Chapter 7 - The Blood On The Stairwell
A heavy, sickening crunch echoed down the stone corridor as Kirill Sokolov slammed Viktor’s wrist against the brick wall with bone-breaking force. The Beretta clattered onto the floor, spinning away across the tiles. Viktor let out a strangled roar of pain, but Kirill didn't give him a second to recover. With brutal, calculated efficiency, Kirill swept Viktor’s legs out from under him, pinning the older man face-down against the floor with a heavy boot pressed squarely between his shoulder blades. "You have a habit of wandering where you don't belong, Viktor," Kirill’s voice was as cold as a glacier, devoid of any human warmth. Viktor spat a mouthful of blood onto the floor, his face twisted in a mask of venomous hatred as he glared up at me. "Damon is bringing a whore into the inner circle," Viktor snarled, laughing hysterically despite the boot crushing his spine. "He thinks she’s his salvation! He thinks a little maid can save him from the board tonight! He’s weak, Kirill! He’s bleeding from a bullet hole, and by midnight, we'll all be dancing on his grave!" Kirill didn't argue. He drew a pair of heavy steel zip-ties from his coat, cuffed Viktor’s hands behind his back with vicious precision, and hauled him up to his feet by his collar. "Take him to the basement vault," Kirill ordered two armed guards who appeared instantly from the shadows like ghosts. As they dragged Viktor away, his hysterical laughter echoing down the damp stairwell, Kirill turned his sharp, unblinking gaze toward me. He looked down at the heavy leather ledger still clutched tightly in my shaking hands, and then down at the small pistol in my coat pocket. A slow, respectful nod replaced the hard edge in Kirill’s eyes. "The boss was right about you, Alina," Kirill said quietly. "You're not a maid. You're a survivor." He took the ledger from my arms, gently securing it inside a reinforced tactical case. "Get back to your room and lock the door. Tonight, the board meets in the grand ballroom. And when Damon walks through those doors, the entire city of Chicago is going to learn what happens when someone tries to take what belongs to the Wolf of the Lake Forest."
