As Sofia stepped out toward the vast, manicured green golf course in casual yet high-end attire, the gentle sunlight and open breeze gave her a striking radiance. The country club's pristine lawns, the luxury cars parked in the distance, and the affluent crowd created a calm, elite atmosphere.
She stood in the middle of the green, holding a golf club, with a cold, calculated focus in her eyes. Standing a short distance behind her amidst strict security was Artem, his dark sunglasses hiding his eyes and reinforcing his stern, watchful presence.
Sofia offered a faint, cryptic smirk. She wasn't dwelling on the suffocating memory of the bedroom three days ago or Dimitri's helpless collapse. Adjusting her posture, she positioned herself for the shot. Locking her gaze onto the golf ball, she concentrated entirely.q
With a smooth, powerful swing, her club struck the ball cleanly, sending it slicing through the air to land far down the green. A flawless shot!
Sofia didn't show an ounce of emotion, standing composed as she watched the trajectory, while Artem silently monitored the perimeter behind her. Even in this open, sunlit environment, Sofia's confident and fearless presence made one thing unmistakably clear she was now calling the shots in this game.As Sofia adjusted her stance to line up her next shot, the soft purr of a golf cart engine and the heavy thud of footsteps broke the serene focus of the surroundings.
Dimitri approached from a few paces away. The arrogant, untouchable aura that once defined him was completely gone; instead, the dark shadows of recent humiliation and relentless psychological pressure lingered heavily across his pale face. Dressed in casual golf attire, his gaze carried a desperate, erratic edge. He stopped just a short distance away from Sofia. Artem instantly took a sharp step forward, preparing to block his path, but Dimitri raised a hand, signaling him to hold. Staring intently at Sofia, he lowered his voice into a tight, strained whisper
"Sofia... how long is this going to go on? Does dragging me through the dirt publicly like this really satisfy whatever twisted need for vengeance you have?"
There was no fiery rage in Dimitri's voice anymore only a deep-seated frustration and helpless stubbornness. He made as if to take another step closer, but froze instantly under Artem's chilling, piercing glare.
Yet, Sofia didn't lower her golf club, nor did she even bother to turn around and look at him. Keeping her eyes fixed ahead, she replied in an utterly detached, ice-cold tone I am not dragging you down, Dimitri. You shattered whatever dignity you had left with your own hands. And vengeance? This has barely even begun... the real game hasn't even started yet."
Those ruthless, calm words sent a shiver of pure ice straight through Dimitri's chest. He opened his mouth to retort, but the words died in his throat. Standing there amidst the elite crowd, the horrifying realization crashed over him once more: he had built this prison entirely on his own, and the heavy iron door was locked from the outside for good. Hearing those detached and freezing words, Dimitri simmered with a quiet, suffocating fury, completely powerless to lash out. Through locked jaws, he whispered in a strained voice
"You hate me that much, Sofia? It sickens you even to look at me?"
Slowly, Sofia lowered her golf club to the turf. She turned her head ever so slightly, locking her deep blue gaze directly onto Dimitri's eyes. Her expression was so chillingly devoid of emotion that the air around them seemed to freeze. In a voice that was eerily calm yet venomous, she replied
"It's not just hate, Dimitri... honestly, looking at your face makes my stomach turn. Your very presence, your voice everything about you disgusts me. I can't even bear the sight of you."The raw, unfiltered disgust in Sofia's words snapped whatever fragile control Dimitri had left. A twisted, unhinged expression flashed across his face. Giving a bitter, broken laugh, he stared right into her eyes and hissed with toxic venom
"You can't bear the sight of me? God, Sofia... that cold stubbornness of yours, this ruthless glare you are an exact spitting image of your sister! The same fiery pride, the same defiance... and those exact same eyes! You know, when I saw her last, she looked at me with that exact same look..."
The moment those words about her sister slipped past Dimitri's lips, the gentle warmth of the golf course vanished into absolute ice! In a split second, Sofia's cold detachment evaporated, replaced by a blinding, murderous inferno of rage. Her fists clenched so tightly her knuckles turned stark white. Before the rest of the words could fully escape Dimitri's lips, the ice-bound fury raging inside Sofia erupted like a volcano!
She didn't waste a single second. Raising the heavy golf club in her hand with sudden, explosive force, she prepared to bring it crashing down toward Dimitri. The deep blue of her eyes burned with the raw fury of an executioner.
Just as Dimitri realized the situation had crossed the point of no return and opened his mouth to say something perhaps to defend himself or react Sofia swung the club with absolute, ruthless velocity, tearing through the air!Before Artem could step in to restrain the blow, Sofia's ferocious strike came down right before Dimitri. The serene atmosphere of the golf course shattered instantly, and the twisted smirk on Dimitri's face vanished, replaced by an expression of pure, unadulterated terror. As the heavy, deathly swing of the golf club tore through the turf right past his ear, shaking the earth beneath them, the sheer rage radiating from Sofia was palpable. The rapid rise and fall of her chest betrayed just how close she was to unleashing absolute destruction.
