In response to Sofia's folded hands and desperate plea, Dmitri didn't soften in the slightest. He stepped even closer, bringing his face right down to Sofia's ear. His cold, heavy voice cut through the silence of the dark room like a blade
"What you did do you remember?" Dmitri whispered with an ice-cold smile. "Have you forgotten, Sofia? The knife you drove into my chest with your own hands, the wound you carved into my body today, I am collecting interest on every single drop of it. You pushed me to the brink of death, Sofia. So today, your tears, your begging, or your folded hands nothing is going to change a thing."
Sofia shook her head frantically, breaking down into deep, racking sobs. She hadn't fully comprehended the consequences of that day back then, but wrapped in the flames of Dmitri's relentless vengeance, she finally realized that the hatred and destruction consuming their bond had no end in sight. A dark, ruthless smirk was plastered across Dmitri's face. But the exact second the name Victor escaped Sofia's trembling lips, the atmosphere in the cold room instantly froze. The chilling look in Dmitri's eyes flickered for a split second, replaced by a sudden flash of intense, savage fury.
With her hands still bound against the wall, Sofia stared at him through her tears and cried out
"You are just like your older brother Victor... exactly like how my sister did the exact same thing to me! You two brothers and my sister you are all equally cruel, equally monstrous!"
The moment Victor's name was uttered, Dmitri seemed to snap. Slamming his hand hard against the wall, he stepped directly into Sofia's personal space, his eyes burning with rage. Clenching his teeth, he growled in a harsh, menacing tone
"Don't you dare utter Victor's name, Sofia! Never make the mistake of comparing me to that monster again. He might share my blood, but his world and mine are entirely different. And your sister... she is just as vile and treacherous as you are. The destruction the two of you unleashed on our lives is what you're paying the price for today!" Meanwhile, in a completely different scene far away in a brilliantly lit, bustling room Alia was dancing to her own rhythm, making the glass bangles on her wrists chime melodiously. With every movement of her hands, the bangles created a sweet ringing sound that filled the air.
Just then, right in the middle of her energetic and fast-paced dance, one of the glass bangles suddenly slipped from her wrist and smashed hard against the floor. The sharp, shattering sound of broken glass pierced through the room.
Alia stopped instantly. Shocked by the sudden disruption in her dance, she looked down with wide, anxious eyes and whispered
"What just happened... why did it break so suddenly?"
A strange, unnamed dread gripped her heart, as if she could instinctively feel the dark, ominous shadow of some approaching catastrophe unfolding far away. As Alia's heart pounded with a nameless dread while staring at the shards of the broken bangle, the heavy door of the room was suddenly shoved open, and Victor stepped inside. The stern expression on his face and the strange coldness in his eyes changed the atmosphere of the room in a single second.
Stepping right up in front of Alia, he asked in a deep, cold voice
"What is it, Alia? What was that sound just now? What broke?"
Victor's sudden presence and the gravity of his voice only amplified the panic inside Alia Looking away from the broken glass, she stared at Victor with wide, trembling eyes, the words seemingly stuck in her throat. Looking away from the shattered glass shards, Alia swallowed hard to steady her nerves. Her throat was trembling, and a shadow of fear pooled in the corners of her eyes. Standing before Victor, she managed to control her quivering voice just enough to whisper
"It's nothing, Victor... I was just dancing, and the bangle slipped from my wrist and broke. But... for some reason, my heart suddenly skipped a beat. I feel like some terrible danger is unfolding out there somewhere... could something awful have happened to Sofia?"
The moment Sofia's name left Alia s lips, the gaze in Victor's eyes grew even sharper and more menacing. He did not look away from Alia for a single second. Victor's sharp, freezing gaze sent a shiver straight down Aliyah's spine. Unable to hold his intense stare for long, she took a step backward, her heart hammering against her ribs. Overwhelmed by a rising wave of panic, she stammered, her voice trembling with a mix of fear and confusion
"No... I mean, why are you looking at me like that, Victor? What is that terrifying look in your eyes...?"
