Then his hand lifted.
“Take her.”
Strong hands hauled me up before I could react. I fought, screamed, begged, but they dragged me away, my cries drowned out by Asher’s laughter fading behind me.
A metal door slammed shut.
No windows. No light.
I pounded on it until my fists throbbed and my ribs screamed.
“Please! Dominic—Marina—please!”
No answer.
Only the ticking countdown in my head.
My phone was still in my pocket. With shaking fingers, I pulled it out. There was only one name left to call.
I pressed dial.
It rang.
Once. Twice.
Then—
“Dimitri speaking.”
My finger hovered over Dimitri Ambramov’s name, frozen in place, while my entire body shook like it knew what this call would cost me. I had sworn—promised myself—I would never reach out to him again. Not in this life. Not ever. I had chosen a smaller existence with Dominic, one built on caution and compromise, hollow and poisonous but predictable. I told myself that was enough. That was my punishment and my reward.
But this wasn’t about me anymore.
This was about Ethan.
I pressed call.
“Dimitri… it’s me. Vivienne.”
There was a pause on the other end. Not silence—control.
“Vivienne,” he repeated slowly, drawing the name out as if it carried flavor, memory, and judgment all at once.
My voice shook apart. “Please. I’m begging you. It’s Ethan—my son. He’s been kidnapped. They’re asking for a billion. Please… help me.”
A soft laugh slipped through the line. Not amused. Curious.
“So,” he said calmly, “you finally remembered my number because you’re cornered.”
He didn’t sound angry. He sounded like a man inspecting damage.
“I’m in New York,” he continued. “Expanding. Buying. I own more than you ever knew I would. Over a hundred companies. Assets that feed entire cities. Tell me—why should I lift a finger for the woman who traded me in for comfort and gold?”
The past struck me like a blow.
Eight years ago—before contracts and white roses, before the marriage that had felt like both rescue and execution—there had been Dimitri and me. Young enough to believe love alone could shield us. I remembered rain that smelled metallic against the pavement, his hands rough from work I never fully understood, the way he held me like the future was something we could build if we held on hard enough.