Chapter 35
ASTRID
The ties bite sharply into my wrists, leaving my skin raw and aching. I sit in a small, dimly-lit office, a room filled with blank walls, stale air, and a door that looks depressingly secure. I'm alone, but not entirely. Muffled voices drift from somewhere beyond, too indistinct to catch.
My head spins slowly, a thick haze still lingering from whatever drug they gave me. I close my eyes tightly, panic threading through my veins, cold and heavy.
How will Yuri be able to find me? Tatiana was too smart. She knew the blind spots, knew exactly where to lead me so no one would know.
A sick wave of regret washes through me. I trusted her, even if just briefly. I believed her smile, her easy voice, her charm. I walked willingly into her web like an idiot.
But dwelling on that isn’t going to help. I have to find a way out somehow. For Yuri. For the family I’ve found. For my babies.
I swallow the lump in my throat, chest tightening painfully. I’m terrified, truly terrified.
Maybe I can’t do this. Maybe it’s easier to just give up and let Spalding and Tatiana play out their horrible game.
Then, I feel a fluttering in my belly, gentle like the brush of butterfly wings beneath my ribs.
At first, I freeze, confused. Then it happens again, unmistakable this time. I hold my breath, stunned.
The babies. They’re moving. They’re okay, strong and kicking.
My vision blurs, tears burning hot tracks down my cheeks. Relief floods through me, fierce and bright, washing away the fear, replacing it with something sharp and powerful.
They’re alive. After the abduction, after whatever chemicals they’d injected me with, I hadn’t dared think about what that might have done. I couldn’t face the thought that harm might have come to them.
But they’re fighting, already stronger and braver than their mother.
In that instant, everything shifts inside me. I won’t just sit here. I won’t let this happen. If my children are fighting, so will I.
I breathe deeply, blink the tears away, and start scanning the room. The door is solid, but there’s a small window high up, partially hidden behind filing cabinets. Maybe it opens. Maybe it doesn’t. But it doesn’t matter because I’ll find a way.
Because these babies deserve more than fear and surrender. They deserve safety, love, and a future.
A whisper of voices drifts from beyond the door again, but this time, instead of dread, I feel resolve. I twist against the ties, wrists burning, jaw clenched.
I’m done being afraid.
Heart racing, I take a more thorough inventory of the room—every corner, every shadow, every edge.
Two windows, both closed and covered with dusty blinds. One flickering fluorescent overhead. A filing cabinet with drawers hanging ajar, paper scattered across a stained beige carpet. There’s an air vent, small and square, the kind spies slip through effortlessly in movies.
Unfortunately, I’m not feeling very cinematic right now. Realistically, there’s no way I’d squeeze through that space, even if I could somehow pry it open without tools.
My wrists are zip-tied behind my back, painfully tight. I flex my fingers, trying to get some circulation going, the thin plastic biting sharply into my skin.
I hear a cough outside the door, giving me the assumption that at least one guard is stationed right outside. I can’t count on slipping out quietly, even if I get free.
I pull gently against the zip tie, testing its strength.
It’s brutally secure. But I realize that though the tie itself might be indestructible, the chair it’s bound to is another story.
I twist carefully, exploring the wooden slat behind me.
It shifts a little. Encouraged, I lean forward and jerk my shoulders, gritting my teeth as the wood digs into my spine.
Another sharp tug, harder this time, and I feel the slat give just enough for me to slip the ties under. The chair creaks beneath me, loud enough to make me freeze for a few minutes, but no one rushes in. I slide my hands free, wrists still bound but no longer tethered to the chair.
I crouch, sliding my arms down so I can step over them and get them in front of me. It’s no small feat, but I manage to do it.
Carefully, quietly, I rush to the nearest window and yank the blinds open.
The sudden glare makes me squint. My breath catches at the view.
An abandoned office park sprawls beneath me—empty parking lots cracked with weeds, a sea of dead grass broken up by skeletal trees.
Beyond it, in the distance, the Chicago skyline rises, shimmering faintly against the hazy sky.
I scan quickly, looking for any distinctive landmarks—billboards, water towers, road signs—but there’s nothing. Just abandoned industrial parks and empty roads stretching in every direction.
I can see a faded street sign at a corner in the distance, letters mostly unreadable. My eyes strain desperately. Something that ends in ridge. Oakridge? Pineridge? It’s not enough. My heart sinks.
A sudden noise from beyond the door makes me jump. Raised voices, heated and urgent. I run softly over and press my ear against it, straining to make out the words.
