Just as Alia was about to walk out, Zainkha threw his gun aside and lunged forward, grabbing her hand. He collapsed to his knees, sobbing uncontrollably as he switched back to Russian.
"Anastasia, wait! Please..." he wailed. "Our daughter, Zarin... You married her off, and I couldn't even be there as her father!"
Pressing his forehead against her hand, he cried about how he missed his own blood, his eldest daughter whom he wanted to raise like a princess. He pleaded for a chance to see her, but Alia remained cold as ice. "A father who sacrifices his family for power has no right to his daughter," she whispered. "To her, you are dead, Zainkha. I gave her to a man who isn't a coward like you."Zainkha looked up at Alia with a haunting, maddened gaze. "You think I'm the only one involved in this? No, Alia... we are five. Margaret, me, Viktor, and you—we are all trapped in the same circle of blood. Our fates were sealed back at that Russian university."
He added with a bitter smirk, "Viktor protects you because he knows that if your true identity as 'Anastasia' is revealed, every mafia and agency in the world will hunt you down. Margaret knows the truth too."
Alia yanked her hand away, sensing a deeper conspiracy. "Five? Then who is the fifth person? Who is the one playing with our lives from the shadows?"
Zainkha just smiled darkly. "The fifth one is closer to you than you think, Alia. Perhaps it was they who sent you to my office today." Alia grabbed Zainkha's collar with a lethal grip, her face contorted in a dark, mocking smile. "I know, you b*stard!" she hissed. "I know I am the fifth one. Did you think your little trip down memory lane would confuse me? While you, Margaret, and Viktor were playing your games, I was already moves ahead."
She revealed that she had been building files on all of them while they thought she was hiding. "The man I married Zarin to is the last heir of the old Russian dynasty. Anasia The younger brothers are both of Korean descent. was the quietest among the five of us, but now, I am your nightmare."
Throwing him to the floor, she declared that the game now belongs only to her. As she walked away, she warned him to be ready she was coming for him and Margaret next. Zainkha's defeat turned into a bitter, ugly rage. He let out a mocking laugh and sneered, "Oh, I see! You're the mother of five children now, yet one can hardly tell your age, Alia! You aren't just the 'Shadow Queen'; you're a mistress of transformation."
He continued to provoke her, saying that despite her beauty, her children would never forgive her once they learned of her dark history. "Viktor may protect you, but for how long? When your children have to pay for our sins with their blood, this beauty of yours won't save you."
Alia stood still, her hand on the doorknob. Without turning back, she replied in a cold, steady voice, "Don't worry about my age or my children, Zainkha. When a mother becomes a warrior to protect her own, no empire can stand against her. You only see the mother of five; soon, you will face the destruction I bring."Alia paused at the door, turning back one last time with a look of terrifying certainty. "You think I raised my children on ordinary fairy tales? You're wrong. My children know their mother isn't a normal person. They know exactly who I am and they carry the power to rule this dark world in their very blood."
She stepped closer, her voice a sharp whisper. "I taught them how to recognize an enemy and how to eliminate one. The children you think are my weakness are the ones who will tear down your empire. Because they aren't just my children they are the heirs of Anastasia."
Zainkha stood frozen as Alia walked out into the stormy Washington rain, where Viktor was waiting for her in his black Lamborghini. As she sat inside, Viktor silently placed his hand over hers, sensing the storm brewing within her. Viktor took Alia's cold hand in his and asked in a low, intense voice, "What happened? Why do you look like this?"
Alia looked into his blue eyes and whispered in Russian with a subtle smirk, "You really are a true Russian, aren't you? You arrived here so quickly! I thought it would take you much longer to get from Moscow to Washington."
Viktor smiled thinly as he sped onto the highway. "Time doesn't exist for me when I know my 'Queen' might be in trouble. Besides, I know Zainkha too well. Did he remind you of your old identity?"
He continued without looking away from the road, "He called you Anastasia, didn't he? What he forgets is that while names can be changed, royal blood cannot. He made you cry, and now the CIA will pay a heavy price."
Alia turned to him, her gaze sharp. "He didn't just mention my name, Viktor. He spoke of my children and the five of us. Tell me, when are we inviting Margaret to join this game?"Directly from Washington, Alia and Viktor arrived in the glittering lights of Las Vegas via private jet. Here, it is not just about gambling and money; it is a battleground for empires.
