<b>Chapter </b><b>127 </b>
Elena’s POV:
15
Niki leveled <b>a </b>steady, intense look at me. “I’m not telling you to empathize with him, Elena. What he did was reprehensible, and <b>there </b>are no <b>excuses </b>for it. If you really want those papers signed, if this <b>is </b>also a matter of principle for you, then it will take me but one day to ensure they <b>are </b>signed by him directly. I give you my word on that. I’m just telling you the underlying reason for his vtile reaction…. and that it would be far better and much safer for Mielle to stay away from him from now on. He is not a stable individual, Elena.” His words were <b>a </b>stark warning, and I frowned, the implications settling heavily in my chest.
Mielle’s safety. That was the paramount concern now, overshadowing even my own lingering anger towards Dmitri.
“Right,” I said slowly, the pieces of Niki’s exnation starting to click into ce. “You said… Liberty died. How?” I asked, I could feel Mielle beside me getting increasingly ufortable.
<b>“</b>My father is a Vetrov, Elena. You might think there are a lot of scandals surrounding us, the Vetrov name is often in the tabloids… however, most people aren’t even aware of half of it, the truly dark underbelly of our family’s dealings. No… in fact, most ‘problems,’ as my father euphemistically called them, are swiftly nipped in the bud before they can even truly begin. The same approach was taken in this <b>case </b>with Liberty. Because of her usations, her ‘framing‘ of Dmitri, my father, who had initially held back due to concerns about the family name getting further tarnished, decided to take a more… direct, albeit morally reprehensible, way out. He could have easily gotten Dmitri bailed out of juvenile detention, used his influence to smooth things over. However, he instead orchestrated Liberty’s mother’s kidnapping. She was then brutally ckmailed, coerced through unimaginable threats, into pleading guilty to framing his son, all in exchange for her own life<b>.</b><b>” </b>
My heart sank slowly, a cold dread seeping into my veins as I listened to Niki’s chilling words. “After Liberty’s mother’s death, which was swiftly followed by the deliberate leak of her mother’s… private videos<b>…</b><b>” </b>Niki paused, his jaw tightening, and I understood instantly the horrific nature of that particr ckmail. They had likely subjected her mother to a brutal assault, recorded it, and threatened to release it to the world unless sheplied.
“They didn’t stop there,” Niki continued, his voice low and heavy with disgust. “They went after her father next.” He paused again. “As ast resort, unable to save her father, Liberty gave in and decided to take her own life. In her suicide note, she pleaded guilty to everything, effectively exonerating Dmitri in the eyes of thew.”
“Is her father still alive?” <b>I </b>asked, the image of a broken, grieving man filling my mind. Niki shook his head sadly.
“No, Elena. Her father was shot dead by Dmitri himself, when the man finally snapped, driven mad by grief and alcohol, and started iming that Dmitri had murdered his wife and daughter. The whole family is gone now, Elena. Well, except for one younger brother of Liberty’s, who managed to escape this whole mess.” Niki’s voice was t, devoid of emotion, yet the sheer horror of the story sent a shiver down my spine.
Mielle sucked in a sharp breath beside me, a small, choked sound that betrayed her shock and fear. I turned to look at her, her face pale and tear–streaked. I pursed my lips, my stomach sinking with a profound sadness and a dawning understanding of the truly monstrous depths of the Vetrov family’s influence. How did all of this happen? And I… had never known even the slightest hint of it.
But one thing did start making a grim kind of sense. Dmitri’s constant night terrors. I had naively assumed he had simply had a difficult childhood, growing up in the shadow of his powerful older brother and having a father like he did.
It also exined his strange aversion to nightclubs. For someone who cultivated the image of a carefree party animal, you’d think he’d always be found at some exclusive nightclub or another. But he actively hated them, always preferring private house parties and getting drunk in more controlled environments. This terrible history would certainly exin that peculiar aversion.
Although I now understood that Dmitri had likely been manipted and framed by Liberty initially, his subsequent actions, resulting in the deaths of three lives. And not just that<b>, </b>but he had thoroughly humiliated Liberty and her family in the process,pounding the initial injustice with further cruelty.
???
I’m not saying he should have simply given Liberty and her family money, or allowed himself to be extorted. Even if he had just threatened them to leave him alone, to stop their demands, I would have considered it somewhat understandable. But this…. this borate, destructive campaign of revenge <b>was </bpletely unreasonable and utterly unforgivable.
“So you’re saying that Mielle would be in real danger if she kept insisting on Dmitri signing those papers?<b>” </b><b>I </b>asked, my voice barely above <b>a </b>whisper, my <b>gaze </b>locked on Niki, seeking confirmation of the chilling of his story. Niki nodded.
I took a deep, shuddering breath. I then nodded slowly, my <b>gaze </b>shifting to Mielle. “Alright…” I began, my voice soft but resolute. “Under normal circumstances, Mielle, <b>I </b>would always advise taking the proper legal route, going through the right channels. But when you’re dealing with people like this… I’d actually prefer for you to prioritize your own safety above all else.”
Mielle nodded slowly, her <b>eyes </b>wide with a dawning understanding. She then looked at Niki, her voice trembling slightly <b>as </b>she
asked, “Can you… can you truly help me get an abortion without Dmitri’s signature on those papers<b>?</b><b>” </b>
Niki nodded firmly, his gaze unwavering. “Yes, Mielle. I will personally ask my doctor <b>to </b>schedule an appointment for you <b>as </b>soon as possible. In the meantime… you should stay home. It’s the safest ce for you right now.”
My <b>fists </b>clenched involuntarily, a sudden tightness gripping my chest. I didn’t know why, but a nagging feeling of unease settled over me, <b>a </b>sense that something wasn’t quite right or like something was about to go wrong.
I pondered on it for a minute, but then shook my head, ncing at the time disyed on my phone. It was well past midnight.
“If it’s okay with you….<b>” </b>I said, getting to my feet, my movements feeling slightly stiff, “…then I think Mielle and I should probably leave now. You need to head back to your own ce, Mielle, and I need to get back to Maxcester City before the morning.”
“I’ll drop you,” Niki said immediately, also standing up, his gaze fixed on me. But I shook my head. “Thanks, Niki, but I’ll just go with the driver.” Niki seemed to want to argue, but in the end, he simply nodded in agreement.
My chest clenched even tighter at his <b>easy </b>eptance, a sharp pang of something I couldn’t quite identify echoing in my heart, but I didn’t say anything, just turned and walked towards the door.
The driver, who had been waiting patiently, dropped Mielle off at her apartment building before taking me to the familiar, brightly lit entrance of the metro station. The sinking feeling in my chest, that sense of something being amiss, had made me want to stay with Mielle longer, to ensure she was truly safe, but I had ultimately resisted the urge.
However, looking back now, a wave of regret washed over me. I should have stayed with her.