Chapter 203. Cold Shadows

The journey to the Kremlin mansion becomes painstaking and long for Lara as her thoughts torment her. She keeps fighting and tries her best to shut down every memory and keep her head as blank as possible, but the replays keep fighting back.

Keeping her mind blank as paper is a stress coping mechanism Lara adopted as a child, especially when she lost her mom. During that time, she didn't fully understand what death meant, but she knew for a fact that she wouldn’t see her mother again. She didn’t need anyone to explain it to her, especially when she saw how all the maids and staff were struggling to explain it to her whenever she asked. Before long, it dawned on her that wherever her mother had gone, she was never coming back.

Lara cried her eyes out that day. And the next day, she cried again. This continued any time she remembered her mother’s face or voice. But she soon grew weary of constantly crying and decided that always thinking about it would not bring her b