Page 91 of Darkest Sin

“Because they are mine!” he shouts, grabbing my jaw. “And I am not letting them go.”

“They are not yours. They are my family.”

“I am your family.”

“If you truly are, you’d save them, not hurt them. You save me,” I say as clearly as I can.

“Lev thought he could keep you all away from me. I don’t like that.”

“Why did you hate my dad so much? What did he ever do to you? He rarely ever mentioned you.”

His hand tightens on my face. “And that was the problem. He thought he got to have the perfect wife and the perfect daughters and power and money while I got nothing. So I took what I wanted from him and I’m not letting any of it go now. Your sisters belong to me.”

“You’re going to use them to make alliances.”

“Obviously. Not very bright, are you?”

I wrench my face away from his hand. “I came here, asking for your help. As your family. If you want me in your life, then you will do this for me.”

“Why would you think I want you in my life? You chose Mikhail. You chose to leave this family. I have no sympathy for you, Natalya.”

I’m running out of options. My only option is to do something drastic.

“I will divorce Mikhail,” I blurt out. Denis raises his eyebrows. “I will divorce him. And I will marry a man of your choosing. I will return to this family. But just save him.”

“Mmm. An interesting proposition. But one I’m going to have to decline.”

“Why?”

“Because it will just be easier to wait for Mikhail to die, then marry you off to a man of my choosing. You’ll be a widow soon enough.” He nods at the guard behind him. “Natalya is going to need her old room back. She’s going to be staying with us for a while.”

Coming here was a huge mistake, I realize. I knew it was risky but I thought I could reach my uncle’s humanity. That because we are family, he’d care enough.

But it’s obvious to me that he only cares about himself.

The guard grabs my arm and hauls me up down the hallway. There’s no point in fighting him. He has a gun. Denis has a gun. They could easily shoot me if they wanted. Denis might think I’m more trouble than I’m worth.

The only smart play I have now is to wait and find a way out of this mess.

The guard brings me to my old room and shoves me inside before locking the door from the outside. There never used to be locks on the doors. My father never treated me and my sisters like prisoners.

Slumping onto my bed, I can feel my tears welling up again. If my father were still alive, he’d make sure nothing bad happened to me and my family. But he’s dead.

And Mikhail might be dead soon, if he isn’t already.

I hear a tap on the wall and I press my ear to it. Irina’s room is on the other side. When we were younger, we’d knock on the wall and talk to each other through it.

“Natalya? Is that you?”

“Yes. It’s me.”

“How did you end up back here?”

“Mikhail is in danger. I was hoping Denis would help but it’s clear that he only cares about helping himself. I’m so sorry, Irina. I wasn’t able to save you. Once Mikhail dies, that’s it. I have no way to save any of you.”

She’s quiet for a long time before she finally speaks again. “I know you tried your best. Sasha told us that she called you. That you promised to protect her.”

“Did she ever get the name of the man that Denis wanted to marry her to?”