CAIUS POV:

I finished with the report I was working on and leaned back in my chair , my mind drifting to her as I caressed the bracelet I had in my hand . It had been year since she had left for college, started her studies for her masters in medicine and though it was hard not being able to have access to her physically, I didn't missed much because she still wore my little secret under her skin in her arm and when I finally take her , I would put another in a more secure , secret place , somewhere she would enjoy me putting it .

I had watched her over the year , I knew the classes she took, the professors who taught her and their backgrounds, I knew when her classes started and ended, her routine for each day before and after classes, who she spoke to , I missed nothing because I enjoyed it, I enjoyed watching her, studying her , she was a puzzle I enjoyed solving and soon I would have her with me , mine to take , mine to break , mine to possessed , all fucking mine. She could try running, screaming, begging, it won't stop me from taking what belonged to me, she was mine , had been mine since the day I walked into that church and her eyes had caught mine , she had sold her soul to me and I was going to take it.

Now I pulled my phone out and checked on my little friend secured away in her arm and smiled , so my doll was home, perfect, I wasn't going to take her today or tonight, though I could if I wanted to but, her birthday present wasn't ready yet . This year I had no plans of sending her a gift, this time I would bring her to see her gift in person and the best part, I would be able to watch and enjoy her reaction when she did see it .

At home that night , as I stood in my museum , I looked around curiously.  It wad time that I started fixing up this place for her , it needed to not only look more darker but, I needed it to cater specifically to her . I made a note of what I would need deciding to purchase them tommrow. So far the only thing that showed anything towards her was  a wall of pictures that I had taken while she was unaware,  offguard, most of them in her most valuable moments.

There was also her m undergarment which was still in my car , her t-shirt which was in my closet, her lipstick and her bracelet and her cologne but, I needed more.

If I was going to create her home, I had to ensure she found it homely. The following day, I went out and got what I needed and then spent the remainder of the day changing my museum. Inside the glass enclosure, I replaced it with restrains and chains that held handcuffs on the end and feet restraints as well.

I also bought her favourite cologne and had it turned into a vapour so it filled the air and it would be the first scent she reconizes when she wakes up , because of course I wasn't going to take her here while she was conscious. I had also sent her clothes size as well as the size and type  of her undergarment to my assistant and had her delivered a sizeable amount of clothes she would need for every occasion.

My house had 6 bedrooms,each with their own bathroom and closet,  two dinning and living rooms , a spacious kitchen downstairs with a library,  an indoor movie theatre, and indoor jacuzzi and an outdoor pool at the back of the house,so now after having changed my museum a bit,  I started working on the transformation of one of the bedrooms turning it into her room where she would be allowed to stay if she was good and did as she was told .

The whole project or gift as I liked to call it took me an entirety of the whole day but, I enjoyed it and of course I had to ensure that not only was it catered specifically to her but, that it was also secure , sort of like baby proofing the house but, the difference preventing her from escaping though if she did happend to escape I would just bring her back. Once finished I smiled , her gift was ready and I was ready to present it to her .

( the bedroom but, try to picture the bed more luxurious and also remember it has a closet and bathroom space but, I mainly wanted to focus on the spicy aspect soo...😏)

(In his museum,I mentioned he has a glass enclosure something like the one from the Netflix movie You , anyways his own is something similar but, he has chains hanging from the top and restraints for her hands and feet and it doesn't have the glass shelf thing in the corner).

After I was done ,I was all set to make dinner and enjoy my favourite show of watching her  on my cameras hidden in her house when my phone rang and I steared at the caller ID in surprise and a bit of confusion.

I clenched my teeth . Dmitri never called unless the situation was critical, unless it was a matter of blood and survival. I answered without a word, just a sharp inhale through my nose.

“Darya is missing,” Dmitri’s voice was as cold and precise as ever, but beneath the surface, I detected a thin thread of tension, uncharacteristic, even for him.

I  leaned back in my chair in my office, my eyes narrowing. “And?” my tone was indifferent, masking the faint stir of curiosity clawing at the edges of my mind.

Dmitri sighed, frustrated.

“I know you don’t give a damn about her, but she’s still a Romanov. She disappeared with Mikhail’s help if my research and observation is correct, No word. No trace. It’s been weeks.”

My fingers drummed against the armrest, my mind calculating. Darya wasn’t stupid. If she’d gone off the grid, it wasn’t an accident, it was deliberate. If anything I would have expected news about her husband or her plaything as I liked to call him , to have been accidentally killed and Darya to have suspiciously taken over the Volkovs empire.

“This isn’t about Darya, is it?” I  asked quietly, suspicion lacing my words.

A pause. Then Dmitri spoke, lower now. “No. It’s about what I think  she’s planning. If she’s gone rogue, that means she’s aiming higher than Mikhail’s bed. Father’s empire is vulnerable, and if she’s trying to take it, she’s not doing it alone. We need you back in Russia. Sergei’s already here.”

