Chapter 1: The Interrogation: A Dance of Power and Desire
The air in the room was cold enough to see her breath, a faint ghost in the stark light of the single, flickering bulb overhead. It swung on a wire, casting long, dancing shadows that slid across the bare concrete walls. The place smelled of old sweat, rust, and beneath it all, the sharp, clean scent of fear. General Valeriana Volkov leaned against a metal table, the edge biting into her thigh. Her uniform jacket was unbuttoned, revealing a tight black t-shirt speckled with a few dark, dried drops that weren’t hers. She rolled a stained ceramic mug between her hands, the coffee inside long gone cold.
The girl in the chair was everything the file promised and nothing like it.
Anya Petrova.