Page 31 of Maxim

I lick my lips and try to find the words to explain myself, but nothing comes out.

“Why did you go back to your father’s? You told me you weren’t welcome there when I offered to take you before we came here.”

Biting my tongue, I keep my mouth shut.

“Was it for the children? Are they yours?” he asks, making me flinch.

I was sold as a virgin, so the fact that he is asking means he doesn’t trust my father.

“Siblings, but they might as well be mine. I’ve raised them,” I whisper, not meeting his eye.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I watch him nod as if he knew the answer before asking. Maybe he trusts my father more than he lets on.

I can’t figure this man out.

“So you went for them?” he asks.

“Yes. I needed to see them.”

“What was your plan? How were you going to get them out?” He leans forward in the chair, resting his elbows on his knees.

“I didn’t have one,” I admit.

He said he would punish me. I can’t even imagine what he will do, but it doesn’t matter. Not anymore.

He could kill me for all I care. Tonight proved one thing. I am not enough to save my siblings. Alek is too far gone. Father has changed who he is. Daryna is doomed. I would do anything to save her, but I can’t. I’m not strong enough, nor am I smart enough.

I am weak.

“Do you think your father would hurt them?” he asks, drawing me out of my dark thoughts.

Finally, I look up at him. “I don’t know. When I was little, he never hurt me. He’s always ignored my sister, but my brother…”

“Was that the boy in the room with us?”

“Yes.”

“Has he always paid more attention to him?”

I shrug and wring the blanket on my lap in my hands. “It’s more of a recent development. It seems to have gotten worse since I came here.” I squeeze my eyes shut. “He didn’t even look like my brother anymore. His eyes were cold and…”

Maxim sighs as he rubs a hand over his jaw. “I hate this, Olena.”

Me too.

I look down at the blanket and nod. “I understand. You have to do what you have to do.”

When he shifts in his chair, I can’t help but flinch.

“I’m not going to hurt you, Olena.”

“But you said…”

“I know what I said, but I’m not going to physically hurt you. I hate that I have to treat you this way, but I do. Too much is at stake for you to go rogue now and fuck it all up.”

“What does that even mean?”

“You can’t leave here without me. I’ve made sure of it.”