When Sofia stepped out of Viktor's room, the cold air of the corridor touched her burning forehead. The mission was successful, yet a different kind of storm was raging inside her chest. As she was leaving Viktor's house, she heard the sound of a baby crying from the upper floor.
Alia was standing on the balcony with her eight-month-old child in her arms. The baby was screaming restlessly from hunger and discomfort. Exhaustion and illness were clearly written across Alia's face.
Scene: A different kind of reunion between two sisters
Sofia walked slowly toward Alia and stood beside her. Alia was startled to see her. Her eyes were wet.
Alia:
"Sofia… you're still here? Did you finish talking to Viktor? Look at this baby he just won't stop crying. I'm so sick and weak that I can't even feed him properly. He's refusing the formula too."
Sofia could not bear the sound of the baby's cries. She knew this child was innocent. Whether his parents were involved with the mafia, whether his aunt was an agent none of that mattered to him. He was simply hungry.
Without saying a word, Sofia gently took the baby into her arms. As if by some strange magic, the baby's crying softened at her touch. Sofia sat on the sofa and covered herself discreetly with her scarf.
Sofia (very softly):
"Ap… you're under too much stress. Your body is drained. But this baby is blameless. After that accident two years ago, my body went through hormonal changes. The doctor said that even if I can't become a mother, the ability for motherhood still remains in me. I can feed him."
Alia stared at her in shock. The sister who had just threatened her with a sniper, the sister who seemed to be trying to take control over her husband was now the one saving her child's life.
As Sofia fed the baby, a tear slipped from the corner of her eye. She wondered did she really want to destroy this family? Or did she only want freedom from Dimitri's control?
Alia sat beside Sofia and gently placed a hand on her head.
Alia:
"I don't know whether to thank you or fear you. You want to end Dimitri, yet you're saving my son by feeding him with your own milk. Who are you really?"
Sofia kissed the baby's forehead and said in a low voice
"I am just an unfortunate woman, Ap… one who wanted love but received betrayal. By feeding your son, it means that Viktor's heir now carries something of me within him. Whatever happens to Dimitri tomorrow, this child should know that his aunt loved him."
The baby, fully satisfied, fell asleep in Sofia's arms. The peace of this moment felt like the stillness before a storm.
At that very moment, Dimitri was coming upstairs. From behind the door, he witnessed the entire scene. A deep suspicion rose in his mind had Sofia completely aligned herself with Alia? Was she setting a trap for him?As the baby drank contentedly from Sofia, he seemed to find a strange peace. In the middle of feeding, his tiny hands reached up and touched her chest, and a soft, satisfied sound escaped his lips "hmmm…"
That small touch and the echo of that sound awakened the dormant emotions of motherhood inside Sofia. Gently, she wrapped her fingers around the baby's tiny hands.
Scene: Dimitri's inner turmoil
Standing behind the door, Dimitri watched the scene and burned inside. Sofia's maternal tenderness both fascinated and unsettled him. A thought crossed his mind:
"Can the woman who is nourishing my brother's child with her own body truly be planning to kill me? Or is this compassion her greatest weapon blinding us all before she strikes?"
Sofia rested her forehead softly against the baby's and whispered,
"Your tiny hands are so pure… You have no idea how impure your father and uncle have made this city. Your touch reminds me that I haven't turned to stone yet."
Alia kept staring at Sofia without blinking. She realized that Sofia was not merely an agent she was a woman neither Dimitri nor Viktor would ever fully understand.
Alia (in a low voice):
"He's touching your chest and claiming you as his own, Sofia. From today, you're not just his aunt you're his second mother. If Dimitri sees this, he'll lose his mind. He always thought of you as nothing more than something to possess. But today, you've blended into the soul of this family."
Just then, Dimitri entered the room loudly. His eyes were red. He walked straight up to Sofia, not even glancing at the baby, and looked directly into her eyes.
Dimitri:
"Such affection you show! But after tomorrow's wedding, when these hands are stained with Dimitri's blood, will this purity remain? Or is this just another one of your clever moves, Sofia?"
Sofia gently returned the baby to Alia's arms, adjusted her clothing, and stood up. The softness of motherhood had vanished from her eyes; in its place was only hatred for Dimitri.
Sofia:
"You're the one playing games, Dimitri. I'm only saving a life. The child his own mother couldn't feed I gave him life. Are you jealous? Or are you afraid that there is still humanity left inside me?"Dimitri's rage knew no bounds. Sofia's mocking smile and the way she claimed a maternal right over his brother's child had ignited a bonfire within him. Without a word, he struck her across the face with a forceful blow. The impact sent Sofia reeling, but before she could hit the floor, Dimitri gripped her arm like a vice and dragged her toward the VIP suite.
The sound of the door slamming and the heavy click of the lock echoing through the silent corridor signaled a terrifying turn. Sofia stood there, clutching her throbbing cheek, tears streaming down her face yet the fire of defiance in her eyes remained unquenched.
Dimitri stepped closer, his breath hot against her skin.
Dimitri:
"Your audacity is beyond limits! Do you think you can play games with my brother and his wife under my roof? Remember this, Sofia you are Dimitri's fiancée, not some charity-giving saint."
With a violent jerk, he tore open his white shirt, buttons flying across the room and clattering on the floor. His bare, muscular chest marked with the jagged scars of past wars mirrored the beastly instinct taking over him. He threw the shirt aside and grabbed her shoulders with crushing force.
Dimitri (Shouting):
"Tell me! What did you discuss with Viktor? Did you think I was blind? Do you want my empire, or do you want my life? Tonight, your games end. Tomorrow morning, you will marry me, but tonight, you will learn that Dimitri is nobody's puppet."
