vanished. Viktor, sitting calmly on the sofa, watched with sharp, calculating blue eyes.
Viktor said slowly, cruelly,
"An agent? So, Dimitri, you raised a snake in your own house. Sofia, you didn't come here for love. You came for information. While my brother begged you for affection, you were probably preparing to put a bullet in his chest."
Alia looked at Sofia with disgust.
"So you are our enemy? Dimitri, end this now. She is a threat to all of us."
Sofia broke down on the floor, realizing that revealing her identity had placed her in even greater danger.
But she stood again. Wiping her tears, she looked at Alia with burning eyes.
Sofia said with a mocking smile,
"What happened, sister? Silent now? Shall Dimitri kill me because I told the truth? Does Viktor know that his 'pure' and 'devoted' wife was once a top CIA agent?"
The silence that followed was suffocating. Viktor's glass slipped from his hand and shattered on the floor. He slowly turned toward Alia.
Sofia continued,
"You think you're clever, Viktor. Do you know why Alia came into your life? Not for love. She came to hand your empire's secrets to the CIA. When she trapped you, she was their top investigator. Aren't you ashamed, sister? Hiding your identity and now playing the role of mother while living with killers? Every move Viktor made was once reported to Langley."
Alia's face went pale. Dimitri stared in disbelief.
Viktor stepped forward, grabbed Alia by the throat, and pressed her against the wall.
"Is this true?" he asked in a low, terrifying voice.
Alia freed herself calmly, fixed her hair, and looked at Viktor without fear.
"Have you lost your mind, Viktor? Or are you enjoying this drama? You know exactly who I am. You knew my past before you married me. Was this little performance necessary?"
She leaned toward Sofia and whispered,
"You thought you could turn Viktor against me? Poor plan. Viktor Alekseyevich never trusts blindly. He read every page of my CIA file before he ever touched my hand. We chose to live in this hell knowing each other's truth."
Sofia stared at Viktor in disbelief. Viktor pulled Alia close and smiled coldly.
"For me, Alia is no longer a CIA agent. She is my eye inside the CIA. She works for us now. Your clever card just made our bond stronger."
Dimitri looked confused. Sofia felt completely alone. Her strongest weapon had turned against her.
She asked weakly,
"So all of this… was a game? Dimitri, did you know?"
Dimitri avoided her eyes.
Alia looked at Sofia's thin dress with contempt.
"This little performance of yours won't help anymore. When Viktor sent you to the basement, he already knew what you were capable of. If you want to stay in this house now, you will live beneath our feet."Sofia's patience finally shattered. Alia's mocking smile and Viktor's cold cruelty pushed her into a state of raw fury. The sister she once respected now stood before her as a symbol of betrayal and manipulation she could no longer tolerate.
When Alia sneered at Sofia's thin dress, Sofia's hand rose in a flash and landed hard across Alia's face.
The sharp sound echoed through the dining hall. Alia's head snapped to the side, and the red imprint of Sofia's fingers bloomed on her pale cheek. For several seconds, she could not even react.
Sofia roared like a wounded tigress.
"Say one more word with that filthy mouth and I won't stop at a slap. You think you're a master player, don't you? Lying at Viktor's feet, you've forgotten you sold your own blood. Aren't you ashamed? You sent your own sister to hell and still dare to speak proudly?"
Viktor stepped forward in rage, but Sofia did not retreat. She pointed a finger straight at him.
"Stop right there, Viktor. You want me to be your obedient servant? Look closely. Your so‑called empress just fell with a single touch from my hand. If Alia could betray you once for the CIA, don't think I can't tear down this house of cards using Dimitri."
Alia pressed her cheek, her eyes now burning with venom.
"Viktor, you saw that. She dared to hit me. Those hands shouldn't remain intact. Dimitri, are you just going to stand there while your lover insults the lady of this house?"
Dimitri was torn apart inside. Love for Sofia on one side, fear of Viktor and family honor on the other. He grabbed Sofia's wrist.
"Sofia, calm down. Do you realize what you're doing? You're calling death upon yourself."
She shook his hand off violently.
"Death? I died two years ago, Dimitri. What you see now is only a shell. And with this shell, I will burn this fake palace of yours to the ground."
The slap may have reddened Alia's cheek, but it awakened something far darker inside Viktor. He did not shout. His silence was more terrifying than anger.
In one swift move, he seized Sofia's arm and dragged her toward the stairs. She struggled and shouted, but his grip was iron.
He looked back at Dimitri and Alia.
"No one comes upstairs. Dimitri, forget your fiancée. From now on, she answers only to my anger."
He pulled Sofia into his master bedroom and shut the door behind them. The lock clicked into place. The room fell into suffocating silence.
Sofia stumbled to the edge of the bed, her thin silk dress now feeling like the only fragile shield she had left.
Viktor calmly removed his watch and placed it on the table. Then he rolled up his sleeves as he walked toward her.
"Alia is part of my empire. You struck her and insulted me. You thought Dimitri could protect you? Not here. Behind this door, there is no Dimitri, no agency, no one to save you. Only me—and my judgment."
He gripped her chin, forcing her to look into his cold blue eyes.
"You called me a beast. Tonight, you will understand what that means. The hands that struck Alia will tremble. You will ask for forgiveness, Sofia. And I will not give it."
Sofia, trembling but defiant, whispered,
"You're afraid of me, Viktor. That's why you locked this door."
A cruel smile touched his lips.
"Afraid? No. I want to break your defiance. I want those rebellious eyes to submit. From now on, this room is your world."
Outside, Dimitri pounded on the door, but Viktor ignored it.
Sofia realized that behind this closed door, a terrifying new chapter of her life was about to begin.