The helicopter groaned under the fury of the storm. The wind slammed against the sides as if the mountain itself were trying to tear it from the sky. Dimitri Snova didn't blink. Seated by the window, his mind wasn't in the sky... it was in the hell where he'd left his brother.
Before reaching this village in the Peruvian Andes, I remember sending my brother Dimitri Snova in one of my two private helicopters, along with Ishana. But the signal I had requested from the pilot never came. I tracked their location—nothing. The only thing I could confirm before bringing Daesa with me was the sighting of a private jet flying over my property. And then... total silence.
"Are you trying to tell me Dimitri planned his own abduction?"
—I wouldn't care —I replied— if he hadn't taken Varek's sister with him. The only one who could give us answers. Now, we have nothing.
Days before Dimitri Snova's disappearance
The helicopter tore through a treacherous storm. Wind gusts rocked the aircraft, making it groan like a toy in the hands of a spoiled child. Dimitri, seemingly calm, watched the storm clouds through the window, as if the chaos outside didn't matter.
His mind was haunted by the image of his brother Skiller. He remembered the painful moment Skiller had grabbed him, draining his energy as he struggled to break free.
"Bastard. Just like Father," he thought, clenching his fists.
The scent of dried blood filled the cabin, snapping him out of his thoughts. He glanced at his arm and noticed the crusted mark from the needle he'd received before boarding.
"Something's off."
Suddenly, the co-pilot glanced at him with a mix of fear and suspicion. The radio was silent, and the pilot's hands were tense on the controls.
—Is this normal? —Dimitri asked, his tone laced with implicit threat.
The co-pilot tried to sound calm, but his unease was clear.
—Nothing we can't handle.
Dimitri observed every twitch and movement. The tension was palpable. Then, like a sudden burst of clarity, he realized what was happening.
"They're flying me to my death."
Without warning, Dimitri rose from his seat and stormed toward the cockpit. He moved too fast for the pilots to react. With one swift motion, he snapped a lever, causing the aircraft to jolt violently.
—What the hell are you doing, you lunatic?! —shouted the co-pilot, drawing a taser and firing.
The shock coursed through Dimitri's body like lightning—but instead of screaming, he smiled. A dangerous smile.
—That's all you've got?
The pilot tried to defuse the chaos, but it was too late. Dimitri moved with inhuman speed, disarmed the co-pilot, and seized control. But before he could act further, the helicopter shook violently—followed by a deafening blast.
Elliot appeared like a phantom in the storm. With lethal precision, he shot the co-pilot and forced the helicopter into an emergency landing. Dimitri stared at him, trying to decipher his intentions.
—Elliot, what the hell is this? —Dimitri asked, a mix of rage and curiosity in his voice.
Elliot sneered.
—It's not a game, Snova. It's survival. Now, get your ass off that chopper.
Dimitri hesitated.
—You're not exactly trustworthy.
—Wipe that blood off your neck and follow me. I've got a surprise.
Clenching his jaw, Dimitri followed, though every step screamed it would end badly. They arrived at an unfamiliar estate. At the door, Elliot stopped him.
—You're forgetting something basic, Dimitri. You can't enter without an invitation.
Frustration burned in Dimitri's eyes. Former allies now treated him like a nobody.
—If you're going to use me, at least let me in.
Elliot let out a dry laugh, referencing Dimitri's transformation into a vampire at the hands of his older brother.
—Your brother Skiller was useful. You, on the other hand, are a walking disaster. Until you prove otherwise, you stay out.
Furious, Dimitri slammed his fists against the invisible barrier, but it was useless. His rage wasn't just for the barrier or Elliot's words—it was for what it all meant.
He had always seen Skiller as a rival. Someone to surpass. But now that he saw him reduced to a plaything for others, it made him sick. Skiller didn't deserve that—not from Varek. If anyone had the right to decide Skiller's fate, it was Dimitri. No one else.
—Stubborn bastards, all of you —Elliot muttered, closing the door in his face.
Dimitri sat on the ground, thinking. Elliot's words echoed in his mind, tangled with family memories and his father's looming shadow.
"Skiller, what the hell were you thinking? If you planned to use me... you'd better have a damn good reason."
Staring at the stormy sky, Dimitri knew his next move would determine if he'd be a pawn... or a player.
