Unhinged Obsession (Unhinged #1)

Prologue

Atlas

Today, my mother would have turned forty-eight years old.

I try not to think about the past, but sometimes, my mind travels back to a place I seldom visit.

In memory of my mother, I lean back, clasping my hands behind my head, and close my eyes, trying to remember some of the good times in her short life. Sadly, there were none.

"You're nothing but a fucking whore. Why can't you do anything right, you bitch?"

I looked over at my brothers, Maxim and Lev, huddling in the corner of the living room while my lunatic father humiliated and insulted my mother again. I just entered the kitchen from upstairs, where I heard all the commotion sifting through my bedroom walls.

This was nothing new in our family. My father had been abusing my mother for years.

He was known as General Ivan Petrov of the elite foreign intelligence agency in Russia, so that gave him free rein to terrorize his family whenever he felt like it.

He was never held accountable for anything he did due to his ties with the Soviet Union.

People throughout the country feared him.

He was well known for subjecting his victims to severe levels of torture, and members of his family were no exception. She looked at him, terrified.

" Please, Ivan, I did nothing wrong."

My father stomped over to her and slapped her in the mouth with his huge hand, splitting her lip open and making her head snap back.

My two brothers ran to their bedrooms on the second floor, hiding from the daily violence that permeated our household like toxic mold.

"Don't you dare disrespect me! I am the fucking man of this house. If you can't clean this goddam place the way I want it done, you will be punished!!

My father removed his belt from his pants, folding it in half. My mother tried to run from him, but he was too quick. He reached out, grabbed a handful of her dark shoulder-length hair, and wrapped it in his fist.

He pulled her head back, making her scream as he pushed her to her knees. I watched the blood trickle down her chin as my father continued his tirade.

"If you fucking move, I will use my belt buckle on your goddam face. You got that, you fucking useless slut?"

My mother had no choice but to nod while looking up into her tormentor's eyes as he gripped her hair tighter, totally immobilizing her. I took a deep breath and ran towards them, screaming. "Dad, please let mommy go. You're hurting her!!"

I was ten years old. I was still a skinny, lanky kid without an ounce of muscle on my pre-pubescent body.

I was no match for my father's strength, but I didn't care. He had been striking me with the belt since I was seven years old. I barely felt the strap across my ass anymore because he had been doing it for so long that I became desensitized to the beatings. I’m surprised I wasn’t full of scars from all the thrashings I received.

He had conditioned me to accept the abuse as a normal part of life.

I would check out mentally while he whipped the snot out of me.

He reasoned that I had to toughen up for the Intelligence Service I was destined to join when I turned eighteen.

I needed to be strong enough to handle what was coming for me in the future.

He would say this repeatedly as the thick leather strap came down over and over again on my tortured flesh during many of his rampages.

He had been drilling that shit into my head since I was six years old.

I had learned to choke down all my anger, keeping it bottled up inside, allowing it to fester like a rotting corpse over the years.

I was taught to show no emotion at an early age.

If I screamed and cried, he would hit me harder.

He only struck my bottom when he used the belt, but his fists were a different story.

He would punch me in the face, head, neck, shoulders…

wherever he felt like landing the blows.

The severe abuse I endured was slowly conditioning me to become an unsympathetic monster, which I was not aware of at the time. I hated the guy’s fucking guts, and I would never forgive him for what he put all of us through.

My mother looked at me with her sad blue eyes, their spark long gone, shaking her head.

"No honey, please go to your room,"

She breathed between sobs, her face red and puffy from crying.

My father looked at me, even more pissed off than he was two minutes earlier.

I knew I was in for it. Anytime I intervened between him and my mother, he usually beat my ass instead.

"Oh yeah, hero. You want me to leave your fucking useless mother alone, then you will take her place! "

He released his hold on her and charged towards me.

"Run, Dimitri, run!

She screamed as she struggled to get on her feet.

