Page 45 of Arranged with Twins
Sienna
C onsciousness returns slowly, like swimming up through dark water. My head throbs with a deep, persistent ache, and when I try to move, I realize my hands are bound behind my back with zip ties that bite into my skin.
I’m restrained to a metal chair in a room I don’t recognize. The walls and floor are concrete, painted white but stained with rust or blood in the corners. A single bulb hangs from the ceiling, creating harsh shadows that make everything look stark and threatening.
Memory crashes back in fragments as I recall the men on the street, the gunfight, and the syringe piercing my neck…
I force myself to open my eyes slowly, fighting waves of nausea that threaten to bring up what little I ate today.
The room spins violently before settling, and I take careful breaths until my stomach stops churning.
“You’re awake.”
The voice comes from a chair in the corner I hadn’t noticed. I turn as much as I can toward the speaker and see a man I don’t recognize. He’s tall and lean, with dark blond hair and cold blue-gray eyes. He wears an expensive suit that seems out of place in this sterile prison.
“Who are you?” My voice comes out hoarse and cracked.
“Adrian Petrov.” He stands and moves closer with an air of menace. “I believe your fiancé might have mentioned me.”
This is Leo’s former protégé turned enemy, and also the man my father supposedly owes fifteen million dollars. “Where am I?”
“Somewhere safe.” Adrian hovers over my chair, which makes me tremble before I can hide it. “We’re somewhere Leo won’t reach you easily.”
I try to scoot away from him, but there’s nowhere to go. The wall is at my back, and he blocks the only path toward the door. “What do you want?”
“What I’ve always wanted.” His smile is cold and calculated. “Leo’s empire, his territories, and his influence. You’re simply the key that unlocks all of it.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Of course, you don’t.” Adrian reaches out to stroke my cheek, and I flinch away from his touch. “Your parents have been very helpful, though not quite helpful enough. Vincent’s information has been valuable, but I needed more direct leverage.”
My parents. The words increase my nausea. “You’re lying.”
“Am I?” He pulls out his phone and shows me a text message. The screen displays a conversation between him and someone listed as “KC,” which is mostly likely Katherine Cooper.
Package delivered safely? reads the most recent message, sent just a few hours ago.
Yes. As discussed. No complications. comes the reply.
My stomach drops. “Mother wouldn’t?—”
“Wouldn’t sell her daughter to maintain her lifestyle?” He laughs, and the sound is sharp and ugly. “Katherine Cooper is many things, but self-sacrificing isn’t one of them.”
I stare at the text exchange, my mother’s initials clear at the top of the screen. The betrayal cuts deeper than I thought possible. “She knows you took me.”
“She suggested the timing.” Adrian puts away the phone with deliberate care. “Your mother was concerned you were getting too attached to Leo, and you might not cooperate with their long-term plans for the marriage.”
I frown. “What long-term plans?”
“You were to divorce him once the Cooper finances stabilized, of course. Her idea was for you to take half his assets in the settlement, then remarry someone more suitable to your parents’ social aspirations.
” Adrian’s tone is casual, as if he’s discussing the weather.
“Your growing feelings for Leo threatened that strategy. I couldn’t entirely convince Katherine that Leo would be dead within months, and she insisted on her back-up plan.
” He slants me a look as he says dryly, “You know how difficult it is to argue with that woman.”
The room tilts around me. Everything I believed about my parents and their motivations for the arranged marriage crumbles into dust. I knew they were expecting us to divorce in a couple of years.
I had expected the same at the beginning, but it didn’t occur to me that Mother would actively meddle to prevent my happiness if it wasn’t with a man she deemed suitable once Leo was no longer of use to her.
“Vincent’s been stalling on intelligence payments, so Katherine and I agreed that more persuasive leverage was needed.” Adrian continues his explanation with clinical detachment. “You, my dear, are that leverage.”
My hands shake against the zip ties. “What are you going to do?”
“That depends on Leo.” Adrian stands and moves toward a small table where several items are laid out with surgical precision, including knives of various sizes, pliers, and other instruments I don’t want to identify.
“If he’s smart, he’ll turn over his shipping routes, his client lists, and his operational territories in exchange for your safe return. ”
My mouth goes dry. “What if he doesn’t?”
“Then I’ll send him pieces of you until he changes his mind.” Adrian picks up a small, sharp blade and tests its edge against his thumb. A thin line of blood appears. “Starting with fingers, then moving to more essential parts.”
Terror floods my system, but I force myself to stay calm. Panic won’t help me survive this, and I need to survive for my babies. “He’ll never negotiate with you.”
“Won’t he?” Adrian turns back to me, the bloody knife still in his hand. “I worked under Leo for years, learned from him, and studied his methods. His weakness has always been his insistence on loyalty.”
“You don’t know him as well as you think.”
“I worked under him for years, little girl.” Adrian’s voice turns hard. “He trained me and groomed me to take over parts of his empire. I know exactly how his mind works and which pressure points will break his resolve. Getting one of your fingers will certainly get his attention.”
The casual way he refers to torture makes my skin crawl, but I refuse to let him see my fear. “If you hurt me, he’ll kill you.”
“If he tries, you’ll die first.” Adrian moves closer again, still holding a knife.
“Leo has many strengths, but he’s predictable.
His need to protect you will be his downfall.
He lost his parents, and he won’t risk losing someone else he cares about again.
” He trails the knife along my collarbone, just hard enough to scratch the skin without drawing blood.
The cold metal raises goosebumps across my shoulders and arms.
“Please.” The word escapes before I can stop it. “I’m pregnant.”
Adrian pauses, the knife hovering near my throat. “Pregnant?” His voice carries surprise and calculating interest.
