Caius POV:

The black convoy of Romanov luxury cars , carved through the icy Streets of Moscow,  like silent predators,  the heavily tinted windows hiding us from the outside . The sharp chill of winter clung to the air but, inside the lead  vehicle , the tension was colder . I sat with my jaw clenched as I steared straight ahead , unblinking. The soft hum of the engine was the only sound but, my mind roared with thoughts.

Across from me,  Dmitri lit a cigarette, the faint glow illuminating his sharp features. "Он таракан" , he muttered exhaling smoke lazily. (Mikhail’s a cock roach ).

"Наступи на него достаточно сильно, он заговорит."

(Step on him hard enough he will talk ).

Sergei chuckled darkly from beside me,

"А если он этого не сделает, мы сожжём его гнездо, пока у него не останется ничего."

(And if he doesn't we will burn his nest until he has nothing left.)

I didn't respond,  my silence was louder than their words, an ominous promised wrapped in calm but, my knuckles were white against the leather seat, veins pulsing with restrained violence. Today was my dolls birthday and instead of finally being with her and giving her her gift in person after three years,  I was fucking here because of Darya's mind games .

When we arrived at Mikhail’s Volkov's estate , a sprawling  fortress guarded by armed men , there was no pretence of civility. We didn't  bother to knock because he was an allie now and Romanovs didn't knock,  we entered. Mikhail stood in his lavish study when we found him , flanked by his own sorry excuse of security but, even surrounded there was a flicker of fear in his eyes when he saw us entered and I relished that fear.

"Ah , Romanovs " , he greeted , forcing a smirk. "Чем обязан такое удовольствие?"

(To what do I owe this pleasure?)

I moved first,  fast, brutal. In the blink of an eye , I closed the distance and slammed Mikhail against the mahogany bookshelf,  my knife pressed to his throat . His security moved to attack but, Sergei and Dmitri kept them in check , reminding them who truly held the power .

" where's Darya?" , my voice was a low growl , my breath brushing the side of his face."Ты собираешься сказать мне, или мне вырезать ответ из твоих костей". (You are going to tell me or I will carve the answer from your bones ).

Mikhail’s smirk faltered but, didn't vanish. "Я не знаю, где она. Если бы знал, она была бы здесь. Она моя жена. Я хочу, чтобы она вернулась, так же сильно, как и ты".

( I don't know where she is , if I did  I would have her here . She is my wife I want her back just as much as you do.)

Dmitri leaned in , flicking ash onto the expensive carpet .

"Ты думаешь, мы глупы? Она что-то замышляет, и либо ты в деле, либо ты настолько жалок, что тебя оставили в стороне".

( you think we're stupid ? She's plotting  something and you're either in on it or you're pathetic enough to be left out .)

I pressed my knife harder against his throat,  a thin line of blood appearing on his skin. The tension in the room was suffocating,  thick with the weight of unsaid threats but, Mikhail remained adamant.

"Клянусь всем, что у меня есть, я не знаю, где она. Если она скрывается, то и от меня тоже."

(I swear on everything I own , I don't know where she is . If she is hiding, she is hiding from me too.)

For a moment,  I considered ending him right there,  just for the audacity of breathing.  But, instead I released him with a sharp shove ,letting him crumble to the floor,  gasping .

"if we find out you're lying ", Sergei added his voice like ice cracking .

"There won't be enough of you left to fucking bury". We left Mikhail’s estate but, my mind wasn't at ease. Something didn't sit right.

Later that night , back at the Romanov mansion , I wondered the cold hallways , my mind restless. As I passed one of the guest rooms,  I heard a soft voice.  A hushed, urgent whisper.  I paused , my instincts sharp as blades.

Anya .

I paused outside of the door , listening intently.

" yes he suspects nothing ", her voice slithered through the cracks in the door.

" everything is going according to plan.

Darya you will get what you want and Caius will be dead soon, I will ensure of it".

The world went quite inside my mind.

My heart didn't race .

My breath didn't hitch.

Instead , a cold , calm rage settled over me , like a second skin.