Yet, even in that lethal, split-second flash of near-violence, that twisted, unhinged smirk didn't completely leave Dimitri's face. Standing face-to-face with death, a bizarre, dark thrill flashed in his eyes. Wiping a bead of sweat from his pale forehead, he let out a low, unsettling chuckle. Staring straight into her burning eyes with reckless defiance, he hissed What's wrong, Sofia? Losing control of your temper already? Hearing me mention your sister just now set a fire inside you, didn't it? But venting your anger out here in broad daylight won't change anything... the night is still young, and the rest of the night is still ahead of us!"
Those intensely provocative and sadistic words pushed Sofia's fury past the breaking point. Her jaw tightened rigidly, and the lethal spark in her deep blue eyes silently promised one thing when darkness fell tonight, every single score would be settled in full. After sunset, the estate was cloaked in a heavy, haunting darkness. The bright open fields and elite golf courses of the daytime were gone, replaced by a suffocating, breathless silence.
The heavy wooden door of Dimitri's private bedroom slammed shut with a force that rattled the entire corridor. Inside, the atmosphere was thick and oppressive. Whatever fleeting arrogance Dimitri had flaunted on the golf course earlier that day was now on the verge of being utterly crushed in the dark of this room.
Sofia stood rigidly by the window, gazing out at the pale moonlight. Dressed in dark, flowing nightwear, there was no hesitation left in her posture—every step she took radiated the chilling aura of a methodical hunter. The toxic words Dimitri had hurled about her sister earlier that day had fanned the flames of her vengeance into an unquenchable inferno. Tonight's reckoning wouldn't just be psychological warfare; it was going to be merciless.
Heavy footsteps echoed from the corner of the room. Dimitri stepped inside, slightly hazy and agitated from alcohol, flashing a twisted, confident smirk. He believed that throwing her sister's memory in her face earlier had broken her composure. Stepping closer, he sneered
*"What's wrong, Sofia? Didn't you want to talk about tonight? You aren't going anywhere now... exactly the way I finished off your sister, your fate will be
Sofia didn't give him the chance to finish. Moving with blinding speed, she whipped around. With a sudden, vicious swing, a heavy glass object slashed across the skin right beside Dimitri's eye. Taken completely by surprise, Dimitri lost his balance and crashed hard onto the floor.
A warm stream of blood began trickling down his pale forehead and cheek. A low groan of pain escaped his lips, but he didn't dare move. Because standing like a statue right at the door was Artem, holding his familiar heavy tape and a cold metal restraint, more than ready to shatter any lingering thought of escape.
Sofia walked over with agonizing slowness and stood directly over Dimitri. Kneeling down beside him, she grabbed a handful of his hair in a vice-like grip. Her deep blue eyes burned with a curse colder than death itself.
Leaning in close to his ear, she whispered in a terrifying, velvet-smooth voice
*"Where did you find the audacity to speak of my sister, Dimitri? You thought locking me away meant you won? Tonight, in the dark of this room, your final hour is striking. I am going to avenge my sister's blood with yours... and I will tear your empire down to the very ground, inch by inch."*
Dimitri looked up at her, shivering from the pain, but all arrogance and sadistic glee were gone from his eyes replaced entirely by a deep, paralyzing terror. There was no escape left from Sofia's meticulously woven trap. Despite lying bleeding on the floor, that twisted, trembling smirk never left Dimitri's lips. Even though the blood trickling down his forehead blurred his vision, his arrogance and warped psyche refused to break.
Making no real attempt to yank his hair free from Sofia's grip, he let out a mockingly apologetic, raspy chuckle and hissed
"Oops... my apologies! I completely forgot... your sister isn't just anybody, is she? She's the literal Godmother of the Russian Mafia! And she's very much around... just wait. When she finds out what state you're in here, she won't just come alone she'll paint this entire city in blood!"There was a volatile cocktail of mockery and underlying panic in Dimitri's voice. No matter how close he stood to the edge of destruction, dropping the terrifying name of the Russian Mafia was his last-ditch, desperate attempt to strike fear into Sofia and salvage his collapsing pride.
Yet, not a single trace of fear touched Sofia's expression. Instead, her deep blue eyes grew even colder and more piercing. Leaning in closer to his face, she replied with a chilling, deadpan smile
"You've forgotten a lot of things, Dimitri. But tonight, I'm going to correct this final mistake of yours permanently. Who knows better than you where my sister is and what she commands? And long before she ever has to step in... I am going to turn every inch of your empire into ash with my own hands!"