Snow drifted from the sky against the window pane, melting into streaks of silver. The night was cold and quiet, too quiet for Natalia's heartbreaking situation.
Six weeks had passed since the explosion, six weeks since Dimitri passed away in the explosion.
Natalia would not have believed it, if someone told her she would be mourning Dimitri's death all over again.
Every day and night, she told herself that he was gone and she would not see him again, but she found herself hoping that he would return, just as he had before.
As days turned into weeks, she realized that it was just wishful thinking. He was gone forever.
Natalia had gone into hiding after the explosion, and she decided to flee from the watchful eyes of Sergei's men. She was sure he had eyes everywhere and the flash drive in her possession made her a potential target.
Staring blankly out her window, with no thought behind her eyes, she felt a profound sense of emptiness.
The apartment she had rented in Helsinki had been her own solace, where she did not feel eyes watching her.
Although she had found solace in this apartment, she found herself waking up every night, drenched in sweat. The event of Dimitri's death keeps replaying in her dreams.
It was like the night of the fire explosion all over again. His words haunted her;
"Run, Natalia. Do not let him win. "
She reached for the cup of coffee on the table, but it had gone cold hours ago. When she looked in the mirror, she could not recognize herself. She looked paler, her eyes were lifeless.
Her phone buzzed. A number she did not recognize, only one person knew this burner line and that was her sister, Yelena.
Yelena had hidden the burner phone alongside the key that led outside the tunnel before Sergei could locate them. She had not heard from her since then.
Natalia answered, her voice low, "Who is this? "
There was a pause, then a familiar voice, smooth and dangerous. "You are hard to find, sister."
Natalia's heart jumped, "Yelena."
"I see you went into hiding," Yelena said. "Running only makes you easier to hunt."
Natalia let out a bitter laugh. "You mean it makes it harder for him to use you as his puppet and control me?"
There was a long silence. Then, Yelena's voice hardened. "He is not using me. You think he's the only one watching you?
Natalia's pulse quickened. "What do you mean?"
"Sergei Volkov has eyes everywhere now. He has resurfaced and become more influential. The old Bratva factions are choosing sides. You're the last loose thread.
Natalia sank onto the couch, the world tilting. "He survived the explosion?
"Of course, he his the one who caused the explosion," Yelena said. "You should know by now, that men like Sergei Volkov never die easily."
"And Dimitri?" The name left a sour taste in her mouth.
Yelena did not answer. That silence was louder than any word.
Natalia clenched her fists. "Answer me."
Finally, Yelena said, "There were no remains from the explosion."
No remains, that was the only confirmation she needed. She felt so empty.
Natalia pressed her hand to her chest, feeling her heart pound against her ribs. She wanted to scream, to demand more, but she couldn't speak at all.
"I will be in Helsinki by morning," Yelena said. "We need to talk, face to face."
Then the phone beeped and the call ended.
The wind howled through the alley outside as night fell. Natalia sat by the small desk, a
pistol lay out beside the laptop. She had not touched the drive since the fire.
Now, she slid it into the port, watching as encrypted codes blinked across the
screen.
Her father's voice echoed in her memory:
"Truth is not justice, Natasha.
It's survival."
The files decrypted slowly, rows of bank accounts, coordinates, and hidden transactions across Europe. But one folder caught her
attention, it was new. Dated only a week ago.
Her breath hitched.
"No… that's not possible."
She clicked it open. Inside were surveillance photos it was grainy.
The first image was of a figure in a long coat, tall, broad-shouldered, walking through a snow-covered train station.
The second was a close-up of his face beneath a hood.
Natalia's breath stopped. Those eyes, dark gray, sharp even through the distortion, she'd know them anywhere.
Dimitri. Her hand trembled.
She zoomed in again, searching for a flaw, a trick of light but the timestamp
was real. The coordinates pointed north.
He was alive.
A tear slid down her cheek before she even realized it. A mix of relief and fury burned in her chest. "You bastard," she whispered. "You're alive."
But why hadn't he come for her?
Before she could think further, the screen flickered once, and the footage ended.
The laptop screen went black.
