Page 92 of Unbroken
“You’remine, Ruthie.”
I should argue. Should bite. Should fight back.
But instead—I nod.
Because maybe I already was.
Vadka’s phone dings with a text. He shows me the screen.
Matvei
Come to the house. It’s urgent. Bring Ruthie
Chapter 17
VADKA
The thumb drive clicks open.
Matvei doesn’t speak at first. He just leans back in the metal chair and stares, his lips pressed in a solid line, breathing heavily.
I don’t breathe. Ruthie doesn’t move.
Matvei gestures to the screen.
“Not just targets,” he says, voice flat. “It’s a full family map. All Bratva branches. Children. Lovers. Everyone tied to the old bloodlines.”
I feel it before I see it, a cold rush behind my ribs.
And then—there it is. Her name.
Ruth Wexler.
Under a red header thatreads:
Purge the Line. Erase the Heirs.
I sit back like I’ve been punched.
“Fuck,” I whisper. “They don’t want a fucking war. They want a genocide.”
I lean forward, eyes locked on the screen like I can kill it with a stare. My hands are fists on my knees. “This isn’t… new. This isn’t in retaliation for what you did, is it?”
Matvei swallows. “Worse. There’s surveillance footage. Luka and the nanny walking. Timestamps after our last sweep.”
I’m on my feet.
The air changes.
“They’re watching Luka,” I whisper. “They’re fucking watchingLuka.”
“I’ll leave you to it. Let me know what you want from me.”
Matvei knows better than to argue, and he leaves.
The door clicks shut.
Silence swells between us, thick and brutal.
