Chapter 3

• Dani was escorted to a black SUV with heavily tinted windows. A burly guard sat in the passenger seat while she was settled in the back. Alexei climbed into a separate SUV behind them.
• Save for the starry night sky and the dense stretch of trees around them, there was hardly anything to make out of her surroundings. The car’s headlights flashed ahead to reveal nothing but a long stretch of snowy road. The heater was already on with the wool blanket still draped over her, but Dani couldn’t stop shaking.
• The cold was no match to now being in this terrible nightmare she couldn’t wake up from. Who was to say Alexei and his men would keep their word once her father paid up? They could bleed her father dry if they wanted to, and they could easily kill her once the money stopped flowing. What was to become of her then?
• Dani tucked her legs close to her chest. The tears would not come, and she couldn’t afford to show it in front of these men anyway. She was still her father’s daughter. She would not break down that easily.
• The movement of the car rocked her to an uneasy sleep she kept waking up from, but whenever she opened her eyes, they were still driving down that dark road. Eventually, a firm shake on her shoulder roused her. There were bleak, gray skies overhead. It was finally morning, wherever they were.
• One of the burly, suited men wordlessly commanded her to get out of the car. Snow reached her wedged heels.
• Dani stood before an old-looking brick estate. It had seen better days and looked a few decades old. Its owner did not seem to bother with the upkeep, but its size could easily house ten rooms. It looked well-occupied with many guards roaming the snowy grounds.
• Alexei emerged from the SUV behind her. He didn’t bother glancing her way as he walked to the columned entryway. The burly man beside her nudged her forward.
• Dani trudged through the snow with difficulty and fought to keep her teeth from rattling, despite the blanket still wrapped around her. Her escort eyed her with impatience and looked tempted to haul her up, but she threw her best glare at him and kept him in place.
• Her wedged feet finally touched solid ground. She entered the main foyer, which was grandiose with its red carpets, sweeping staircase, and crystal chandelier.
• Alexei removed his black leather gloves. Several uniformed servants poured into the room and lined up in attention.
• Alexei said something in Russian. A woman who looked to be in her forties, blonde with her hair pulled back in a tight bun, stepped forward. She wore a full-length black dress with a ring of keys jangling around her waist. She eyed Dani with steely grey eyes.
• “This is Elena, the head housekeeper. She will guide you to your room.”
• Alexei lazily waved a hand, and the rest of the servants dispersed with him. He headed down another hallway with his bodyguards without giving Dani another glance.
• Dani looked around in disorientation. Soon, it was only Elena left in the middle of the foyer with her.
• “Follow me, please,” the woman said in a thick Russian accent. Elena began walking up the flight of stairs and did not bother waiting for her.
• Stupefied, Dani followed Elena upstairs down a long, narrow hallway. From the windows, Dani saw nothing but trees and snow surrounding the estate. Even in the miracle that she managed to sneak past all the guards outside, entering dense woods in this tundra was tantamount to suicide.
• Elena cleared her throat. Dani darted her gaze back to the servant, who now held a door open for her. Cautiously, Dani entered inside.
• It was a bedroom, which looked bare at first glance from its whitewashed walls. A king-sized bed in rose and cream-colored bedding greeted her, with a wooden vintage closet standing to the side. A lone upholstered couch with a plush, grey rug faced a small fireplace near the bed. Despite her predicament, she admired the rustic but elegant interiors.
• The sound of running water reached her ears. To her right, Elena had opened the bathroom. A clawfoot tub was being filled.
• “Clothes off, please.”
• Dani wrung her hands together, approached the bathroom door, and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Listen, they’ve kidnapped me. I need to get out of here—”
• “Clothes off, please,” Elena repeated, a little more firmly. Her expression remained perfectly blank, as if she had not heard Dani at all.
• “I can’t stay here,” Dani raised her voice, if only to get her point across. “I need to get home.”
• Elena’s back straightened as her hand remained on one of the tub’s faucets. “You’re welcome to leave, if you can manage.”
• Elena’s face was devoid of any sympathy. Dani opened her mouth, but who was she kidding? She was stupid to ask for the aid of a servant working for Alexei. Tears of frustration stung Dani’s eyes, but she quickly blinked them away.
• “Fine,” she said through gritted teeth. She stripped before Elena and entered the tub. The moment she dipped her foot in, warmth seeped into her very bones.
• Dani submerged herself into the water and brought her elbows to her knees. She bent her head, watched the water rise, and closed her eyes in silent tears.