I unlocked the door , stepping into the room, silent as a shadow . She turned just in time to see my face before I lunged, slamming her against the wall with terrifying force .

" you have made the worse mistake of your life " , I whispered, my grip tightening around her throat . Her blue eyes steared at me with shock and fear but, I didn't  care , there was no mercy here . The hunt had just began and this time it was personal.

My grip around her throat got tighter,  like an iron vice, cutting off her breath with ruthless precision. Her nails clawed at my wrists , leaving angry red marks but, I didn't flinch . I only continued to squeeze,  feeling the blood roared in my ears as I watched her struggled and trashed .

" Did you really think you could outsmart me?" , my voice was low , venomous, like a serpent coiled and ready to strike .

" Plotting my death? I must commend you for having tried but, I am not the Caius who you can manipulate and sink your claws into . You are nothing more than a worthless whore , a sad excuse for a woman , and I will treat your corpse exactly like that when I am through with you".

Her face turned red, her legs kicking weakly as her eyes start to roll back. She gasped for air, her survival instincts kicking in but, my grip around her throat didn't loosen , I applied more pressure, my grip unrelenting.  I could have always gone for the easy and snap her twany little neck but,  that would have been too fast and not painful enough.  Just as her body went limp, Sergei stormed into the room,  his gun drawn.

"Caius, enough!", his voice was sharp , commanding but, it barely registered in my mind .Sergei's voice was sharp and commanding but it barely registered in my mind, lost in the abyss of my wrath.

Sergie didn't hesitate, he crossed the room in two strides and slammed his shoulder into me, forcing me back just enough to loosen my grip. Anya crumpled to the floor gasping, coughing violently as she clutched her bruised neck.

I stumbled back chest heaving ,  fist trembling with the need to finish what I had started. My eyes darted to Sergei wild and untamed.

"She deserves to die" , I snarled, my voice thick with rage.

"and she will", Sergei growled back pushing me further away," but not before she tells us everything". I wiped the sweat from my brow , pacing like a cage predator my fist clenching at my sides. The room was thick with tension, the air almost unbreathable.

Anya coughed again her voice hoarse but defiant,"You'll never find her…."

I spun around so fast she flinched expecting another blow but I  didn't hit her. I crouched down my face inches from hers, a cold smile spreading across my face.

"Oh darling", I whispered my tone dripping with dark amusement, "you're not going to die quickly, not until you tell me where she is then..",  I leaned in closer my lips brushing against her ear,

"then I'll make sure your death is slow enough for you to regret every breath you have ever taken".

Fear mixed with blood on Anya's face as she broke, her fear finally overpowering her pride "she's in Italy" ,she gasped.

"She is hiding with one of your father's spies, they're planning to kill you and take your share of the Romanov empire. She wanted me to keep you distracted".

My smile grew wider , darker. I stood up slowly rolling my shoulders like a man shaking off the weight of restraint.

"Italy huh?",my laugh was sudden, sharp echoing through the room like the sound of glass shattering. It wasn't the laugh of someone amused, it was the laugh of someone who had snapped.

Sergei exchanged a tense glance with Dmitri , who had entered quietly his expression hard as store. I paced again, my laughter fading into a smile that didn't reach my eyes, "so my dear sister thinks she can kill me…",  I chuckled softly shaking my head, "Darya always was the over confident one".

Without another word I grabbed Anya by the hair dragging her roughly to her feet. She whimpered but didn't resist.

"you're coming with us", I said coldly,

"you will lead us to her and when this is over, when I'm standing over Darya's pathetic corpse you will be next in joining her in hell".

My smile disappeared, replaced by the emptiness in my eyes, a void darker than death itself.

" I will enjoy slicing you into pieces".

My brothers and I moved swiftly after that, gathering some of our men, their weapons, and their rage, setting our course for Italy but,for me, this wasn't just about betrayal. This was personal and no one betrays a Romanova and live to tell the tale.

2 hours later the sleek black SUV carved its way through the desolate Italian Countryside, leaving a trail of dust behind as the sun dipped below the horizon. The landscape was empty, just rolling hills, jagged rocks, and patches of dry grass. A perfect place to hide or so my sister taught.

