Epilogue
Iris Chertanov
I t has been so long since I have been back to Seattle. After landing in the United States for my parents' funeral, I was meeting up with my boyfriend Miller at the Jitter Mug, to talk about what he had found out about me and the Chertanov family.
He said that he had discovered some information that I might want to know. He was looking into finding my parent's obituary for me, so I knew where it was being held and what time. It's not like my damn sister would tell me.
She has always been jealous that mom liked me more than her. I was always the girly girl, had boyfriends, and never did anything wrong. I was the perfect child and daughter in her eyes. Ember was a colossal mess, always in trouble, more boyish than a girly girl, and we never got along like oil and water.
I was sitting at a table by the window, waiting for Miller to get here, inhaling the delicious aroma of my double shot pumpkin spice latte.
"Hey babe." After hearing the sexy Irish accent, I look up and see Miller Cahill, stand there in black dress pants and a light blue, long sleeve button down shirt. His dark red hair is slicked back, his green eyes shining brighter than a gem, sending me that sexy wink. Those high cheekbones and sharp jawline could cut gems, and he now has a dark red scruffy beard, that was never there before. He looks like he just left his job at the office. My sexy Irish businessman. Miller told me he and his friend run a law firm.
"Hey, how was work?" I ask as he goes to sit down across from me.
"It was okay, just a bunch of meetings today. How was your flight?" Asking me as he sips his coffee, taking the seat across from me.
"It was okay. So, what did you find out that you needed to tell me so soon?" The look in his eyes seems happy yet concerned as he ponders over my question.
"So, while I was looking for the name of the funeral home and the obituary, I remembered that you never got your birth certificate and have never seen it. So I ended up finding yours and Ember's birth certificates on top of the prior information needed. Looking at them, I found out that you aren't Ryker Chertanov's daughter and that Damien Orlov is your father on your birth certificate. I then did some digging and found emails stating that your mother had an affair with Damien Orlov, the year you were born."
I must look like a deer caught in headlights because I am so lost for words it isn't even funny. My father wasn't my father but his friend was? So why the fuck am I even here?
"How? I can't even ask or yell at my parents about this." I am fuming at this point. It doesn't make any sense.
"Iris, it's going to be okay. I took the liberty and asked Damien Orlov, since he is one of my clients, to come meet with you to talk about everything." I relax a bit at that statement because now I can at least get some answers. We talked for about an hour when a familiar person walked through the Jitter Mug doors. Damien Orlov, my father's right hand man .
"Oh sweet Iris, I am so glad you know the truth finally. I told them that we should have told you from the beginning, but Ryker being the stubborn bastard that he was, wouldn't listen to me. Now look at where we are; they are dead, and you had no clue. " Okay, straight to the point. Of course, he is going to act like he wanted me to know all along, yet this man never really acknowledgedme except a nod every so often throughout all of these years. But I decided that I need answers. So, why not listen to what he has to say? Maybe there is a good reason for everything?
"Why don't we head out for lunch to talk about this? Miller is more than welcome to come along." Orlov offers.
"Thank you, but I have to get back to the office to have one last meeting." My heart sinks to my stomach, I was hoping that Miller would join us so it wouldn't be weird and I would feel safe. Orlov nods to Miller, I give Miller a big hug, and he kisses my cheek.
"I'll call you later, Iris." He says as he walks out of the door.
"Where would you like to go eat my dear?" He asks so calmly.
"I'm not too picky. Anything works for me." I say, finishing my coffee.
"I know the perfect place then. It's a few blocks down the street. We can just walk there." Orlov says with a creepy grin and we leave the Jitter Mug.
We are walking down the street to the restaurant when my stiletto hits a crack, rolling my ankle. Fuck! I start to stumble, my whole body going numb. I feel like I’m floating, my vision gets hazy, and my eyes grow heavy. Next thing I know I am thrown into a car.
"What the-?" Everything goes silent.
I wake up what feels like hours later and everything feels like it was a dream. My head hurts and my mind feels hazy as a fog still encompasses my thoughts. Feeling around I notice I am not in my bed. But on hard ground and it's hot as Hell in here. It smells like brimstone and fire.
"Why is it so hot?" I say to the darkness around me. Feeling around everything is burning my hands. I feel three walls, one window, and the other side has a wall of bars. Am I in a jail cell? Am I a prisoner?
I see something move out of the corner of my eye. Last thing I remember was I was going to go to lunch with Orlov, and then I don't remember anything after that. God, my head hurts like hell.
"Hello, is someone there? Where am I? Hello?" I keep shouting in a panic as I walk around the dark room I am stuck in. I trip over something on the ground. Feeling around for the item that tripped me, I picked up a semi-round object with three holes and a larger opening. Bringing the object closer to my face I can finally make out what it is. W ait . A high pitched scream leaves my lips when I realize it is a skull and throw it at the opposite wall, shattering it into multiple pieces. Something sharp is stabbed into my arm.
"Nighty, night." An evil sinister male voice says as my eyes grow heavy once again. Who was that?
The next time consciousness comes I’m laying on the floor unable to move my limbs with someone ripping off my clothes. Their hands roaming over my now naked body. Pain explodes in my head as warmth seeps from the blow. Darkness comes quicker this time .
I keep fading in and out of conciseness, pain radiating from other parts of my body each time I’m graced with awareness.
Coming to again, there’s a heaviness now on top of me, grunting and thrusting into me. This can't be happening? I can't even speak or fight back. My body is so numb from whatever was jammed into my arm. I manage to move my head a bit so I can see my surroundings. There is blood all around me. Who does it belong to? Is it mine?
Blackness.
"She was brought here to get answers." A sinister tone states.
"How?" A raspy voice asks.
"Torture her until she gives us the answers we need. I don't care what you have to do, just do it." Is all I hear from the sinistervoice. The grunting continues as my body is still being thrusted into. The next wave of anguish starts in my gut when I feel my insides ripping open. The sharp stings continue up my legs and arms in rapid succession. Fading.
Waking up once again, I am still laying on the hot brimstone, feeling my skin blister from the contact of the stone. My ears are ringing from receiving blow after blow from my captors. It is getting so hard to breathe. I swear I stop breathing every ten seconds, and I can see my blood flowing steadily out of my wounds. The smell of blood, urine and feces overpower the brimstone smell of this place. My eyes catch a bloody pile of intestines laying on my stomach, pulsing with the slowing rhythm of my heart beats.
My ears stop ringing and I can no longer hear the screams of the other prisoners. My heart rate has dropped drastically, I can no longer feel my body. Each blink of my eyes takes longer and longer for me to open as an image of Ember and I as kids playing in the backyard pops into my brain and fades faster than it appeared. I don’t want to open my eyes. The rattle of my breath slows with each inhale.
As my last breath leaves my lungs……
Darkness.