His only Cure

A few hours later, barely alive, Zick managed to get through Ruslanov's security and find his current location.

"Good job. Take a little nap 'couse you'll have a few more tasks to do," Don said over the phone, knowing how exhausted the boy was during this time.

There was only a thud and no response. Zick, hearing that he could finally rest, immediately fell asleep, hitting his head on the desk.

"Someone go over to Zick and take care of him. Get the guys together, this could get rough. I doubt he'll give her up without a fight" 

Don looked at Darell, who was willing to risk everything to get her back. Armed and wearing vests, they got into cars and set off.

It was already completely dark when they reached the heavily guarded gate of a large villa. Men armed with weapons stood in their path, ready to attack.

Don's men got out right behind their boss and Darell. Without any hesitation, Darell approached the people at the gate.

"I want to talk to Anton. Tell your boss that Darell Pilsar has come for his woman" He said firmly. The men looked at each other hostilely for a moment. Finally he took out his phone and called Anton.

"Boss, Darell Pilsar and..."

"Don" Darell's friend added, standing next to him.

"And Don...came to see the boss..."

"Give me back Sophie Anton!" Darell couldn't stand it and called out next to the man who was talking. "I'll only say it once. I want her back" His tone was firm and very threatening.

"Well, well, who do we have here? Darell and Don. What an honor it is for me to be visited by two big shots." They heard when the man put on the speaker.

"I don't have time to play with you Anton. I want to see Sophie" Darell's patience was slowly running out. If Ruslanov wants blood, he will get it.

"Easy. You are impatient as always. Sophie needs rest now. Come tomorrow. I will welcome you as proper guests." 

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" Darell growled menacingly, extending his gun to the men in front of the gate.

With this one move, both sides drew their weapons and aimed at their opponents. The man holding the phone did the same, dropping it to the ground.

"Calm down, gentlemen. There is no need to shed blood. As I said, you are welcome tomorrow. And there is no need to threaten me. I keep my word."

Without waiting for their response, the conversation ended. For a moment there was great tension in the air. One small move and all hell will break loose at the gate. But Darell didn't want to let go at all.

He felt very bad not having Sophie with him. His body was also slowly losing strength. 

"Darell" Don put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Nothing can be done. Let's wait until tomorrow. You know Anton won't cheat us." He said very calmly.

Darell looked at him angrily and then at everyone standing in his way. He was so close to his other half and yet so far. But he had to let go this time.

He slowly lowered his weapon and soon everyone did the same. He turned around furious and slammed the door behind him, getting into the car.

"Tomorrow at eight o'clock we look forward to your warm welcome," Don smiled at the guards and with a wave of his hand ordered his men back to their cars. As he drove away from Ruslanov's estate, Darell punched the car door.

"Fuck!" He covered his face with his other hand and fought against the winning weakness. "Sophie, I need you..." He whispered the last words before he lost consciousness and his head hit the window.

Don looked at his friend and sighed. He had just threatened Ruslanov and a moment later...

The return journey passed in silence. When the boss was silent, everyone was silent.

After returning to his office, he took Darell and put him in one of his rooms. Looking into the next room, he found Zick sleeping. Apparently his people thought it would be a good idea.

The cartel boss's serious face softened. He closed the door behind him and sat down in the chair next to his bed. He pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lit one, inhaling the choking smoke thoughtfully. By the third slow exhale, Zick began to squirm.

He looked sleepily at his boss staring at him this whole time. The look on Don's face was undecipherable. 

"Get some sleep instead of smoking," Zick muttered in dissatisfaction.

"You won't tell me what to do" He blew smoke at the young man, who began to choke.

"I'm serious. Throw this crap away and close your eyes for a moment. You're not made of steel."

He turned his back to his boss with dissatisfaction.

Don exasperatedly stubbed out his cigarette, took off his coat, and lay down next to Zick. He knew how tired he was from all this searching, especially since he had to lead everyone. He probably didn't even know when his eyes closed.

Zick turned towards him and looked at his sleeping face. For a moment there was sadness in his eyes. Turning over again before he fell back asleep, he muttered some more dissatisfaction.

"No matter what I do, I will never be enough..."

Around 5 a.m., Sophie started to wake up. With sleepy eyes, she looked around the room and noticed that she was in a completely unfamiliar place. She sat down quickly on the bed and listened carefully.

She knew she wouldn't be able to run if she tried to escape, but she had to defend herself somehow. As she tried to get out of bed, the door to her room opened and none other than Anton walked in.

The earlier events came flooding back and she immediately forgot about trying to escape. Seeing her awake, the man sat down next to her on the bed and greeted her with a gentle smile.

"How are you feeling? Would you like to eat something?"

Sophie looked at him in disbelief.

"So I didn't dream about it. You're my twin. But how?" She looked him straight in the eye, waiting for an answer.

"Easy, little sister" He laughed. "I'll explain everything to you, but after you eat something. Are you ready to go?"

Anton extended his hand to her as he got up. Sophie looked at his hand hesitantly and frowned. The man rolled his eyes and deftly took her into his arms. Sophie wanted to protest, but she heard a rather strong argument.

"Relax. I'm your brother. You won't betray your beloved." He winked at her, which made her remember Darell. It's probably been a few days... Possibly again...

"Darell! I need to let him know where I am and that I'm okay!" She called out firmly.

"Yes, yes. Your little darling knows you're here and that you're okay. He's coming today, so I guess we won't have much time to chat." He muttered dissatisfiedly as he carried her into the dining room.

He carefully sat her down on one of the chairs and called one of the people to bring her something to eat. With the plate in front of her, Sophie looked at her brother.

"You can talk while I'm eating. I'll ask you when you're done," She announced, taking the first bite into her mouth. 

"As you wish" Anton sat comfortably in the chair next to her and began to talk. 

"Your real father is Grigorej Ruslanov. When Antonio was younger, he wanted to sign a contract with my father at all costs to stand out from the others. He was very cunning. He knew that your mother and my father felt something for each other. He was engaged with her but he didn't mind giving her up 'For One Night'"

He clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction. "Father couldn't refuse. He was head over heels for her and despite her hesitations, she gave herself to him for Antonio's sake. However, something happened that none of the three expected. Our mother became pregnant. Antonio was furious but our father forbade her to have an abortion.

He promised him shares in one of his companies, to which he quickly agreed. Against all odds, he married our mother, but more to spite our father than out of love for her.

After a few months, they found out that they were going to have twins."

He pointed at himself and Sophie. "Before the birth, they agreed that you would stay with your mother and be Antonio's daughter, and I would become the heir of the Ruslanov family. The twins were separated right after birth. Our father told me everything when I turned 20.

I was furious that he didn't try to contact you but as he said, he promised our mother" Anton just rolled his eyes, still hearing the same excuse. "But I didn't promise anything like that. I was able to live without my mother but all this time I felt that I was missing something...Someone" He took his sister's hand in his and smiled at her. "From the moment I found out about your existence, I followed your life from afar. But when I found out about your kidnapping... Maybe you will hate me for it, but I couldn't hold it in anymore. You have the right to know that there is a family that want to take care of you."

He looked at his sister with hope in his eyes. Sophie was already an adult. She had her job and was well positioned. She also had a loving man who showed yesterday how much he cared about her. She had the right to refuse to meet them.

Sophie silently got up from the table and Anton did the same. Suddenly she walked up to him and hugged him tenderly. Surprised, he froze for a moment, but feeling her warmth, he hugged her tightly.

At the same time, Darell entered the dining room with Don and they both froze as they saw the scene unfolding before their eyes.

"Anton! You fucking bastard!"...