The End of Bloodlines

She closed her eyes. "Don't say that."

"Why?"

"Because I might believe it."

He kissed her hair.

She sighed. "What happens now?"

"We wait."

"For what?"

He did not answer.

She sat up slowly. He watched her.

Then she said, "You don't sleep much, do you?"

"Only when you are beside me."

She picked up the shirt again and tossed it at him. "You're getting soft."

He smiled. "Only for you."

She laughed once. Then stopped. "This is stupid."

"Yes," he said. "But it is ours."

They lay together again. The storm outside was louder now. The windows shook.

But inside, the silence was warm.

And for a few hours more, they were safe.

It was just after midnight when the lamp blinked.

Sofia had been sitting on the floor beside the fireplace, trying to read a book that Dmitry said he found in the drawer. It was a dusty old Russian novel, missing the first twenty pages and the last fifteen. She was halfway through when the faint blue light flickered from the wall behind her.

She turned.

Dmitry looked up from the sink. He had been washing a single plate for ten minutes. His mind was clearly somewhere else.

The lamp blinked again. This time, twice.

Sofia stood and walked closer. "What is that?"

Dmitry dried his hands. "Leo."

The lamp blinked a third time. Then a soft voice filled the room. It came from inside the wall. It was low, smooth, and full of fake cheer.

"Good evening, lovers. Hope you are wearing something decent, because I am inside your walls now."

Sofia stepped back.

Dmitry closed his eyes and sighed. "Why does he do this?"

Leo's voice continued. "Welcome to Leo's Love Bunker, where secrets are shared, people are tracked, and your privacy is a joke. Please enjoy this transmission, brought to you by the number six and the color blood red."

Sofia looked at Dmitry. "Is he drunk?"

"No," Dmitry said. "This is him sober."

Leo's voice dropped lower. "Now that we've broken the ice and invaded your cabin, let's get to the reason I just hacked your wall light and forced you to listen to my soothing voice. Drum roll, please."

There was a loud banging noise. Then Leo made the sound of a trumpet with his mouth.

Sofia sat on the edge of the bed. Dmitry stayed standing.

Leo's voice changed. It became cold. Clear. Still calm, but serious now.

"Aleksandr Kuznetsov just declared you a traitor, Dmitry. Full level. No more warnings. No more secret punishments. You are no longer his son. You are no longer part of the family. You are now a target."

Sofia's heart slowed.

Dmitry said nothing.

Leo continued. "You should also know he held a small dinner meeting about you. The menu included duck, wine, and a slideshow of your failures. I believe the dessert was a plan to cut off your fingers and mail them to the Kremlin with a thank-you note."

Sofia rubbed her temples.

Leo added, "I was there. Under the table. Long story."

Dmitry sat on the floor. "How many men?"

Leo did not laugh this time. "Thirty. Maybe forty. All armed. They are checking every safehouse, every contact, every place you ever stood too long in."

"Why?" Sofia asked.

Leo replied instantly. "Because love makes people stupid. And betrayal makes them loud."

Then, in a softer voice, Leo added, "Your father looked like he wanted to cry. But since he has no tear ducts, he decided to start killing people instead."

The room was quiet.

Leo spoke again. "Also, he is watching the orphanage. And the hospital. Just in case you try to visit the places you care about before you die. Which is honestly thoughtful of him."

Dmitry stood. "How long do we have?"

Leo's voice was low. "Not long. I already re-routed this message through five countries. But they're closing in. Someone traced the satellite I'm bouncing this through. And someone smarter than me just bought a copy of my favorite chess app. I think that means they're watching me too."

Sofia leaned forward. "Why are you still helping us?"

Leo laughed softly. "Because you make things interesting. And because if I die, I want to die knowing I once ruined Aleksandr's dinner party with a spoon and a bad joke."

Dmitry looked at the blinking light. "You should leave Moscow."

Leo replied, "I'm not going anywhere. I just bought a new couch. I have nowhere to put it. So I'm staying."

Sofia smiled a little.

Then Leo said something different.

"I saw the photo."

They both froze.

Leo said it again. "I saw the photo. The one you left in your old apartment, Dmitry. The one with your mother."

Sofia turned to Dmitry.

Dmitry spoke quietly. "That photo was hidden."

"Yes," Leo replied. "But not from me."

Silence followed.

Then Leo added, "She looked like you. Before he broke you."

Dmitry's fists clenched.

Leo's voice changed again. "He told the others she drowned. But the photo shows something else. Something red. On her neck."

Sofia stood slowly. "Are you saying he killed her?"

Leo did not answer.

Instead, he said, "You have forty-eight hours. Maybe less. And if you want to live, you need to stop loving each other. Because that is the part he cannot control. And that is the part that will make him burn everything."

The lamp blinked three times.

Then the voice was gone.

The room was quiet again. The fire had died. The tea had gone cold. The wind had stopped outside.

Sofia turned to Dmitry. His hands were shaking. His eyes were blank.

She walked to him. "Are you alright?"

He did not speak.

She reached for his hand. He pulled away.

Then he said, "He killed her."

Sofia did not move.

Dmitry repeated it. "He killed my mother. I knew it. I knew it but I could never prove it."

He sat down again. On the floor. Like the weight in his chest had dropped through his body.

Sofia sat beside him.

He looked at her. "He will not stop. Not until you are gone. Not until I am gone. Not until Leo is gone. Not until everything that is different from him is gone."

She said nothing.

Then Dmitry added, "And now he has nothing left to lose."