3. Forced to Escape

Still Inside an Apartment.

Liliya was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at the small suitcase nearly full of her clothes. Her hands were still trembling as she folded her last shirt, and her eyes were still wet with tears that continued to fall freely.

The girl had just received the terrible news that her parents, Mr. Vadim and Mrs. Disca, had died in a massive fire that had engulfed their family home in the City of Kazan. The grief was too heavy for her to bear alone, and after crying for hours, she decided to return to Kazan to pay her last respects to her parents.

The clock on her apartment wall showed eight in the evening. Time seemed to be moving very slowly. Silence increasingly enveloped the room, broken only occasionally by Liliya's heavy breaths. But suddenly, the silence was shattered by a loud knock on the apartment door. The knock sounded rough and impatient, almost making her jump out of bed.

"Who's there?" she asked in a trembling voice, but there was no answer. The knock came again, and this time it was louder and faster.

Curiosity and anxiety mixed in her mind. Hesitantly, Liliya walked towards her apartment door and opened it slightly, finding a man standing in the doorway. The man was tall and had a stern face, with thick sideburns covering his jaw. He was also wearing a thick hat and a large winter coat, as if he had just come from a very far place. His face looked tense, as if something bad had just happened.

"Who are you?" Liliya asked with a suspicious tone, her eyes looking at the man from head to toe.

The man looked at her with a serious gaze.

"My name is Igor," he said in a heavy voice.

"I'm a friend of your father, Mr. Vadim."

Liliya looked at him expressionlessly.

"I've never heard my father mention your name as a friend," she said coldly.

Igor sighed softly, seemingly not surprised by the girl's response.

"That's because there were many things your father hid from you. I've come to warn you, Liliya. You must not go to Kazan now or in the near future. The city is not safe for you," Igor said in a firm voice.

Liliya snorted and looked at him coldly. "You have no right to control my life," she said sharply.

"And I don't believe your story! I will still go to Kazan! I'll say it again, you have no right to control my life!" Liliya retorted even more sharply.

But unexpectedly, Igor stepped into the girl's apartment uninvited. His attitude was firm, but there was a sense of anxiety in his movements.

"Liliya, listen to me carefully. Your life is in danger now! The fire was not an accident. There are people who want to harm your family, and now they are after you," Igor said in a serious tone.

Liliya rolled her eyes, feeling frustrated with the situation. She said indifferently,

"I don't know what you're talking about, and I don't care at all! This is my business. If you're really my father's friend, you'll know that I have to go to Kazan to say goodbye to my parents!" Liliya replied, trying to hold back the pain in her heart over the death of her parents.

Igor approached, his gaze sharp towards Liliya.

"You don't understand. They're hunting your family for a very dangerous reason. If you go to Kazan now, you'll only put yourself in greater danger! Please listen to this warning from me!" he said loudly, hoping the girl would listen to his words.

However, before Liliya had a chance to respond, a loud knock was heard again from her apartment door. This time, the knock was accompanied by the sound of heavy footsteps from the long hallway. Igor froze instantly, then without thinking, he grabbed Liliya's hand.

"We have to go now," he said seriously.

"They're here!" he exclaimed again.

Liliya was startled.

"What do you mean? Who are they?"

But Igor didn't answer. The tension on his face was enough to make Liliya feel that something was very wrong now. A moment later, the sound of gunfire was heard from outside the door. Liliya widened her eyes and her body began to tremble.

"Come on! There's no time left!" Igor shouted, pulling Liliya towards the back door of the apartment that led directly to the fire escape.

The two of them ran as fast as they could down the narrow stairs that creaked under the weight of their footsteps. From a distance, Liliya could hear the sound of other footsteps chasing them. Her breath was ragged, and her mind was filled with confusion.

"Who are they? What's really going on?" Liliya shouted as she ran.

"They are the people responsible for your parents' death," Igor answered without turning around.

"And now they want to finish you off too!"

Fear began to creep into Liliya, but there was no time to ponder. They continued to run, until finally arriving at the basement of the apartment building. Several men dressed in all black could already be seen at the end of the stairs, but Igor didn't stop. He opened the door of a black car and pushed Liliya inside.

"Get in quick!" he shouted before getting into the driver's seat himself. The car engine started, and Igor immediately pressed the gas pedal, causing the car to speed out of the basement.

As they drove out of the parking lot, Liliya could hear a loud explosion behind them. Her heart almost stopped as she turned her head and saw her apartment now shattered into pieces.

"Oh my God ..." Liliya gasped, her eyes in disbelief at the destruction behind her.

"That ... that's my apartment!"

"I told you, those people won't stop until they manage to kill you," Igor said in a firm tone while still focusing on the road ahead.

"This isn't a game, Liliya. They really want you dead too."

Liliya didn't know what to say. Her tears began to flow again, this time not only because of the loss of her parents, but also because of the reality that her life was now in great danger. Her head was filled with questions, but she didn't know who to trust or what to do.

"Why ... why do they want to kill me?" Liliya asked in a trembling voice.

Igor glanced at her briefly before refocusing on the road.

"It's a very long story. But what you need to know now is that your father was hiding something very valuable to those people, and they think you know where a document is hidden!" Igor said, beginning to tell her the outline.

Liliya fell silent, trying to digest what Igor had just said. Her father? Something valuable? What was really going on?

The car continued to speed under the increasingly dark night sky of Moscow, while behind them, the shadow of the destruction of Liliya's apartment receded further and further. However, the fear within her grew closer, enveloping every step she took into a terrible uncertainty.