Chapter 3 - THE COLLAR
Sarah did not move.
She stood inside the elevator with tears running silently down her face.
A thin metal collar circled her throat.
A red light blinked beneath her chin.
Maya ran forward.
Roman caught her shoulder.
“No.”
“That’s my mother.”
“I know.”
Sarah shook her head violently.
“Stay back.”
Her voice was barely a whisper.
A speaker inside the elevator crackled.
Julian’s voice filled the room.
“Good evening, Roman.”
Roman stared into the elevator camera.
“Take the collar off her.”
“That depends on you.”
The ballroom guests watched in terrified silence.
Julian continued.
“The wine cellar.”
“Five minutes.”
“Bring Maya.”
Sarah’s eyes widened.
“No!”
The collar beeped.
She froze.
Julian laughed softly through the speaker.
“Please do not raise your voice, Mrs. Vance.”
“The device is sensitive.”
Roman’s hands curled into fists.
“You wanted me.”
“Leave the child out of it.”
“She was never out of it.”
Maya looked at Roman.
“What does that mean?”
Roman did not answer.
The elevator doors began to close.
Maya lunged.
Viktor blocked them with a chair.
The doors struck the chair and opened again.
Viktor examined the collar from a distance.
“It has a pressure sensor.”
“If anyone pulls it, it could tighten.”
Sarah struggled to breathe.
Maya stepped closer.
“Mom, look at me.”
Sarah did.
“Did they hurt you?”
“No.”
The answer came too quickly.
A bruise was already forming along her cheek.
Maya saw it.
Her expression hardened.
Roman saw the change in the child’s face.
He had seen grown men break under less fear.
Maya did not break.
She reached into her apron pocket and pulled out the crimson cloth.
“What did Elena put in the cake?”
Sarah looked at Roman.
Then at the guests.
“Maya, not now.”
“It has to be now.”
Julian’s voice returned.
“Three minutes.”
Roman turned to Viktor.
“Can you disable the collar?”
“Not without seeing the control system.”
“Where would the control system be?”
“The wine cellar.”
Roman removed his jacket.
“Then we go.”
Viktor blocked his path.
“It’s a trap.”
“Yes.”
“They want the girl too.”
“Yes.”
“You cannot bring her.”
Maya stepped forward.
“They won’t show us the control panel without me.”
Roman looked down at her.
“You’re eight.”
“And my mother is wearing that thing because I saw them.”
Sarah shook her head.
“No, sweetheart.”
“This is not your fault.”
Maya’s mouth trembled.
“They threatened you because of me.”
“They threatened me because they’re monsters.”
Roman looked toward the elevator camera.
“Julian.”
“I’m coming.”
“But Maya stays.”
The collar beeped faster.
Sarah gasped.
The speaker crackled.
“Maya comes.”
Roman’s voice dropped.
“If you touch her, I will bury everyone you have ever loved.”
Julian laughed.
“That is the Roman Sokolov everyone fears.”
“But you still don’t understand.”
“This is not about killing you.”
Maya stared at the speaker.
“Then what is it about?”
A pause followed.
Then Elena’s voice replaced Julian’s.
“It’s about making him remember your father.”
Sarah went white.
Maya stopped breathing.
Roman looked at Sarah.
The room seemed to tilt.
Maya’s voice came out small.
“My father is dead.”
Elena laughed through the speaker.
“No, sweetheart.”
May you like
“He was murdered.”
“And Roman Sokolov was there.”
