36. Chapter Thirty-Six
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
T iffany
Pregnant. I still couldn’t believe it. It had been a while since I’d found out for sure and now I could feel my little one. It wasn’t that unfathomable. Viktor had never used condoms, and he had been doing his damnedest to get me pregnant with his heir. It was our arrangement, after all. I woke to an empty bed, the sheets long cold, but Viktor loved swimming in the lake on the property, so that wasn’t too out of the realm of possibility
I headed downstairs to get some breakfast. When I arrived in the dining room, Sloane was slumped over the table, breathing heavily.
“Are you alright?” I approached her.
She was sweating and panting over the table. “I think the baby is coming.”
I nodded and headed into the kitchen. It was a hustle and bustle of movement, with the staff preparing for lunch. Breakfast had been served a couple of hours ago, but I’d been feeling so tired lately, that I couldn’t help sleeping in. Since I couldn’t find anyone, I rushed back to Sloane.
“I’m going to call for the midwife.” I helped Sloane to her feet and we slowly made our way to the birthing suite.
“It hurts so bad,” she grunted, squeezing my hand as tight as she could.
“Do you want me to help you out of your clothing?”
She nodded. With a whimper, we wrestled her out of the clothing she was wearing, and into the comfortable gown we picked out together for her to have the baby in.
“I don’t want to die,” she moaned.
“No one is going to die,” I muttered. Not if I could help it. Ever since Sloane told me what happened to the women in the Bratva after their children came of age, I’d been plotting. I wasn’t going to allow these men to take me out. They wouldn’t tell me how to raise my child, nor would they take me away from him or her. I would kill them first.
I went into the bathroom and grabbed the basin from under the sink. Filling it with water, I reached for a clean washcloth and headed back to Sloane’s bedside.
I gently used the damp cloth to wipe the sweat off her face.
“I’ve got to go get the midwife, but I will send Alexie to you.” I set the basin down on the nightstand and headed out of the room. My first stop was to grab my phone. I sent a text out to Viktor and Alexie that Sloane was giving birth, then I called the midwife. Once she told me she was on her way, I headed back to the birthing suite.
Before I could get there, I passed an office with the door slightly cracked open. What I saw inside enraged me more than I’d ever been enraged before; Viktor was on his knees with his head bowed in front of his father’s desk. There was a flogger in his father’s hand, and he was screaming what I could only deem was Russian obscenities. He may look feeble, but he still had energy in his body, it seemed. I thought I’d eradicated his awful ways, but clearly he got a second wind.
With every curse, his wrist snapped out and the flogger bit into my husband’s skin. Blood poured down his back, but he didn’t make a sound. He just bowed his head in shame. His piece of shit father was shaking, but it didn’t diminish the strength of his assault.
I wanted to run in and stop the abuse happening before my eyes, but I couldn’t. Instead, I watched as my strong, capable husband was subjected to being treated as less than, even though he was running this world. The men respected him, but from the looks of it, his father did not.
I headed away from the office and went to Sloane. After reassuring her that the midwife was on her way, I told her I would be right back. I saw Viktor and Alexie headed into the suite. He walked at a snail’s pace, but other than that, I couldn’t see any effect it had on his body. It would be alright, I knew what I had to do.
I ran as fast as I could down to the kitchen.
“My father in law is asking for me to bring his favorite drink,” I panted. I didn’t want anyone to question me.
“Oh dear. I’ve got it.” The head chef rushed to the cellar. “Do you want me to bring it to his office?” She called over her shoulder.
I shook my head no. “I’ve got it. You know how specific he is when he asks for something.” Almost everyone nodded in sympathy. My father in law wasn’t known to be a fair employer, that was for sure.
As soon as she gave me the vodka, I headed to my bedroom. I had a slower acting poison I’d been working on. It would hit the bloodstream at a slower rate than what I normally used. By the time he hit the ground, I would be long gone, hopefully finding refuge in another country. Once the heat settled down, I could move on and grow roots with my child somewhere with less drama.
A fissure of guilt ran through my body. Viktor had been so kind to me. He didn’t deserve for me to leave without saying anything to him. However, I couldn’t imagine the Bratva allowing me to get away with killing their boss. I wasn’t willing to die for my revenge.
I mixed the poison in with the drink and headed to his office. With a knock on the door, I waited for him to tell me to enter. Upon his direction, I slid inside and pushed the door closed with the back of my foot, balancing the tray.
“Congratulations, grandpa!” I grinned as I placed the drink in front of him.
“The dark one finally went into labor, eh?” He chuckled before throwing the entire drink back, smacking his lips from the refreshment of death I’d just served.
I gritted my teeth. “Yes, she was in labor. Are you going to go see her?”
He scoffed, “I don’t give a shit about her. I want to know if the next male heir has been born.”
“You don’t want any granddaughters?” It wasn’t surprising. I’d never seen any sisters or aunts around, just miserable wives waiting for their end.
“What good is a woman besides collateral? She can’t lead. She can’t do anything other than bear children. No, the next heir needs to be male, so that my line has solidified its place in Bratva history. I won’t accept anything less.”
“Oh that’s a shame,” I groaned. “I’m almost certain she’s having a girl.”
His eyes flashed with violence. “Care to make a wager on it?”
“Of course,” I nodded dumbly.
“If it’s a boy, I want you to have another heir right after this one is born. If it’s a girl, I will let you out of the marriage to Viktor, if that is what you choose, without any consequences.”
This seemed too good to be true, but since he was going to be dead shortly, it wouldn’t matter anyway.
“Deal.” I held out my hand and he shook it. A true wager. “I’ll let you go check on her progress.”
He made himself another drink, using the same glass I gave him. If there was any residual poison in that glass, he for sure drank it down. Feeling a lot lighter, I skipped away. I didn’t get too far before I bounced off a strong chest.
“I’ve got you now,” a familiar voice said, before I felt a flash of pain in my head and knew nothing more.