I was about a foot shorter than he was, so I ran as fast as possible to escape. Of course, he was a lot more powerful and a hell of a lot faster. He chased me into the yard, catching me immediately.

He lifted me off the ground with one arm, carrying me kicking and screaming into the barn.

He threw me down on the floor, standing over me with the belt still in one hand.

His face was contorted in a blind rage. His eyes were almost black.

"You think you're smart getting involved with my affairs? Strip off your clothes and get on your knees. NOW! If you make me wait, I will tear the skin from your body while watching you bleed out, you little piece of shit! What’s this, your third beating this week?

I think you enjoy being punished, so I will change it up a bit today. "

My stomach flipped, and I started to shake, but I did as I was told. I swallowed hard, kneeling in front of him stark naked, entirely at his mercy.

I was shivering from pure fear, aware of how angry I had made him. His words terrified me.

I am going to change it up a bit today.

What the hell does he mean? Is he going to beat me across my face?

I felt sick to my stomach. I braced myself for the blows, clenching my ass cheeks tightly.

He stood behind me and waited about a minute before striking my back with such force that I fell over, hitting my face on the rough, filthy floor.

I inhaled sharply, clogging my windpipe with dust. I coughed and gagged, pushing the dirt from my lungs.

The sting from the strap was almost unbearable, but I didn't cry out. I closed my eyes tightly, holding back my sobs. I knew if I screamed, he would make it much worse for me. I zoned out mentally, seeking solace from the violent whipping upon my burning flesh.

The belt landed from the top of my shoulders to the bottom of my feet that day, covering me in welts from head to toe. That was the first time he struck my whole body with the strap. If I tried to wriggle away, he would hit me harder, so I stopped squirming and just took it.

After what seemed like an eternity, he finally stopped. He was out of breath and drenched in sweat. My whole body was on fire. I was sure he drew blood in some places, but I didn't dare try to assess the damage. I was shaking so hard that my teeth began to chatter.

After wiping his brow with his forearm, he looped his belt back onto his pants. He grabbed my clothes from the floor, throwing them in my face.

"Now get dressed, and the next time you even think of sticking your nose in my business, I will put you in the fucking hospital. You got that?"

My body quaked in fear as I nodded.

He looked at me, hissing through clenched teeth.

"I don't know why you interfered. It won't make a difference. I am still going to teach your mother a fucking lesson she won't ever forget, and just because you think you’re her Knight in shining armor, I expect you back at the house in ten minutes so you can watch me punish her anyway."

He laughed in my face, then turned and exited the barn.

Once he was gone, I finally let the tears fall, sobbing uncontrollably until I had nothing left.

That was the last time I cried. My tortured body felt like it was doused in hot coals.

I could barely move, but I forced myself to stand on shaky legs, fearful of not returning to the house on time.

I didn't cry from the vicious thrashing I had just received or for my shitty plight in life. I was upset because he was going to punish my mother in front of me, and there wasn’t anything I could do about it.

Atlas 17 years old

My father came home from work in a foul mood again. He was still abusing my mother, but not as often as he did when my brothers and I were younger. We were growing into men, and he wasn't nearly as intimidating as when we were children. As we aged, so did he.

He was still as strong as an Ox, but so was I.

I had been working out for the last few years under the guise of joining the Russian SVR.

His big dream for me. That's all I heard as a small boy.

He drilled it in my head daily. Blah, Blah, Blah.

Yeah, fat chance, ass hole. It was never going to happen.

Not only did I bulk up physically, but I was a lot taller, too.

I had reached a height of six-foot-four at the age of seventeen.

I towered over my father and was no longer afraid of him.

I knew I could fucking kick his ass without as much as breaking a sweat.

After so many years of him beating me to a pulp, I had grown cold and mean, just the way he had planned.

I felt nothing and cared for no one except my two brothers and my mother.

I had no sympathy for others and didn't give a shit about anything, which spilled over into my personal life.

I had dated a few girls but wasn't interested in a serious relationship.

I was terrified I would end up treating them the same way my dad treated my mom.