21. Emma
EMMA
The guard with his hand threaded through the man’s hair yanks up, revealing his bruised face.
I recognize the man being dragged forward.
He’s one of the delivery drivers I’ve seen coming and going through the estate gates over the past few days.
Young, quiet, always kept his head down when he passed through security checkpoints.
Now his hands are tied behind his back with zip ties, and panic fills his voice as he begins begging for mercy the moment he sees the three men approaching.
“Please, boss, please,” he gasps, his accent thick. “I can explain. I swear I can explain.”
The captain with the scarred hands grimaces. “You were stealing from the storage office. Money and inventory records.”
The driver’s eyes go wide with terror. “It was a mistake! I only took a small amount. I’ll return everything, I swear. Please, just let me live.”
Rurik stops a few feet away, his expression unreadable. He doesn’t raise his voice. Doesn’t show anger. He just studies the man kneeling in front of him with that controlled intensity that makes my skin prickle.
“Has he been warned before?” Rurik asks the captain, his tone flat.
The captain nods once. “Yes, sir. Three months ago for the same thing. We let him keep his job on the condition it wouldn’t happen again.”
The driver’s begging gets louder, more desperate. “I’m loyal! I’ve worked for you for two years. I made one mistake. Please, I have a family. I’ll do anything. Just give me another chance.”
Artur moves closer, crouching in front of the man so they’re eye level. His dark eyes are sharp, assessing, and there’s no trace of his usual humor. “Who were you planning to sell the information to?”
“No one!” The driver’s voice cracks. “I wasn’t going to sell anything. I just needed the money. My daughter, she’s sick, and the medical bills—”
“Bullshit.” Artur’s voice is soft but edged with steel. “You don’t steal inventory records because you need cash for medical bills. You steal them because someone’s paying for information about our operations.”
The driver’s face goes pale. The hesitation in his response gives him away before he even speaks. “I swear, I had no buyer. I was just…I was desperate.”
Eduard moves to stand beside Rurik, his gray eyes cold as he confirms the details with the guards. “How much did he take?”
“Fifteen thousand in cash,” the captain says. “And copies of the shipping manifests from the past six months.”
Eduard’s jaw tightens. He glances at Rurik then nods once. The decision is made without ceremony.
Rurik gestures to the guards. “Take him to the east wall.”
“No!” The driver’s scream is raw with terror. “Please, no! I’ll tell you everything! I’ll give you names! Please!”
The guards drag him away, his boots scraping against the gravel as he fights uselessly against their grip. His begging echoes across the courtyard, growing more frantic with each step. Other staff members who were working nearby have stopped to watch, their expressions carefully neutral.
I stand frozen, my heart pounding against my ribs. This is happening. They’re going to kill him. Right here, right now, and no one is stopping it.
“Wait,” I say, my voice sharper than I intend. “You can’t just—”
Rurik’s pale eyes cut to me. “Go inside, Emma.”
“No.” I step forward, my hands curling into fists at my sides. “You can’t execute someone over theft. That’s not justice. That’s murder.”
“It’s enforcement,” Artur says quietly, standing. “And you don’t want to watch this.”
“Then don’t do it.” My voice rises despite my effort to stay calm. “He said he’d give you names. He said he’d tell you everything. Use that. Get the information and then—”
“And then what?” Eduard’s tone is gentle but firm. “Let him go? Send him back out into the world where he can sell what he knows to the next buyer who offers enough money?”
“Lock him up. Turn him over to—” I stop myself before I say “the authorities.” The absurdity of suggesting they call the police hits me mid-sentence.
Rurik’s expression doesn’t change. “This isn’t a negotiation, Emma. The decision is made.”
He turns and walks toward the east wall, where the guards have positioned the driver against the stone. I follow without thinking, my boots crunching against gravel as I close the distance. Eduard moves to intercept me, his hand catching my arm.
“Don’t,” he says quietly. “You don’t need to see this.”
“If you’re going to do it, then I’m going to watch.” I pull free from his grip, my chest tight with fury and something that might be fear.
