The door creaked open with a noisy shriek that echoed through the underground chamber. The air turned heavy, like the walls themselves were holding their breath.
Sergei Volkov stepped into the faint beam of light. Time had aged him, but it hadn't softened or changed him. His suit was immaculate, his posture still as erect as ever, and his expression was cold as ice. The silver in his hair should have made him look older, instead, it made him look dangerous, a man who had cheated death itself.
Dimitri didn't move,he couldn't. The gun in his hand shook before he steadied it, aiming straight at the man who had made his life
a living hell.
"Tell me it isn't you," Dimitri said, voice low, trembling with restrained anger.
Sergei's lips curled into the faintest smirk. "You always needed proof, my son. Even when the truth was staring at you in the face."
Natalia felt her chest tighten, her breath seizing. The resemblance was unmistakable, the same sharp jawline, the same dark gray eyes, but Dimitri's held fire, while Sergei's were ice.
"You are supposed to be dead," Dimitri spat. "I watched the flames consume you."
Sergei tilted his head slightly. "Death is for men who lose their lives. I only lost my patience."
The words struck deep. Dimitri took a step forward. "You used me for every mission, every murder,every drop of blood I spilled was because of you."
Sergei didn't deny it. "You were born for a purpose. You were my legacy. But then…" He glanced at Natalia, a knowing smirk touched his lips. "You fell in love."
The way he said it,like it was disgusting for him to voice it out.
Natalia straightened, her fists clenching at her sides. "You killed my father," she
said, her voice shaking. "You destroyed everything I had loved."
Sergei's gaze drifted lazily to her. "Your father made his choices. He could have joined me. Instead, he tried to betray me. I gave him the only mercy he deserved as a friend, a quick death."
"Mercy?" Dimitri roared. "You call that mercy?" He raised the gun higher, finger on the trigger. "I should end you right here, right now."
Sergei's expression didn't change. "Then do it, kill me. Complete the circle."
Natalia reached out, gripping Dimitri's wrist. "Don't do it," she whispered.
Her touch calmed him, barely. His eyes stayed locked on Sergei, but his breathing slowed.
Sergei chuckled softly. "Ah, she calms you. Interesting. Love is your leash, it makes you weak,Dimitri. I trained you to never need anyone, and yet…" He stepped closer, the
shadows shifting with him. "You built your entire rebellion around her. Just like her father did, but look where he ended up. In his grave. "
Natalia's pulse thundered in her ears. "What do you mean?"
Sergei's eyesglinted with cruel amusement. "You really think your father was a saint,
Natalia? That he fought for justice all his life?"
He took another step forward. "He worked with me long before he betrayed me. He built the same system you now despise. Every stolen shipment, every coded file, every death before his, his hands were just as bloody as mine."
Natalia froze. The world around her seemed to tilt.
"You are lying," she whispered.
Sergei's smirk deepened. "Am I?"
He turned toward the dark monitor behind him and tapped a button on a small device in his hand. The screens flickered to life. Video footage, old and grainy, but unmistakable.
Her father appeared, he was alive, younger, standing beside Sergei. Smiling and shaking his hand.
"For the cause," her father said in the
recording. "For control," Sergei replied.
Natalia staggered backward, her chest heaving. "No… no, that can't be true."
"He regretted it in the end," Sergei continued smoothly, as if he were recounting a business deal.
"He tried to betray me, to expose everything I worked hard for or should I say we.
And I warned him, betrayal has a price."
Tears burned in Natalia's eyes. "You manipulated him… and when he wouldn't obey you, you killed
him."
Sergei smiled faintly. "Precisely. Just as I will do to anyone who stands between me and
what's mine."
Dimitri's voice was hoarse, breaking. "I'm not yours. Not anymore."
Sergei turned, his gaze piercing. "You think killing a few of my men makes you free? You are my son, Dimitri. You carry my blood, my will. Every instinct you have, every violent
urge, that is all me."
"I am nothing like
you!" Dimitri roared, slamming the butt of his gun into the table beside him,
shattering it. "You destroy. I protect."
Sergei's tone dropped, silk over steel. "Protect? Then why is everyone you've ever tried to save either dead or begging you to leave before you ruin their lives?"
The words sliced through the room like razors. Natalia saw Dimitri flinch, barely, but enough.
Sergei smiled at the wound he had reopened.
"Stop it!" Natalia cried, stepping between them. "You don't get to break him again!"
Sergei's gaze lingered on her, cold, assessing. "Ah, there it is. The fire. You remind me of your mother. She begged too, once."
Natalia's stomach twisted. "You…"
But before she could speak, Dimitri fired. The bullet grazed Sergei's sleeve, hitting the
steel wall behind him. Sergei didn't even blink.