Natalia froze. Her instincts were to go and find him. She grabbed the pistol, moving to the window.
Outside, across the narrow alley, a shadow shifted, just a blur, a hint of movement against the falling snow.
Someone was watching her.
The floor creaked. She spun, gun raised.
"Who's there?"
There was no answer.
She reached for her second weapon, a small blade hidden beneath the desk. The darkness was suffocating, broken only by the faint orange glow of a cigarette near the
doorway.
A man's voice, low and smooth, cut through the silence.
"You shouldn't have turned that drive on, Natalia."
Natalia's pulse spiked. "Step out where I can see you."
The shadow moved forward slowly, a tall silhouette in a black coat. The glow of the cigarette illuminated a familiar jawline.
Her breath caught. "No… it can't be."
The man stepped into the faint moonlight seeping through the window.
Gray eyes met hers.
Dimitri Volkov. He was alive.
For a moment, she couldn't breathe. Her gun wavered between them.
He looked different, leaner, colder. A thin scar ran down his temple, disappearing beneath his collar. His voice was hoarse but steady.
"You should have stayed hidden, Natalia."
She lowered the weapon slightly. "You're alive."
"I had to be." His gaze flicked to the drive on the desk. "Sergei's still moving. You just lit up his map."
She blinked, confused. "What are you talking about?"
"You activated the signal embedded in that file," he said, crossing the room. "He knows you're here."
Natalia's heart pounded. "I didn't know about that."
"You should not have decrypted the file." His tone was sharp, anger edged with fear. "Now you've given him exactly what he wanted."
She stepped back, her voice shaking between rage and disbelief. "Don't you dare talk to me like I'm one of your men. You disappeared, Dmitri. You let me think you were dead."
"I was dead," he said quietly. "Until now."
Something in his eyes, maybe guilt or regret, made her chest ache.
"You could have sent a message," she said, voice trembling. "You could have done something. "
"Every contact I had was burned. Every trace of me is hunted. If Sergei knew I lived, he'd use you to lure me out."
"So you let me grieve?" she hissed. "You let me bury you in my head, in my heart, just to
Protect yourself?"
He stepped closer."I did it to protect you."
Silence. The space between them was filled with tension; it was suffocating.
Her hand lowered the gun, but she did not step away. "You do not get to decide what I can survive."
"I know," he said softly. "But if I had reached out, you would be dead by now."
He reached up, brushing his thumb over her cheek. She froze at the touch, familiar but
unbearable. His fingers traced the tear on her skin, lingering for a heartbeat too long.
"You were never supposed to find that file," he murmured.
"Then why was it there?"
He exhaled slowly, eyes darkening. "Because someone else wanted you to."
The air between them thickened. She could smell smoke, gunpowder, and him, that maddening mix of danger.
"Yelena," she whispered.
He nodded. "I know she is your sister but she is not who you think she is."
Before she could reply, the sound of tires screeched outside. A convoy. Black SUVs. Headlights drove through the falling snow.
Dimitri grabbed her wrist. "They are here."
"What do you mean, who is here? "
"She must have planted a tracker when she called."
Natalia yanked open the back door leading to the hidden exit of her apartment."We need to leave right now ." Dimitri shouted.
"Where are we going?"
He glanced over his shoulder, eyes burning with determination. "To finish what our fathers started."
Gunfire shattered the window before she could answer.
Natalia ducked instinctively, gripping the drive. Dmitri fired back precisely and
controlled, then pulled her toward the stairs.
Snowstorm winds howled as they burst into the alley. Sirens wailed in the distance.
"Dimitri!" she shouted over the chaos. "If we survive this... "
He looked at her, a flicker of something fierce in his gaze. "We will, I promise. "
Another explosion ripped through the building behind them, sending shards of glass into the air.
The two of them vanished into the storm, shadows distorted by snow, while behind them, a single black car rolled to a stop.
Yelena stepped out, her red lips curving into a smile as she watched the flames consume the street.
She lifted her phone, dialing a number.
"Phase Two completed," she said.
The voice on the other end was low, composed, cold.
"Good, bring them to me alive."
Yelena's smile deepened as the line crackled.
"Yes, Sergei Volkov."