I exhaled, that fucking place . It was as if  the more and further I tried to go , to escape its horrors , I couldn't,  I kept getting pulled back and I knew I didn't have to go but, a part of me believed as Ivan does, in our own twisted version of family and I had to go back, definitely not for fucking Darya but, Dmitri and I had an understanding , the Romanov wasn't just about power and fear , it was also about blood ,not just from our enemies and those who dared to betray us but, the blood that we shared and we had to protect that.

" I will be there tomorrow ", I replied and ended the call.  I didn't want to leave especially since tommrow was her birthday and I had already prepared everything for her but, she wasn't good anywhere . I would just take her when I got back ,immediately too , to make up for lost time of course .

This time I didn't pack much because I didn't plan on staying longer than 3 days , 4 max, if Darya wanted to play her fucking mind games then she was free to do so and when I find her , because I will , I promised to break a bone in her body of my choosing for fucking wasting my time .

The private jet sliced through the icy Russian sky, landing with a hiss of steam and the crunch of snow beneath its wheels. I  stepped out, the cold biting through his tailored black coat like teeth, but I  didn’t flinch. Russia’s chill had never touched me, not when I had  grown up in colder shadows under Ivan Romanov’s rule.

The black SUV was waiting, sleek and ominous against the white landscape. Dmitri stood beside it, cigarette between his fingers, his sharp gaze hidden behind tinted lenses despite the gray sky , black hair messy and his black coat coverd in snow.

I approached with slow, deliberate steps, my posture relaxed but my mind calculating, dissecting every detail around me.

“Took you long enough,” Dmitri muttered, flicking ash into the snow.I ignored the comment, my  eyes cold as frost. “Where’s Sergei?”

“At the estate. We’ve got company.”

That was the first red flag.

Inside the SUV, silence wrapped around us  like another layer of frost. Dmitri finally broke it.

“She’s here.”

I didn’t need to ask who she was. My jaw tightened, my fingers flexing slightly on my knee. A familiar rage flickered in my chest, dark and simmering beneath the surface.

“You should’ve warned me.” My voice was low, dangerous.

Dmitri shrugged. “Would you have come if I did?”

I stared out the window, my reflection glaring back at me through the heavily tinted glass . The Romanov estate loomed in the distance, cold stone and towering gates, our family’s legacy carved into the bones of the earth.

When we  arrived, I stepped out, my boots crunching against the snow-covered gravel. Inside, the warmth of the estate didn’t touch me . The walls felt like they were closing in, heavy with ghosts.

And then I saw her.

Anya Mikhailovna Sokolov. My ex girlfriend and the second person I loathed besides Ivan Romanov. She was 23 and came  from a powerful Russian crime family, deeply embedded in the underground world, known for their brutal efficiency in torture, assassination, and black-market dealings. Her father, Dante Sokolov, is an ally of Ivan Romanov, which is why Ivan saw her  , or rather yet, still sees her as the perfect match for me , she is just as ruthless, just as cold-blooded, and understands the world of crime, blood, and power.

She was manipulative, sadistic, and sociopathic and cunning and power-hungry, using seduction as a weapon which I had foolishly fallen under at the age of 16. She enjoyed violence and psychological games and spoke in a sultry, mocking tone, always looking like she knows more than she’s saying.

Our breakup had been brutal,  messy and had left scars physically, she had stabbed me in the chest with a knife and I had returned the favour, except mine was in closer to her throat because that was where I had aimed but, she got lucky . She was Obsessed with me because I was the only one who ever matched her darkness, the absolute evil that flowed through her veins.

Now She was leaning against the grand piano in the sitting room, a glass of red wine in hand, her dark eyes gleaming with the same venomous charm she always had. She hadn’t changed, still beautiful, still dangerous, still the poison I had once willingly swallowed.

Her smile curled like smoke when she saw me . "Caius" , she purred almost like the deceptive angel she was .

I didn’t respond. I  just stared, my expression unreadable, but my hands itched with the urge to crush something , preferably her throat.

Dmitri broke the tension.

“She’s here because she’s useful. She and Darya were close. If anyone knows where she is, it’s Anya.”

My  gaze snapped to Dmitri.

“I’d rather rip out my own tongue than ask for her help.”

Anya chuckled softly, stepping closer, the sound like nails on glass.

“Still dramatic, I see. But you’ll need me, darling. You always did and still does”.

I moved before I  thought, closing the distance, my hand gripping her jaw hard enough to leave bruises. My face was inches from hers, my breath cold against her skin.

“Don’t flatter yourself. The only thing I need from you is silence. Speak when spoken to, and maybe you’ll leave here breathing.”Her  smile didn’t waver. If anything, it grew.

Dmitri’s voice was calm behind us .

"We don’t have time for your hate, Caius. You’re here for Darya. Focus.”

I released her with a shove, stepping back, my chest rising and falling with controlled fury.

“She better be  fucking worth it". My voice was ice.

But deep down, I  knew this was just the beginning. Family always dragged you back to hell.