Viktor's classic black car shimmered under the neon lights of Vegas. Alia was in a completely different mood today. After those intense moments with Zainkha, her mind was consumed only by thoughts of revenge and power.
Leaning out of the car window, Alia gazed at the night sky of Las Vegas. In one hand, she held an expensive cigarette; in the other, her familiar golden revolver. Her long blonde hair danced in the wind. Looking at Viktor, she spoke in Russian:
"Viktor, I have left those days of weeping in Washington behind. This city of Las Vegas will bear witness—from here, the true reign of 'Anastasia' begins."
Viktor continued to drive calmly, his hands steady on the steering wheel. His white hair appeared silver under the neon glow. Seeing Alia so reckless yet composed, he smiled to himself. Viktor knew that when Alia becomes this quiet yet destructive, no force on earth can stop her.
Suddenly, Viktor pulled the car over on a secluded bridge overlooking the entire city of Vegas. He stepped out and drew close to Alia. She was leaning against the car door, exhaling smoke as she stared at the sky. Viktor took her into his arms and placed a deep kiss on her forehead.
Viktor whispered:
"Zainkha tried to break you with the past, but I want to build you with the future. From today, this city will be at your feet. No more fear, no more tears only rule."
Alia rested her head on Viktor's chest. Their embrace in that magical Las Vegas night felt like a declaration of a new war. They both knew that for Margaret and Zainkha, it was now only a matter of time. Inside a massive VIP suite of the most luxurious hotel in Las Vegas, the scene was set. Beyond the floor-to-ceiling glass walls, the city's neon lights shimmered, but inside, the atmosphere was quiet, deep, and heavy with tension.
Viktor lay on the king-sized bed, shirtless, the tattoos across his broad chest and muscular frame coming alive in the dim, amber light. Alia had partially loosened her silk black nightdress, letting it slip to reveal her captivating beauty, her golden hair cascading over her bare shoulders.
Sitting atop Viktor's chest, Alia rested her hands on his shoulders, closing every inch of distance between them. Viktor's deep blue eyes were locked onto hers, as if he wanted to drown in the beauty of this very moment.
Alia whispered in a low, breathy tone:
"Zainkha thought he knew me. But he didn't know that I have dedicated this version of myself only to you. Tonight, there are no conspiracies, Viktor—only us."
Viktor wrapped his powerful arms around her waist, pulling her down even closer. A shiver ran through Alia's body at his touch. In a low, steady voice, Viktor said:
"You are my Shadow Queen, Alia. This body, this soul, and this city everything belongs to you. Tonight, we wash away all the poison of the past."
While the colorful lights of Las Vegas flickered outside, the room was enveloped in the warmth of an enchanting passion. They both knew that by morning, they might have to return to the game of blood, but for now, this moment was exclusively theirs. As the neon lights of Las Vegas reflected off the glass walls, a profound silence fell inside the room. The years of suppressed emotions, the exhaustion of war, and their intense longing for one another finally converged into a single point.
Alia and Viktor lost themselves in each other, surrendering to a passion that felt like the end of their long suffering. Their union was not just of the body, but of two powerful souls becoming one. In Viktor's arms, Alia wanted to forget all her pain, while Viktor reaffirmed his silent vow to protect his Shadow Queen with every breath. Until the first light of dawn, the room remained heavy with the warmth of their enchanting love. Just before dawn, as the enchanting glow of their passion began to fade, a wave of excruciating pain suddenly crashed into Alia's mind. It felt as if a thousand needles were piercing her brain all at once. Still locked in Viktor's embrace, Alia let out a strangled groan of agony.
Suddenly, a blurred yet vivid fragment of a memory flashed before her eyes something she had forgotten many years ago:
A sterile, bone-white, and freezing laboratory. Behind a glass partition, two doctors in lab coats were solemnly taking notes. Inside the room, sitting on the floor, were two small children a boy and a girl. They had no toys; instead, they were drawing or decoding something complex. There was no life in their eyes, as if they weren't flesh-and-blood human beings but rather dangerous experimental projects created in a lab. Alia realized with a jolt of horror that one of those children was her but who was that boy?
The sheer intensity of this vision made Alia feel as if her head would explode. she lost the strength even to scream. Viktor, now panicked, began to call out to her, "Alia! Alia, what's happening to you? Look at me!"
But Alia could no longer respond. Her body went limp, and she fell completely unconscious right in Viktor's arms.
Would you like Viktor to call his private medical team to examine her, or should he realize that the boy in the memory was actually one of the "group of five" from their past?