Chapter 18 - The Ghost Awakens
The Kaine estate was operating under maximum lockdown protocols.
Victor had confined Clara to the medical suite while he and Dante planned the final assault on the Bratva's remaining stronghold.
Silas was heavily sedated in the recovery room, his vitals finally stabilizing after hours of surgery.
Clara was restless, pacing the sterile white tiles and organizing surgical trays just to keep her hands from shaking.
She hated feeling useless while the men she cared about prepared for a bloodbath.
The massive oak doors of the medical suite suddenly clicked, the heavy magnetic lock disengaging.
Clara stopped pacing, her instincts immediately flaring.
Victor and Silas were the only ones with the biometric access codes to this room.
The door slowly swung open, revealing a man dressed in a white lab coat.
He had his head down, pushing a cart of fresh linens into the room.
"Leave the cart by the sink," Clara said, taking a cautious step backward toward the surgical instruments table.
The man stopped.
He slowly raised his head, pulling off the medical mask covering his face.
It was Alexei Volkov.
Clara’s blood ran completely cold.
"How did you get in here?" she breathed, her hand reaching blindly behind her back.
"A king is only as strong as the loyalty of his guards," Alexei smiled, pulling a silenced pistol from beneath the lab coat.
"Money can buy any door in this city, Doctor."
"Even the ones belonging to Victor Kaine."
He stepped closer, his pale eyes completely devoid of sanity.
"Victor humiliated me."
"He destroyed my empire, killed my best men, and burned my product."
"So, I am going to take the only thing in this world he actually cares about."
Clara’s fingers brushed the cold steel of a heavy surgical bone saw on the table behind her.
"If you shoot me, the acoustic sensors will trigger the alarms, and Victor will tear you apart before you reach the hallway," Clara warned, keeping her voice incredibly steady.
"Oh, I am not going to shoot you," Alexei laughed darkly, placing the gun on the linen cart.
He drew a long, serrated hunting knife from his belt.
"I want Victor to find you in pieces."
Alexei lunged forward, the blade flashing under the bright fluorescent lights.
Clara threw herself sideways, dodging the lethal thrust by mere inches.
The knife buried itself deep into the mattress of the empty hospital bed.
Clara didn't hesitate.
She grabbed a heavy glass jar of chemical sterilizer and smashed it directly across Alexei’s face.
The thick glass shattered, sending the burning chemical liquid into his eyes.
Alexei roared in agony, dropping the knife and clawing desperately at his face.
Clara knew he was far too big and strong for her to fight hand-to-hand once he recovered.
She sprinted toward the surgical table, grabbing a pre-filled syringe of high-dose potassium chloride—a chemical used to stop the heart during open-chest surgery.
Alexei wiped the burning liquid from his eyes, his face completely enraged.
He lunged blindly, his massive hands wrapping around Clara’s throat and slamming her backward against the steel cabinets.
The air was driven from her lungs instantly.
Black spots danced in Clara's vision as Alexei’s thumbs dug into her windpipe.
"Die, you little bitch," Alexei spat, his face inches from hers.
Clara choked, her strength fading rapidly, but her right hand was still free.
She drove the heavy needle of the syringe directly into the thick jugular vein on the side of Alexei’s neck.
She pushed the plunger down entirely, injecting the lethal dose of potassium directly into his bloodstream.
Alexei’s eyes went wide with sudden, agonizing shock.
He released her throat, stumbling backward and clutching his chest as his heart suffered a massive, instantaneous failure.
He collapsed heavily onto the white tile floor, dead before he even stopped moving.
Clara slid down the cabinets, coughing violently and gasping for air.
The doors to the suite burst open, and Victor rushed in, his weapon drawn and his eyes wild with panic.
He saw Alexei’s body on the floor, then saw Clara gasping for air against the cabinets.
Victor dropped his gun and fell to his knees beside her, pulling her desperately into his arms.
"I've got you," Victor choked out, burying his face in her neck.
Clara wrapped her shaking arms around him, a weary, triumphant smile touching her lips.
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"I told you, Victor," Clara rasped softly.
"I am a weapon."
