"Father." Dimitri stood in front of the desk in his father's office, built in the mansion. "You called for me."
Mr. Petrov lifted his head, his expression a mixture of annoyance and anger. "I did. Are you done with her?"
Dimitri nodded, responding, "I am. I've also sent the medics to give her treatment. We can at least let her look a little bit better before her mother's funeral."
"Right." Mr. Petrov rested against his chair and lifted his legs, dropping them onto his desk. He crossed them and folded his arms, his eyes rising to stare at Dimitri.
"What do we do with her once the funeral is over?" he asked, a cloud of smoke obscuring his face.
Dimitri stared at him, completely quiet. He was pondering on what to say. His father was a very temperamental man, and even the wrong word escaping his mouth could flip his entire mood upside down.
He looked at the file on the desk, his eyes uncharacteristically expressive. "I'm not really sure."
Mr. Pretrov continued to smoke. "Are you sorry for her? You do understand that I need to get that file from her as soon as possible, right?"
"Yes. And no, I'm not sorry for her. I could never be," Dimitri scoffed, disgusted by the thought alone.
Mr. Petrov tilted his head, supporting it with his fist. "Dimitri, that file holds every crime you, me, and every person working for us have committed. If it's realeased, we'll be done for it. That is how critical our situation is. Do you even-"
"Dad, I know." Dimitri gave a nod, lowering his eyes to stare at the floor. "I just think we should at least keep her alive in the meantime in a stable condition. We'll definitely get that file from her. It is only a matter of time."
Mr. Petrov quietly watched him for a few seconds and dismissively waved his hand at him. "Fine, we'll keep her alive much longer. Let's see what you can do." He smiled, blowing out a puff of smoke.
Dimitri gave a nod and left the office, shutting the door behind him.
"It is only a matter of time, and you'll be done for, Adeline." He chortled to himself and brushed his fingers through his hair. "I will break you completely into what I prefer and you'll be at my feet begging, haha."
"How exciting!"
—————
It's been three days, and Adeline, who'd been unconscious ever since, had finally regained consciousness.
She blinked her eyes open, and the first thing she caught a glimpse of was the white marble ceiling.
Her body was a bit cold due to the crisp floor she was lying on, but she was covered with a warm puffy duvet.
Shivering, she forced herself into a sitting position and turned her head to stare at the small and only window built in the basement.
"Finally decided to wake up, sleeping beauty." Dimitri spoke, gazing at her with gleeful eyes. "I thought you were going to sleep for a few days more. Well, it's good that you didn't. My father doesn't have any intention of postponing the funeral for your sake. We need to get that filthy hag out of our hospital."
Adeline didn't bother responding to the insults as she knew he was there to rub salt in her wound. He definitely hadn't had enough.
"You better get up, it's five in the evening. We're about to leave," Dimitri said. "The weather isn't good, and it might rain any time soon."
Adeline frowned at the tone he was using, but she still didn't say a word.
"Is your vocal cord broken?" Dimitri asked, slightly nettled. "Can't you speak anymore?"
Adeline sighed. She took the duvet off and stood up to her feet. "Can I go now?" Her eyes were tiredly hanging low as if she hadn't slept in a few days, and her blank expression made her appearance worse.
"Whatever, move it. I'll be waiting for you outside." Dimitri scoffed and got up from the chair he was seated on. He opened the door and left the basement.
Adeline peered at the door and lowered her head to glance at her left arm. It was completely bandaged from her armpit to her wrist. Above the bridge of her nose was a band-aid, covering the little cut wounds.
"At least I'm not dead." She breathed.
Her lips dropped to a genuine optimistic, hearty smile, and she left the basement, proceeding to her room for a change of attire.
Luckily for her, her black outfit, which consisted of suit pants, a white shirt, and a heavy black trench coat, was already spread out on the bed.
Adeline took a warm bath, which happened to be long, and changed into those clothes. She brushed and let her hair fall all the way to her bottom.
Her coat sheathed her bandaged arm, and she took a deep breath, finally relaxing.
With her feet shoved into her heels, she exited the room, making sure to stuff the card Caesar had given her into her pocket.
She'd searched for her phone, but it was nowhere to be found. Without a doubt, it was clear that they'd confiscated it, and there was no intention of giving it back.
If they wanted to, it would have been the first thing Dimitri gave her after she woke up.
Dimitri, who was waiting by the SUV, yelled at her to hurry up. He got in, and Adeline took a seat beside him.
The chauffeurs started the cars, one of which she was in and the other of which Mr. Petrov was in, and drove onto the road, speeding off.
At the cemetery, a few people, consisting of Petrov's working staff, completely outfitted in black, stood with umbrellas over their heads. The pouring rain was heavy and didn't look like it would be stopping anytime soon.
"May her soul rest in peace." The priest blessed the corpse and moved back.
Adeline took a step toward the coffin and gazed at her mother's corpse for a few moments. Her wet lashes flickered, and she slowly lifted her trembling hands, throwing the flowers into the coffin.
I will make them pay, I promise. It won't end like this… She bit into her lower lip to prevent herself from breaking down and spared a glance at Dimitri, who was gazing at her, sneering.
Her balled fists tightened, and she took a step back, returning to her spot beside him.
Mr. Petrov moved forward and threw white daisies into the coffin. He motioned for Dimitri to do the same, and once he did, he proceeded to leave the cemetery with him.
The coffin was then rolled into the wide six-foot hole.
Adeline drew a long shaky breath and flinched in the next moment at the feel of someone's hand resting on her shoulder.
"Take." Dimitri was holding her phone, lips angled into a taunting smile.
Reluctantly, she took it from him, her suspicion-filled eyes never breaking away from his face.
"You can return home on your own. I have somewhere to be," Dimitri said. "Don't try to run away, though. You might get yourself killed this time around, hahahaha," he added, strolling off and chuckling to himself.
For a second there, Adeline had the urge to grip him by the neck and strangle the life out of him, but she shook her head, dismissing the ridiculous idea. She shoved the phone into her pocket and diverted her attention to the grave.
"Rest in peace, Mum," she whispered with quivering lips, no longer able to restrict how she truly felt in that moment.
Her body shook, and drops of painful tears unceasingly began to fall from her eyes. She didn't want to cry in front of them, so as to not give them the satisfaction, but it hurt. It hurt so much it felt like every drop of blood was being squeezed out of her heart.
She wished she could blink her eyes open and suprisingly, it'd be a dream. But of course it wouldn't be.
This was reality and she was completely alone—everthing...brutally and heartlessly taken from her.
Lost in her emotions, Adeline had no clue when everyone had left the cemetery, but when she came to be, it was only her left.
The funeral was finally over, and the sky was a shade darker. The rain that showed no signs of stopping poured even heavier, and she turned around, leaving the cemetery.
With her cold hands stuffed into her pocket, she walked down the road and made her way to a small store that sold street food. She pulled out a chair and sat down under the wide umbrella, shielding herself from the rain.
Time seemed to slow down in her vision as she could glimpse the speeding cars going slower and becoming nothing more than a blur.
She was completely out of it and looked as though she could probably faint in the next few seconds.
…But then, the sudden ring of her phone shook her out of her dazed state.
Adeline grabbed the phone and turned it on. It was a message from Dimitri.
She unlocked the phone, and what she saw made her stomach twist in absolute disgust.