Chapter 1-Amnesia

It was 4:30 in the afternoon. I was tired after a 12 hours flight and could not sleep in the plane as my mind was still focused on the events that happened a few days ago. I finally got in touch with Irina, my cousin who spent her las 10 years in New York. My aunt, her mother, married a rich old man and moved with him and Irina to New York in hope for a better life for my cousin. The hurtful truth is that, unlike my mother, my aunt loved her child desperately and was willing to step any boundaries to make sure Irina was safe and privileged. She attended the best schools, had many achievements in both sports and music and now was a student at Juilliard. This was my first time after 10 years when I had the opportunity to see her again and say how much I’ve missed her. I was in front of JFK Airport thinking of how am I going to justify to her the reason why I came in such a hurry to New York without giving any explanations over the phone. I took a cab and gave the driver a paper with my cousin’s address.

” At this address, please”.

” Sure” the driver said and set out on the road.

I texted my cousin telling her I am on my way to her house. I felt exhausted from so much stress and sadness until my body and mind gave up. Just as I was falling into a deep slumber, I was awakened by the taxi driver:

“Mam, wake up. We arrived at the address.” he said to me looking and my face through the rearview mirror. I yawned and tried to gather myself.

"Thanks!” I said almost whispering with my eyes half closed.

I handed him a 100 $ bill without waiting for the change. I picked up my luggage and stared at the buildings in front of me. They were tall and came in different varieties. Some of them were lifeless from the paint or ambient, others were colorful, bright and welcoming, all of them having a different architecture that composed a uniqueness of the neighborhood. As I was preparing to call my cousin, I see a black car coming down the road to my direction and I could not find any force to move my feet off the ground, instead I stood there and watched perplexed how it came closer and closer to me until my body felt the hood of the car for a couple of seconds. Immediately after that the car stopped and I fell on the asphalt losing my consciousness.

I woke up in what seemed to be a hospital bed, chained and connected to the machines. I had no idea how I got there or what happened to me. The images were blurred and I found myself panicking and looking for a way to escape. Out of the blue, the door opened and it was a man with black hair staring at me with piercing eyes looking cold and professional, almost like an assassin returned to finish the job. He approached me and, as he did, I screamed at him:

“Who are you? Let me go!". My cry did not impress him, instead he was amused by my reaction.

"The question is not who I am, but why are you running from me?” I looked at him without knowing what to answer.

"I can’t remember...” I said turning my face from him and trying to dig up recollections with this monster. His face seemed familiar, but the images popping out in my head were fuzzy. I was afraid for my safety and I could not remember any event that happened during the last days. The last thing I remembered was me cleaning the restaurant after closing hours. How I got chained up from a bed and held hostage was a mystery as my memories were foggy and impossible to remember.

"You don’t remember? Do you think I am stupid? Smart move though, you almost got me for a second.” he said coldly, approaching me up to the point I could feel his breath on my face. He watched me attentively, examining my face.

"My boys got you pretty bad...I'll wait until you recover and then we have business to discuss!”

” What do you mean by that?” I asked with a shaky voice." I don’t want to be here. I want to go home!” I ultimately shouted in despair, thinking there might be a misunderstanding. The corners of his mouth raised while he glared at me mischievously after which tuned his back and walked out the door without saying a word.” Hey!” I shouted, annoyed by his ignorance,” Let me go asshole!” I demanded.

The panic built up in me with every second that passed until I became hysterical “You asshole get back here! You have no right to keep me here!". I shouted as hard as I could until my throat got dry and I couldn’t breathe, I was trying to gasp for air. My heart was beating faster and faster. The door opened and the nurse rushed in. She took my pulse and looked at the screen. Immediately I see her pulling out of her pocket a syringe and after that I sensed my body going numb until... I fell asleep.

I have no idea how long I’ve been in that hellhole but I used to wake up sometimes from the screams which resonated in different tonalities and intensity. Some were out of rage, most of them out of pain and from time to time a fearful cry that was slowly dissipating after a while. A nurse would come every day to visit me and monitor my condition followed by administrating a sedative to help me sleep. I’ve never seen the mysterious man after that day but for some reason I was sure we were going to meet again. One morning, the nurse came and looked at me to check my wounds.

She seemed pleased with my recovery and nodded, removing a lock of hair from my face.

“Miss, you made a full recovery. Too bad you are such a young and beautiful girl. Things shouldn’t have ended this way...” she said with remorse in her voice.

” Please let me go and I promise I will tell them I am the one to blame if they catch me.” I pleaded, tears pouring down my cheeks while I grabbed the woman’s hand into mine. As much as this was a cry for help, for her was torture. Her brown eyes were watery and had a flicker of sympathy in them which made me feel better knowing that not all people living there were evil.

” Sweet child, there’s no escape.” she said.” My son was in debt to them and he was almost indispensable for their operations in Moscow and New York as he used to work at the Russian consulate in New York. Even so, they killed him and used acid to cover the murder. They leave no tracks and own important people in key functions.” her hands started shaking. “Please do as they say and at least you will not suffer”. She grabbed her medical purse and gave me a final advice to keep me alive.

“Stay here until he comes for you.” She took my right hand, squeezing it gently while her eyes locked on mine.” Do not, under any circumstance, try to run or you will be killed!” she followed and went out the door quickly without saying another word.

It was the first time in days since I was free from the shackles but the grey walls I’ve faced all this time reminded me I’m still a prisoner. The mirror hanging in front of me reflected not a powerful and independent woman but a stranger, scared, wounded and disoriented. I had bruises all over my pale and skinny face as my body was a canvas for the bruises that just began healing, making an interesting contrast against my blue swollen eyes. My hair which was usually shiny and silky now seemed to have lost its’ vitality. Although I was usually skinny, now my rib bones were standing out and they were so prominent I could count each one of them.

After what seemed to be half an hour, a blond man with big ears and blue eyes came into the room with a smirk on his face and said:

“Come with me, the boss needs to talk to you”.

I took a step back and he got closer to me. I got enraged by his bossy attitude and the fact that I was held prisoner for days without proper food or water that finally my savage instincts kicked in and I shouted:

“Let me leave, you piece of shit!”

Saying that, I grabbed a glass from the table beside me and threw it at him. The glass missed its’ target and hit the wall but the man stormed menacingly into my direction, clenching his jaw, his face reddening as veins were pulsing underneath his temples.

“I think you have a death wish you stupid bitch!” he spit out the words with rage and grabbed me by the hair pulling me to the door.

“You are lucky the boss needs you alive...” he added and pulled me through the opening, dragging me across a big hallway until we got to a massive door. I measured the door with my eyes and noticed that it was at least ten feet tall covered in black leather with silver stamps at the corners. In the middle of the door there were carved two initials: N.I.

The man opened the door and I could see a silhouette standing at the window. His back was facing us, he was wearing a well-tailored black suit which gave him an imposing yet attractive appearance and had a black wavy hair that shined in the window light. When he turned to face me, I saw his eyes and I froze:

“Hello Misha, I don’t think we were properly introduced...My name is Nicolai”.