The driver is on his knees now, his face wet with tears as he continues begging. One of the guards pulls a weapon, checking the chamber with practiced efficiency. The sound of the slide racking echoes across the courtyard.
“Please,” the driver sobs. “Please, I have children. My daughter needs me. Please.”
Rurik raises his hand. The guard aims. The shot cracks through the morning air, sharp and final.
The driver’s body slumps forward, blood spreading across the gravel beneath him.
The guards move immediately, lifting the body and carrying it toward a vehicle waiting near the service entrance.
Within seconds, the courtyard is quiet again except for the distant sound of traffic beyond the estate walls.
I can’t move. Can’t breathe. My hands are shaking, and I have to curl them into fists to hide it.
I’ve seen death before. I’ve been at crime scenes, watched autopsies, and stood over bodies while collecting evidence.
But this is different. This was deliberate.
Controlled. An execution carried out with the same efficiency as any other business transaction.
Rurik turns to face me, his pale blue eyes steady. “Now you understand.”
“Understand what?” My voice comes out raw. “That you’re killers? I already knew that.”
“That we enforce loyalty,” he says quietly. “And betrayal has consequences.”
I explode. The fury I’ve been holding back since the moment the guards dragged that man into the courtyard finally breaks free. “He stole money! That’s not betrayal. That’s desperation. And you killed him for it.”
“He stole information,” Artur corrects, moving to stand beside Rurik.
His dark eyes are hard, all traces of his usual humor gone.
“Shipping manifests, delivery schedules, and guard rotations. That information in the wrong hands gets people killed. Not just us. Everyone who works here. Everyone who depends on us for protection.” He pauses. “Even you. Especially you.”
“So you execute him without a trial? Without giving him a chance to explain?”
“He had a chance.” Eduard’s voice is calm but firm. “Three months ago, when he was caught the first time. He was warned. We let him keep his job. We gave him the opportunity to prove his loyalty, and he chose to betray us again.”
“He said he needed money for his daughter’s medical bills!”
“He lied.” Rurik’s tone is flat. “The medical bills aren’t even real. He was stealing to sell information to a rival organization.” He glances at Eduard and Artur. “We confirmed last night that he doesn’t have a daughter, much less one that has medical needs.”
The words hit me like a physical blow. “You knew? You knew before you brought him out here?”
“Yes.”
“Then why the performance? Why make him beg if you’d already decided to kill him?”
Rurik’s expression doesn’t change. “Because everyone who works inside this estate needs to see what happens when someone breaks the rules. Fear keeps people honest when loyalty isn’t enough.”
I want to scream. Want to tell him that fear doesn’t create loyalty, it creates resentment. That ruling through violence makes enemies, not allies. But the words stick in my throat because I know he won’t listen.
“This is exactly why organizations like yours deserve to be dismantled,” I say through clenched teeth. “You think you’re protecting people, but you’re just perpetuating the same cycle of violence that got your fathers killed.”
Artur’s jaw tightens. For a moment, I think he’s going to argue. Instead, he just shakes his head. “You don’t understand our world yet, sweetheart. But you will.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Then stop acting like you have the luxury of moral high ground.” His voice is sharp now, edged with frustration.
“Theft inside our world isn’t about money.
It’s about betrayal. And betrayal spreads fast if it’s not stopped immediately.
One man steals today, three more try it tomorrow, and within a month we have a security breach that gets everyone killed. ”
Eduard steps closer, his gray eyes serious. “The driver knew the rules before he ever accepted the job. Everyone who works here does. We don’t hide what we are or what we expect. He made his choice.”
“And you made yours,” I snap back. “You chose to kill him instead of finding another way.”
“There is no other way,” Rurik says quietly. “Not in this life.”
The tension between us is thick enough to cut. I want to keep fighting, want to make them see how wrong this is. But I can feel the futility of it settling over me like a weight. They’re not going to change. This is who they are. This is the world they’ve built.
And I’m trapped in the middle of it.
The silence stretches for a long moment. Then Artur breaks it with a quieter remark, his dark eyes locked on mine.
“Moments like the one you just witnessed are part of the life you’ll be living beside us, whether you like it or not.”