"Temper, temper," He murmured. "You still have so much to learn."
"Try me," Dimitri hissed.
The room vibrated with tension. Every muscle in Natalia's body screamed for her to pull him back, to stop this before it went out of control. But then Sergei's next words
changed everything.
"You think this is about revenge? No, my son. This is about continuation. You have something that belongs to me."
Dimitri's brows furrowed. "The drive?"
Sergei nodded slowly. "It holds the codes to the Bratva's resurrection. The network your
precious Yelena helped me rebuild. Without it, my empire stays in the shadows.
With it, I rule both worlds, the underworld and the clean one above."
Dimitri's voice turned icy. "You'll never get it."
Sergei's smile widened. "You really underestimate me, my son. I already have your location. The moment I walked through that door, a signal was sent to my men. They are on their way."
Natalia's heart pounded. "Then why are you still here?"
"To watch you choose," he said softly. "Kill me, and they kill you both. Give me the drive, and I'll let you live."
"No deal," Dimitri growled.
Sergei sighed, disappointed. "I expected more logic from my bloodline."
Then, a flicker of movement. Sergei pressed something on his wristwatch. A low beep echoed, followed by the distant hum of generators powering up.
The walls around them began to shift, mechanical panels sliding open to reveal hidden passageways. From within the tunnels came the sound of boots, like synchronized military.
Sergei adjusted his cuffs calmly. "You have five minutes before this place collapses. Choose wisely."
And with that, he turned and walked back into the darkness.
Dimitri aimed his gun at him and fired, but Sergei was gone before the bullet could hit. Only the echo of his voice remained, reverberating through the steel walls;
"Welcome to the family reunion, my son."
The lights above flickered violently, then burst, showering sparks. Sirens wailed through the compound.
Natalia grabbed Dimitri's arm. "We have to go!"
But he didn't move. His eyes were locked on the tunnel Sergei had vanished into. "I can't keep running from him."
"You can't face him here! He wants you angry, that's how he always wins."
He turned to her, and in the chaos of alarms and flashing lights, his expression softened, something raw and breaking beneath the rage.
"I almost lost you once," he said hoarsely. "I won't again. No matter what happens, promise me, if I don't make it…."
"Don't say that, I almost lost you once too." she interrupted, tears streaking her face. "You will make it. We both will."
He reached out, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek. "You still believe that?"
"I do."
For a heartbeat, everything else vanished, the alarms, the fire, the betrayal. Only them. Dimitri leaned in, his lips finding hers in a kiss that tasted of salt, metal, and defiance.
She kissed him back, clutching at his collar like she could hold him there forever. His breath was rough, his touch desperate, not the hunger of lust, but of fear, of need.
When they pulled apart, his forehead rested against hers. "Whatever happens next," he whispered, "remember this wasn't a mistake."
Natalia swallowed hard. "Neither of us was."
Then the floor shuddered beneath them. The explosion hit, distant but strong enough to rattle the room. Dust rained down from the ceiling.
"Move!" Dimitri shouted, pulling her toward the far console.
Remembering Yelena's words, Natalia crouched beneath the main terminal, her fingers brushing cold metal. A hidden latch. She yanked it open.
Inside was a small silver keycard with the emblem of a phoenix etched on it.
"This must be it!"
Dimitri grabbed it, slotting it into the panel. The emergency doors whirred open, revealing a narrow escape tunnel lit by flickering red lights.
They ran, the sound of boots echoing behind them, the shouts of approaching men.
Halfway through the tunnel, a bullet ricocheted off the wall beside Natalia's head. She gasped, stumbling. Dimitri fired back blindly, pulling her behind a steel beam for
cover.
"They're surrounding us!" she yelled.
He scanned the ceiling, a ventilation shaft just wide enough. "There."
He boosted her up first, his muscles straining. She crawled through, reaching back to grab his hand. "Come on!"
But then, another explosion occurred. The tunnel behind him erupted in flames. The shockwave pushed him backward.
"Dimitri!" she screamed, reaching for him, her hand barely brushing his fingertips as the shaft collapsed between them.
The smoke filled her lungs. "No! Dimitri!"
Through the fire and chaos, his voice came, faint, but steady.
"Run, Natalia! Find Yelena! Don't let him win."
Then silence.
The entire passage caved in, sealing him behind a wall of smoke and fire.
Natalia clawed at the barrier, tears streaking her soot-covered face. "Dimitri!"
But all she heard was the distant echo of Sergei's voice, calm, victorious, like the devil
himself whispering in her ear, "Love makes you weak."
And somewhere behind that wall of fire, Dimitri Volkov disappeared into the flames.