Night had fallen, heavy and oppressive, as Dimitri moved through a narrow stone hallway. Each step echoed with the weight of his simmering fury. Elliot's words still pounded in his skull, stoking the fire that never truly died.
"If you're looking for Skiller, he's not the man you knew. Now he's Varek's favorite toy."
Dimitri had laughed then—but not out of amusement. It was a bitter, broken laugh, because Elliot was right. Skiller had fallen... and Dimitri wasn't going to let anyone else decide how that story ended.
—If someone's going to play with his life, it'll be me —he muttered, fists clenched so tightly his nails broke skin.
Reaching Varek wouldn't be easy. But Dimitri had an ace: Ishana. Varek's sister—now under his control—was the key to infiltrating the torture base. He'd saved her once. Now, without remorse, he'd use her.
Dimitri closed his eyes for a moment. No countdown. No turning back.
—You know what you're asking, right? —Ishana's voice was sharp, skeptical, eyes fixed on him like she was calculating how long it'd take to tear his throat out—. Varek doesn't forgive traitors. Not even his own blood.
Dimitri leaned in, barely smiling.
—I don't need his forgiveness, Ishana. I just need the door open.
Her stare held, but her trembling fingers betrayed her. Dimitri noticed—and pushed harder.
—You help me, or Varek finds out his precious sister considered switching sides. What do you think he'll do with that?
The silence was all the answer he needed.
With Ishana's guidance, Dimitri slipped through the first security rings, dispatching guards with lethal precision. The shadows shielded him, but time was running out.
—How far are you willing to go? —Ishana whispered, unlocking a main door.
—As far as it takes —Dimitri said, never looking back.
They reached the central chamber. The air was thick with blood, death, and despair. In the center, chained and broken, hung Skiller.
Dimitri froze. His brother—once formidable—was a husk. Open wounds. Dead eyes. But when those eyes met his, something flickered. Hate. Defiance.
—Look at you —Dimitri murmured coldly—. Can't even lift your head. Is this how you plan to die?
—Do I care who does it? —Skiller rasped—. If you came to kill me, get on with it.
Dimitri clenched his teeth. This wasn't the reunion he envisioned.
—I didn't come to kill you... not yet.
Footsteps thundered in the corridor. Varek had arrived.
—So the little Snova came to play —he said, strolling in like a predator. His voice dripped with menace—. And brought my dear sister? What a disappointment.
Dimitri stepped between Varek and Skiller, chains swaying behind him. Only one thought in his mind:
"Skiller is mine. Not Varek's. Not anyone's."
—Don't even try it, Varek.
Varek raised an eyebrow, his smile widening as if he could read Dimitri's mind.
—"As far as it takes," —he mocked—. Is he yours now? How pathetic. You're both pawns. I decide how the pieces fall.
Dimitri scoffed, filled with contempt.
—Coming from someone who didn't even fight for what was taken from him. You didn't lift a finger for her.
Tension snapped.
Dimitri lunged. The fight exploded—vicious, brutal. Varek was stronger, but Dimitri burned with something fiercer: desperation. Pain. A rage deeper than flesh.
—Ishana! Free him! —Dimitri shouted mid-battle.
Ishana hesitated... then ran to the chains, her fingers trembling.
—Don't think this makes you better than him —she muttered, unlocking the cuffs—. Saving a monster doesn't make you any less of one.
Dimitri landed a solid blow. Varek staggered. He was brute force. Dimitri, unyielding wrath.
—You'll never make it out alive —Varek said, blood dripping from his lip.
"They bled like beasts stripped of all humanity. One had chosen exile. The other still denied it."
—Maybe —Dimitri said, with a grim smile—. But I'll make sure you don't either.
The chains finally gave way. Skiller collapsed—weak, but conscious.
"They were brothers. But in the red light of that torture chamber, that word meant no salvation. Only sentence."
Dimitri lifted him, throwing Skiller's arm over his shoulder. Ishana, still shaking, led them through a side exit as chaos erupted behind.
—This isn't over, Dimitri! —Varek's voice echoed behind them.
Dimitri didn't look back. He knew Varek was right.
But for now, he had done the impossible: rescued his brother.
Even if he didn't know whether it was to save him…
—Now what? —Skiller muttered, barely able to lift his head.
Dimitri didn't answer.
…or to end him, by his own hands, when the time came.