Page 95 of Darkest Sin

“Soup is healthy,” Denis snaps. “Now eat yours.”

I grab mine and take a sip, meeting Sasha’s eyes over the rim of the bowl. She looks away from me, hurt. I’ve disappointed my sister again but I’m going to make it up to her. I have to.

“Do you have a name?” I ask.

Denis stares at me for a long moment. “A name?”

“Of the man you’re marrying Sasha to. Who is it?”

“Now, why would I tell you that?”

“I’m not a threat. I can’t warn my husband. He’s been kidnapped. He’s being tortured. He might even be dead. So you can tell me the name of the man you plan on marrying Sasha to.”

Denis smirks, shaking his head. “Natalya, Natalya, Natalya… You don’t get to come in here and make demands. Not after the shit you’ve pulled.” He nods at his shoulder. “I’m still wounded because of you.”

Good. “I hate you, you know.”

“Like I haven’t heard that one before.”

“We all hate you, you know. You think you can replace our father, but you can’t. You’re just a miserable, pathetic excuse for our father. And you always will be.”

“Keep talking like that and I’ll have Henry there teach you a lesson.”

My eyes flick to the guard. I need it to be Henry for my plan to work. My hands tighten around the comb.

Denis smiles, leaning back in his seat, satisfied.

But I’m not done yet.

“You’re not as handsome as our father was.”

“Isn’t that inappropriate of you, Natalya? Talking about your father in that way?”

“It’s the truth. My father was a handsome man. Everyone knew it. Even though he was older than our mother, he was still handsome. A silver fox. That’s what people called him. But you… you’re not that. You’re not even half that.”

“Be quiet now, Natalya,” he grits out. My sisters and mom watch everything unfold without saying a word. My sisters are afraid but my mom knows I have a plan. That’s why she’s not speaking. She knows to let me handle this.

“And you seriously think you can be a father to me and my sisters like our father was? He was an amazing father. He madesure we were all seen in our own ways. He made sure we were all loved in our own ways. Can you say the same?”

“It’s not about love.”

“No, it’s about control with you,” I snap. “My family will never love you like they did Lev. My father was a great man and you arenothingcompared to him.”

“Be quiet!” he screams, slamming his hands onto the table.

“I will not be quiet!” I scream right back. It feels good to do it. To let my pent-up worry and anger go. Mikhail has been taking it from me but Mikhail isn’t here now.

“Henry, get her to be quiet.”

Henry walks towards me. This is my chance.

I lock eyes with my mom and subtly nod my head. When Henry passes beside her, she shoots out her foot, tripping him. He stumbles forward and I shoot out of my chair, jamming the comb against his throat. In a quick motion, I scrap it across his throat, drawing blood. Henry jerks to the side, startled.

In the commotion, I manage to grab the gun from his hands. Henry tries grabbing it back but he keeps clamping his hands onto his throat where blood is gushing from. I stabbed him with the comb hard. It’s one of the best feelings in the world.

With his gun in my hands, I shoot him in the leg, keeping him down. I don’t have it in me to take a life. Not yet anyway.

Henry lets out a scream as he crumples to the floor.