At her words, a strange, twisted, and meaningful smirk appeared at the corner of Victor's mouth. Stepping a little closer, he whispered in a mysterious, heavy tone
"Why are you scared, Alia ? You only heard the sound of a glass breaking... but do you have any idea when your own fate has shattered just as easily?" Hearing Victor's mysterious and chilling words, alia's heart skipped a beat. Cold beads of sweat broke out on her forehead from sheer terror. Unable to wait a single second longer to figure out the meaning behind that ruthless look in Victor's eyes, she cried out in a trembling voice
"Tell me, Victor! Why are you speaking in riddles? What are you talking about regarding my fate? Has something terrible happened to Sofia? Please tell me the truth!"Victor stepped forward until he was standing right in front of alia. The twisted smirk at the corner of his lips grew even deeper. Staring straight into her eyes with a cold and heavy voice, he said
"Sofia and Dmitri are in a place now from where there is no return. And you... did you really think you could sit comfortably at this safe distance? The game the two of you sisters started has its final ending written for your life right along with theirs today."
The moment those words left Victor's lips, the ground seemed to slip away from beneath alia's feet. Her entire body trembled violently. Overwhelmed by the terrifying news of Sofia's danger and the looming shadow of her own destruction, she couldn't bear to stand there a second longer. Choking back a sob and wiping away her tears, she turned and fled from the room in a blind panic. Stepping out of her car in a blind rush, alia rushed straight to Joydeb Mitra. Consumed by raw panic and fury over the atrocities being inflicted on Sofia, she couldn't hold back anymore blinded by rage, she landed a hard, resounding slap right across Dmitri's cheek.
Staggering slightly from the sudden impact, Dmitri's head turned to the side. Yet, not a single trace of anger or shock crossed his features; instead, a cruel, chilling smirk spread across his face. Lowering his hand from his cheek, he stared straight at alia and said in a calm yet menacing voice
"Keep quiet, Bhabhi... don't forget your place." Dmitri's chilling threat and arrogance only fueled the blazing fire inside alia. Not an ounce of fear touched her; instead, her eyes burned with extreme hatred and defiance. Refusing to hold back for even a second, she landed an even harder, ferocious slap across Dmitri's other cheek, putting all her force into it.
The loud crack of the slap echoed through the air. As Dmitri touched his stinging cheek and looked at her in shock, alia stood right before him with blazing eyes, her voice dripping with an icy, authoritative fury
"Don't ever mistake me for some ordinary woman, Dmitri! I am the Russian Mafia Godmother... and you are going to pay dearly, drop by drop, for daring to lay a hand on my sister Sofia!" Brushing off the stinging pain of the hard slap, Dmitri broke into a bizarre, chilling smile. That eerie laugh made the heavy atmosphere in the room even more spine-chilling. Straightening his head, he locked his burning, razor-sharp gaze onto alia's eyes and replied with ruthless sarcasm
"Russian Mafia Godmother? Wow, what big words! But don't forget, alia who sits on the throne of this dark underworld and who gets crushed into dust doesn't depend on your whims. Just as your sister Sofia is right in the palm of my hand, it won't take me a single second to shatter this arrogance of yours. By coming here today, you've dug your own grave with your own feet!" alia didn't wait even a second after Dmitri's arrogant words. Trembling with blinding rage, she delivered such a fierce, ferocious slap that the sheer impact whipped Dmitri's head sideways. Blinded by fury, she snapped at him with a harsh curse
"You son of a bitch, don't you know how to speak to your elders?!"
Before she could pull back from the blow, Dmitri broke into a savage smile. In the blink of an eye, his hand shot out, gripping alia's waist with an iron-clad, inescapable hold, pulling her flush against his chest so she couldn't move an inch. Even trapped in Dmitri's iron grip around her waist, not an ounce of fear touched the fire in alia's eyes. Staring straight into Dmitri's eyes, she growled in a fierce, unyielding voice
"Where is my sister, Dmitri?! Where have you hidden her? If even a single scratch is on my sister, I will wipe you off the face of this earth!"The corner of Dmitri's lips curved even further. In response to the fire in alia's eyes and her fierce threat, not a single trace of fear crossed his face; instead, his gaze held a strange, cruel amusement. Keeping his iron grip on her waist, he leaned in closer, bringing his face right to alia's ear, and whispered
"You want to know where your sister is? It's not that simple, alia. She's locked away in a dark abyss where even your mafia powers can't reach. But yes... if you want to see her alive, you'll have to strip away that arrogance of yours and dance to my tune exactly how I want. Tell me, are you ready?" alia was no ordinary woman—she was a notorious and fiercely brilliant Russian Mafia Godmother herself! She saw right through Dmitri's trap in a split second. Faking compliance, she pretended to agree on the surface so that Dmitri would lower his guard and she could turn the tables on him.