Spalding’s voice is clear, furious. “…goddamn BOLO out on me! Do you realize what that means?”
Tatiana’s voice is strained and defensive. “I told you we were in a security blind spot and—”
“Apparently fucking not!” Spalding snaps, venom in every syllable. “Someone saw us. Someone knows exactly what we did. Your precious security gap was worthless.”
Tatiana’s voice rises, icy and desperate now. “Impossible. I know their security inside and out.”
“You think I’m making this up? They’re looking for me right now! I’ve risked everything—”
Their argument dissolves into muffled yelling, indistinct but furious. My pulse pounds harder. They know someone spotted them, probably Elena with her cameras. They’re coming for me. I have to believe that.
The yelling suddenly stops. Footsteps thunder down the hall, heavy and purposeful, heading straight for my door.
Panic floods me. I sprint back to the chair, dropping into it just as the door bursts open violently. I stay quiet, hoping they won’t realize my hands are now in front of me.
Spalding stands in the doorway, face twisted in barely controlled rage. Sweat beads at his temples, his jaw clenched hard enough to crack teeth.
“Astrid,” he growls, “it seems your little boyfriend has been busy.”
I swallow hard, forcing calm into my voice. “What’s happening?”
He stalks toward me, eyes dark with fury. “They’re coming after me. The FBI has a goddamn BOLO out on me.”
I feign confusion. “I don’t understand—”
“Don’t play stupid!” Spalding snarls, slamming a palm against the wall, making me flinch.
He glares at me, breathing hard, visibly calculating his next move. All I can think about is Yuri coming to save me. He knows. He’ll find me.
He has to.
I force my breathing to stabilize, leveling my gaze at him. He’s on edge, angry and desperate, and right now, desperation is the only card I can play.
“I don’t even know what a ‘BOLO’ is,” I say quietly.
Spalding shoots me a look, eyes narrowing in irritation. “Be On the Look Out,” he snaps, his impatience clear. “It means every goddamn agent and cop within five hundred miles is looking for me.”
He wipes sweat from his forehead, pacing a tight circle. The polished, calm facade he wore when we first met has cracked wide open, revealing a man fraying at the edges, drowning in panic.
“You know,” I say softly, carefully, “maybe it’s time you cut your losses.”
He stops pacing, eyes narrowing suspiciously. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Take whatever cartel money you’ve stashed away and run,” I suggest casually, almost friendly. I add a shrug for good measure. “Disappear. It’d be better than waiting for the FBI or Yuri to find you. Because they will.”
For a split second, I see temptation and consideration flicker behind his eyes. He stands frozen with a thoughtful expression on his face, calculating the possibility. I almost think I’ve got him.
But then he sneers, shaking his head. “Nice try.”
My pulse skips, dread pooling in my stomach. He’s too confident, too knowing.
He steps closer, a sinister smile spreading slowly across his face. “Speaking of illicit money. Those USB drives I found on you? Very, very interesting.”
My blood runs ice cold.
He leans in, enjoying my reaction. “You’ve been busy, haven’t you? All those carefully saved documents, all that beautiful, detailed information. More than enough to hang the Ivanovs out to dry, and maybe even cut myself a nice little deal with the FBI.”
My mouth feels like sandpaper. I stare at him, heart pounding wildly.
“You don’t know what you’re doing,” I say hoarsely, the words feeling hollow even as I speak them.
“Oh, I know exactly what I’m doing,” Spalding counters, smug arrogance fully restored. “And thanks to your little backups, I’m sitting on gold.” He leans in closer, voice lowering. “And trust me, Yuri and his family won’t dare lay a finger on me as long as I have you.”
He straightens into full swagger, clearly relishing every moment of his regained advantage. “It’s not over yet, Astrid,” he says calmly, adjusting his shirt cuffs like the professional he once pretended to be. “In fact, it’s just getting started.”
He turns sharply and strides to the door, pulling his phone from his pocket. He pauses, giving me one last smug look over his shoulder. “I'm sure Christian will enjoy hearing we’re back in control.”
The door shuts heavily behind him, leaving me alone again, the silence pressing painfully against my eardrums.
My body sags, heart slamming against my ribs, nausea twisting through me. I stare at the door, unable to breathe properly.
The flash drives, the ones I held onto as insurance, the ones meant to keep me safe, could now destroy the very people I’ve grown to love. The father of my children, his family, now my family.
I swallow the bitter sting of regret, blinking back tears of frustration and fear. Tatiana and Spalding have their hooks in deep now.
And it’s all my fault.