I wasn’t sure what was louder, my heartbeat or the sound of the metal door slamming shut behind me.

I tried not to panic, but the cold room I’d been thrown into smelled like damp cement and rusted chains. It was real. This wasn’t a dream. I had been kidnapped, by Nikolai.

I should’ve seen it coming.

The moment the so called Melissa began showing up again in Nikolai’s life, her presence unnerved me. She wore sweetness like perfume, but there was something chilling behind her eyes, ...