Inside the vehicle, I sat in silence, my eyes fixed on the GPS tracker blinking on Dmitri's phone. The air was thick with tension, every second stretching like a taut wine. Dmitri drove with one hand on the wheel, the other resting lazily on his lap, his jaw clenched. Sergie sat beside me, loading his pistol with mechanical precision.

I didn't need a gun. I was the weapon and I preferred not to have one so as to ensure my sister's death was brutally painful and slow. We arrived at a modern, isolated house, a glass and concrete monstrosity nestled against a rocky outcrop , far removed from civilization. The lights inside glowed softly, warm and inviting, a sharp contrast to the cold fury brewing in my chest.

No guards. No security.

Just arrogance.

We approached silently, slipping through the shadows like wraiths. Sergie the door in without hesitation, the wooden frame splintering under the force. Darya was inside, lounging on a velvet chaise, glass of red wine in hand, dressed in silk as if betrayal was a luxury she could afford. She shot up, her face a perfect mask of surprise, too perfect but,her eyes, those icy blue eyes, betrayed the flicker of panic that I had been waiting for.

"Caius?", her voice was smooth but there was a tremor buried beneath.

"What…what are you doing here?", I didn't answer. I simply walked in, my footsteps slow, deliberate, the faint echo of my boots feeling the silence. Dmitri and Sergei flanked me like shadows, their faces carved from stone. "You have been busy Daria", Dmitri said coldly glancing around the room.

"Hiding like a coward doesn't suit you".

Darya's lips curled into a weak smile.

"I don't know what you're talking about". I tilted my head slightly, my smile sharp as broken glass. I stepped closer, my presence suffocating, the tension thick enough to choke on. "You're a terrible liar" I muttered, my voice low, almost affectionate, almost.

"Too bad you decided to trust someone as weak as you are. She will get what she signed up for but, first let's catch up for a little, you don't mind do you Darya ?"

Darya's mask cracked. She snapped the wine glass in her hand, shards digging into her Palm as blood trickled down.

"You think you're better than me?" She hissed, her voice venomous.

"You've always thought that, haven't you? Just because father prefers you", I didn't flinch. I didn't blink but my smile grew wider.

"You were nothing the moment he met your mother", she spat, her face twisting with hatred.

"A Jamaican whore who went against his orders and gave him a bastard. That's what you are, a mistake. You don't belong in this family. You don't deserve to share the Romanov name or our bloodline or Legacy".

The words hung in the air like a loaded gun. But I only laughed. It was a dark, hallow sound, void of humor, dripping with malice. I moved so fast she didn't see the knife until it was pressed against her throat, the cold steel biting into her skin.

"You talk too much", I whispered, my breath warm against her ear,

"that's always been your fucking problem little sister".

Her pulsed throbbed against the blade, her eyes wide but defiant. I didn't care, so much for this fucking family and this cursed empire, if she wanted my share so bad she could fucking have it but, she did disrespected my mother and that, that couldn't go unpunished.

With a flick of my wrist, the knife sank into her side, precise, controlled, just enough to cause excruciating pain but not death, and I twisted the blade enjoying the look of pain and horror in her eyes, as blood blossomed like a dark flower against her silk dress.

She gasp, collapsing to her knees, clutching the wound, her pride bleeding out faster than the crimson staining the floor, I crouched beside her, my face inches from hers, a chilling smile on my face.

"You think this is power?", I whispered.  "You will live. You will feel every second of it. You will wake up everyday knowing you failed. That I am still breathing. That you will never be able to get rid of me little sister, I will always haunt you like I always have, I will always be the nightmare you try so desperately to get rid of and you will always fear me". I stood up, wiped the blood from my blade on her dress, and turned without another glance.

Sergie and Dmitri followed, leaving Darya kneeling in her pool of blood, her sobs echoing through the hollow house, not from pain but from defeat. I didn't look back. I didn't need to. She was already dead to me and I knew that deep inside her chest she had no heart and I almost smiled, almost, at the one thing we shared in common.