The Deep End

Chapter 7

•Polina•

The pain in my wrists is all I can feel with the shackles pressed tightly against the tender skin. I've barely slept. The exhaustion enveloping my body is almost overwhelming and hunger tugs at every part of my insides. The first day of my punishment when Luca released the shackles I fought him. It wasn't my best or brightest moment, I'll admit, but all I could think was this man knew where my sisters were and I had to know. I needed their location, needed visible proof they were unharmed. It was ignorant of me, I quickly learned that. I'm not sure how long I've been here, the days blend together, each one never ending. I hadn't seen Riot since I spit in his face, it was always Luca now.

I'm starting to lose my mind. Maybe it's the hunger, the exhaustion, or the pain from the shackles, or maybe it's a mixture of all three. I've stopped eating. Luca tried his best to get me to eat. He'd sit me on the floor with me and tried his best to entice me with the meals he made, even trying to feed me himself. But I couldn't eat. All I could think about was my sisters. Sofka was probably terrified and Aleksandra, god, she was probably causing more trouble than I was. If they were even alive, how could I trust the words of that man?

Riot threatened me to be good or he would hurt them but I'm having a hard time believing that he hasn't already. I could picture it, him torturing them until they bled their secrets for him, not that they had any. The thought enraged me and I screamed and thrashed against the shackles, ignoring how the abused skin on my wrists throbbed in agony.

The light flicked on, burning my eyes as two sets of heavy steps came down the stairs. I kept my gaze on the floor, refusing to meet theirs as they approached. My body feels so beaten down, I don't have the energy to fight with them right now. I know what I've been doing isn't logical but I can't help it. If my sisters are dead I have nothing to live for anymore, I'd rather die.

A set of loafers and a set of boots stop in front of me. Fingers grip my chin and turn my head until I'm staring in the amber gaze of the grim reaper. His eyes dance across my face, his brow dipping. "Today you will eat or baby Ivanov will die a long and agonizing death. I've been patient, I haven't touched a hair on their little blonde heads but you've been a bad girl and I warned you what would happen if you disobeyed me."

My heart aches as I think of my baby sister. "I don't believe you. I don't believe that you haven't already killed them."

I couldn't, the thought didn't mesh with the image that had been painted of the evil man that stood in front of me. I'd never heard of him not harming whomever he held captive, never heard of them leaving him alive. I thought about it over and over those first few hours after he left me shackled to the wall until it drove me absolutely mad.

He gives an exasperated sigh and releases his hold on me before digging his phone out of his pocket. He taps on it a few times and a minute later he turns it around to show me a picture on the screen. Tears fill my eyes at the sight of my sisters. Sofka is trying her best to smile but Aleksandras not even attempting to, her scowl obvious. He taps the screen a few times and shows me the date and time the picture says it was taken and then shows me the date and time on his phone. A week, I've been shackled to the wall for a week.

He slips the device back in his pocket and gives me a devilish grin. "See, alive and well. Now, if I release you, are you going to be calm?"

I nod silently.

"Good." He mutters and quickly releases the shackles. I stumble forward on weak legs and he grips my forearms, steadying me. His touch sends a tremor of fear up my spine and he tightens his grip as if he senses it. He guides me over to the mattress and helps me lower myself until I'm sitting. His eyes go to my wrists, the skin there raw and red.