“Twins.” I force out the words, hoping this information might make him reconsider his plans. “I’m carrying twins.”
“How interesting.” Adrian’s expression shifts, becoming more predatory. “Katherine failed to mention that particular detail.”
Relief floods through me briefly. Mother didn’t know about the pregnancy, so maybe there’s some part of this betrayal that wasn’t completely calculated.
Maybe she didn’t know she was condemning her own grandchildren.
“She doesn’t know.” I watch Adrian’s face carefully.
“Neither of my parents know about the babies.”
“Then you’ve just made yourself considerably more valuable.” Adrian’s smile widens. “Leo’s weakness for protecting people extends even further when children are involved, and I imagine especially his own children.”
My hope dies. Telling him about the pregnancy didn’t earn any mercy.
I just handed him another weapon to use against Leo.
I close my eyes and think of his face when he saw the ultrasound images, the wonder and fear and love that transformed his features.
Then I think of the nursery he built with two cribs, the careful way he touches my growing belly, and the future he’s planning for our family, drawing strength from each.
“He’ll come for me.” The words come out stronger than I feel.
“I’m counting on it.” He removes the knife from my throat and returns to his chair. “First though, we’re going to have some fun while we wait.”
Two men enter the room. They’re both large, armed, and look at me like I’m prey. One carries a video camera.
“Smile, Sienna.” Adrian’s voice carries mocking warmth. “We’re going to send your fiancé a message.”
The man with the camera sets up a tripod while the other moves behind my chair. The coldness of metal makes me shiver when one of them presses a gun barrel against the back of my skull.
“Tell Leo you’re safe,” Adrian says, positioning himself where the camera can capture both of us. “For now.”
The red recording light blinks on. I stare directly into the lens, refusing to look away despite my terror. “Leo, if you’re watching this, don’t give him what he wants. Don’t trade your empire for me.”
The gun presses harder against my head. “That’s not the script I had in mind.”
“I don’t care.” I keep my voice steady even as my heart pounds. “Leo, remember what you told me about your parents. Don’t let him destroy what they built for you.”
Adrian’s expression darkens. “Cut the camera.”
The recording stops, but the gun remains pressed to my skull. “You’re going to regret that defiance.”
“I already regret trusting my parents.” The words come out bitter and raw. “Everything else is just details.”
“Katherine warned me you had a stubborn streak.” He signals to his men, who step back but remain in the room, weapons visible. “She said you’d need firm guidance to cooperate.”
“Mother said that?” The betrayal cuts deeper each time I learn something new about their planning.
“She was very thorough in her assessment of your personality.” He shakes his head. “She suggested several methods to ensure your compliance.”
I think about all the conversations I had with my mother growing up, and all the ways she criticized my independence and tried to mold me into her vision of the perfect daughter. Now those same observations have become a manual for breaking me.
“She provided quite detailed intelligence about your schedule, your security detail’s routines, and even your emotional vulnerabilities.” Adrian examines the blade with professional interest. “Your mother is remarkably good at strategic thinking when her lifestyle is threatened.”
The scope of her betrayal stuns me. Mother didn’t just hand me over to Adrian. She gave him a roadmap for using me most effectively against Leo.
“Leo will find me,” I repeat, needing to believe it’s true.
“Perhaps.” Adrian stands and moves toward the door. “In the meantime, you’ll have plenty of time to think about your parents’ choices. I’ll be back soon to record a more obliging message. If you force the issue, I’ll have to use pain to induce your cooperation.”
The lock clicks shut behind him, leaving me alone with two armed guards, who watch me with cold eyes. I test the zip ties again, feeling for any weakness or slack that might allow me to slip free. The plastic bites deeper into my wrists, but I keep working at them anyway.
I need to escape before Adrian decides to start implementing those methods Mother suggested for ensuring my compliance. I need to protect my babies and be the mother they deserve, even if my parents were willing to sacrifice me for money and social standing.
The grief threatens to overwhelm me as I think about Mother actively participating in handing me over to a man who views torture as strategy. Father’s desperation made him complicit in my kidnapping.
Maybe he didn’t actively know what Mother had planned, but after years of living with them and observing their dynamic, I’m sure he wouldn’t have stopped her.
It hurts that neither considered the cost to me.
I briefly wonder if they’d known about the babies if that would have made any difference.
Probably not, at least to Mother. Her lifestyle and reputation mean more to her than anything, including me and two helpless babies inside my womb.
I push away the emotions and focus on survival. There will be time to process their betrayal later, assuming I live long enough to do so. Right now, I need to find a way out of this room, away from Adrian’s knives, and back to the man who actually loves me.
Leo’s face fills my mind, making me recall the protective fury in his eyes when he tried to warn me about my parents’ involvement with Adrian.
I dismissed his concerns as manipulation, but he was trying to save me from exactly this situation.
Now, I’m trapped in a concrete room with men who see me as merchandise, and the only person who can help me is the one I accused of lying and trying to control me.
The irony would be painful if it weren’t so potentially fatal.
I close my eyes and whisper his name, hoping somehow the words will reach him across the city. “Leo, please find me. Find us.”
Outside the room, I hear footsteps and muffled voices speaking Russian. Someone laughs at what sounds like a crude joke, and they seem casual and relaxed, as if guarding kidnapped pregnant women is routine work.
I test the zip ties one more time, ignoring the burn as they cut into my skin. The plastic seems slightly loose around my left wrist. It’s not yet enough to slip free, but enough to give me hope. If my babies are going to survive this, I need to be ready when my chance comes, and it will.
Leo will come for me. He has to. The alternative is too terrible to consider.