With supreme cunning, alia played along with his game:
Fading the fierce anger from her eyes, she put on a helpless, compliant expression. Leaning in close, she looked right into Dmitri's eyes and answered with a deceptive, sweet smile
"Fine, Dmitri... I accept your terms. To save my sister, I'll do whatever it takes. Tell me, what do you want me to do now?"
The second Dmitri believed he had finally broken the fearsome Russian Godmother and arrogance caused him to loosen his grip on her waist just a fraction alia struck!
Without wasting a single microsecond, she used her lightning-fast mafia combat reflexes. Stepping hard on his foot and twisting out of his hold before he could blink, she flipped the power dynamic entirely, pinning him down or holding a lethal weapon straight to his chest, leaving Dmitri completely stunned and outsmarted at his own game! Jolting herself free from Dmitri's grip, alia stepped back a pace, her eyes flashing with a fierce, cold triumph. As a completely stunned Dmitri stared back at her, she broke into a sarcastic, mocking smirk and taunted him
"What was that you called me just now, jaan? Say that again, will you? You were showing off your power so proudly a moment ago so why did things turn around the second you blinked?"Just then, someone from behind wrapped their arms tightly around alia, holding her in a firm grip! Taken aback by this sudden ambush, she froze for a split second. But the very next moment, she realized it was none other than Victor.
Capitalizing on Victor's unexpected move, Dmitri who had been caught off guard just a moment ago let out a twisted, triumphant smirk. Regaining his composure, he looked straight at alia with burning eyes and mocked tauntingly
"What's wrong, brother did you really think you were going to win this game all by yourself?" While alia thought she had complete control of the situation, trapped tightly within Victor's arms, an unexpected plot twist unfolded right before her eyes!
Holding alia firmly, Victor gestured for Dmitri to come closer. As Dmitri stepped forward in confusion, Victor's right hand whipped through the air SLAM! With a resounding crack, Victor delivered a vicious, bone-rattling slap straight across Dmitri's cheek!
The sheer force of the sudden blow staggered Dmitri. His cheek flared bright red, and completely stunned, he stared at Victor in absolute disbelief. The next second, Victor barked in a furious, authoritative voice
"You insolent bastard! How dare you pull this stunt right in front of me? Go, bring your wife here right now!" A moments later, a terrified Dmitri dragged Sofia into the living room. Seeing Sofia's condition, alia's heart ached her beloved sister's hair was disheveled, her clothes showed signs of exhaustion, and her eyes were filled with sheer terror. Catching sight of Sofia in that state, alia cried out frantically
"Sofia! What have you monsters done to her?!"
Right then, Victor loosened his grip and pulled alia aside, releasing her from his arms. Staring at Dmitri and Sofia with a cold, ruthless gaze, he spoke in a quiet yet terrifying tone
"No matter how insolent Alia was with me, even when she crossed her limits, I never raised a hand against her or subjected her to such cruelty. But you... you didn't just cross the boundaries I set; you tried to step right over my head! Both of you are going to pay dearly for this today." Taken aback by being dragged into the middle of this mess, alia stared at Victor in disbelief. She hadn't done anything to warrant being lumped in with Dmitri and Sofia's mess. Looking at him with a mix of shock and protest, she cried out
"Hey, Victor! What did I even do? Why are you dragging me into Dmitri and Sofia's mess? I just came here to save my sister!"
Seeing the flash of bewilderment and innocence in alia's eyes, the cold, stony facade inside Victor softened just a fraction. Realizing he might have overreacted in the heat of his rage, his stern expression melted into a hint of genuine remorse. Looking right at her, he muttered softly
"...Sorry, Alia . Honestly, in the heat of all this anger and tension, I went too far. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that." As everyone stood busy pointing fingers, Sofia standing trembling in the corner of the room lowered her head and confessed in a frightened voice
"It was my... it was entirely my fault! If I hadn't stepped into this game out of greed, this situation wouldn't have happened today."
Before Sofia could even finish her sentence, Dmitri instantly glared at her and snapped in a harsh voice
"Shut up, Sofia! You are not to blame. It's entirely my fault... I got greedy and dragged you into this dirty mess!" Three full days have passed since the chaos. The tension has settled, leaving behind a heavy, eerie silence in the room. Victor and alia have gone their separate ways their paths parting after the fierce clash, with no sign of them crossing paths since.
Meanwhile, sitting quietly in the corner of the room are Sofia and neither of them uttering a single word, enveloped in a deep cloak of guilt and exhaustion. Sofia's hands are still trembling slightly as she holds a cup of hot tea, watching the steam slowly fade into thin air.