Sofia looked directly into his eyes, her voice a chilling whisper:
"Kill me then. But know this, Dimitri every time you lay a hand on me, I move one step closer to your total destruction. You might conquer my body, but you will never conquer my hatred."
Blinded by fury, Dimitri shoved her onto the bed. The atmosphere in the room was no longer just tense; it was a battlefield. Dimitri had lost all sense of humanity. He was no longer a man of reason but a creature of primitive aggression. He threw Sofia facedown onto the bed, pinning her with his weight and twisting her arms behind her back to ensure she couldn't move.
The room was filled only with Dimitri's heavy, ragged breathing and Sofia's stifled groans of pain. He pressed her into the mattress with every ounce of his strength—there was no mercy, no affection, only a demonic desire for total possession.
With a violent surge of dominance, he forced himself upon her, a brutal act of invasion meant to break her spirit as much as her body.
Sofia (Screaming in agony):
"Ahhhhhhh!"
The piercing cry of pain echoed off the cold walls of the VIP suite. Sofia's fingernails clawed at the bedsheets, shredding the fabric as the sensation of being torn apart overwhelmed her. Dimitri did not stop; every movement was a calculated step to crush her defiance.
While her tears soaked the pillow, a different kind of fire was hardening within her soul. She was recording every second of this agony in the ledgers of her mind. She thought to herself:
"Tonight, you bleed my body, Dimitri. But tomorrow, I will collect this debt of blood with your life."
Dimitri growled into her ear, his voice thick with triumph and malice:
"Do you understand now whose shadow you live in? Viktor won't come to save you, and your agency cannot reach you here. Tonight, you belong only to me."
The Aftermath: The Silence of the Grave
As the violence subsides, the room falls into a deathly silence. Dimitri believes he has won, but he has actually created his own executioner.Sofia's cries were a heart-wrenching symphony of agony. The physical pain, combined with the crushing weight of humiliation, tore her apart. Faced with Dimitri's demonic cruelty, she was utterly helpless.
Sofia (Sobbing through gasps):
"Ahhhhh... Fuuuu Motherfucker ... Oh no! Please... stop..."
Her voice was breaking, strangled by her own breath. Every movement from Dimitri felt like the thrust of a sword. Sofia bit down on the bedsheet, her teeth sinking into the fabric to stifle her screams, desperate to keep the sounds from reaching the corridor. But her body wouldn't stop shaking; the tremors of trauma took hold of her entire frame.
As Dimitri asserted his final, brutal dominance, Sofia felt herself sinking into a dark, bottomless abyss. In those moments, she realized that along with her dignity, the very last drop of compassion she had for Dimitri had withered away.
The room was filled only with the sounds of Dimitri's predatory triumph and Sofia's broken whimpers. She closed her eyes tight against the pain, and in the darkness, Riki's face appeared before her. Dimitri hadn't just killed Riki; tonight, he was killing Sofia, piece by piece.
When Dimitri finally pulled away, Sofia lay motionless, like a corpse cast aside. Her hair was a tangled mess, her clothes were torn, and the darkening bruises on her skin bore silent witness to the horror of the last few minutes.
Dimitri stood up, adjusting his clothes with cold indifference, looking down at her with pure contempt.
Dimitri:
"Crying won't help you, Sofia. This is only the beginning. When you stand at the altar tomorrow, make sure that look of terror remains on your face. Remember you are Dimitri's property."
Sofia offered no reply. She simply stared at the wall, her body racking with silent, broken sobs. But beneath those tears, a terrifying retribution was being born. Lying motionless on the bed, her body bruised and aching with a dull, blue pain, Sofia managed to turn onto her side. Her gaze was hollow, melancholic, and fixed. She stared up at the ceiling, as if searching for her lost self behind those cold, grey expanses.
The ceiling fan spun slowly above her, casting rhythmic shadows that slashed across her face like phantom wounds. There were no tears left in Sofia's eyes the wells had run dry, leaving behind a harsh, internal desert. As she stared at the ceiling, she felt as though the entire roof were a massive stone slab, crushing the air out of her chest.
She thought to herself:
"Under this roof tonight, everything I was has ended. Dimitri thinks he has broken me. He doesn't know that he has only succeeded in killing the last spark of mercy within me. Now, only hatred lives."
Outside, the wind howled, a mournful sound that mirrored the void in her heart. Sofia remained focused on a single point on the ceiling, mentally drafting her next moves. With every breath, she was signing Dimitri's death warrant. She watched a spider in the corner of the ceiling, meticulously weaving its web exactly how she would weave a poisonous trap for Dimitri at tomorrow's wedding.
At that moment, Alia stood outside the door. She had seen Dimitri leave the room, his chest bare and his clothes disheveled. Alia didn't need to ask what had happened. She pushed the door open with trembling fingers.
Alia (Whispering):
"Sofia? Are you awake?"
Sofia offered no answer. She continued to stare at the ceiling, her eyes as clear as glass but utterly lifeless. When Alia rushed to the bedside and saw her sister's state, her heart shattered. She pulled Sofia into a tight, desperate embrace.
Alia (Sobbing):
"Oh, my sister! What did that monster do to you? Why did I just stand outside? Why couldn't I save you?"
Sofia still didn't move her eyes from the ceiling. Her voice came out cold and robotic, devoid of any human warmth:
"Don't cry, Sister. Tomorrow, he will pay for what he did tonight at the church altar. Tonight he made me bleed; tomorrow, I will drown his empire in blood."