I flip it face down, hoping he didn’t notice.
“Eat. Sleep. I’ll call,” he says as he pulls on his coat.
“Be safe,” I say.
He hesitates, almost turning back, but doesn’t. The elevator swallows him.
For a while I just stand there with my tea, pretending the quiet means peace. It doesn’t, of course. I curl on the sofa, hand on my stomach, watching the snow blanket the city.
The penthouse feels bigger and emptier in Vlad’s absence. His cologne hangs in the air like a ghost. I wrap my hands around the mug, letting the heat seep into my fingers, then set it back down because my hands won’t stop shaking.
I know I shouldn’t call her. He made it clear not to. But my thumb is already hovering over Trina’s name. I glance at the guard out of the corner of my eye, then hurry to the guest room, the place where all of my things from my old apartment are.
I shut the door and hit call.
She picks up on the second ring, no hello. “Are you alone?”
“Hi to you, too.” I try for light and land on brittle. “Yes. He left five minutes ago.”
Trina lowers her voice anyway. “Good. Sorry for all the secrecy. I’ve been meaning to text you but didn’t want to put anything in writing.”
“What’s going on?”
She exhales a sharp breath. “I think I finally understand what he’s doing.”
My stomach drops. “Trina?—”
“Listen.” She’s in command mode, the one that used to talk me through charity galas, seating charts, and which donors needed an extra pat on the ego back when I was with Maxim. “You keep asking me if Vlad is the devil or a man you can build a future with. I think he might be something worse.”
“You’re going to have to be more specific.”
“Okay.” I can hear her moving, heels on hardwood, a door closing. “Start with motive. Volkov Industries isn’t Aleksander’s only toy. It holds pieces of everything in this city that matters. Tucked inside are your parent’s companies, their equity, their distribution networks. If you control Volkov, you control an empire. Vlad knows this. Everybody does.”
“Right. What are you trying to say?”
“I’m saying he’s clearing the board. First, he convinces you that he’s your protector. Buys your life. Moves you into his penthouse. That gives him leverage over Aleksander and sympathy from the old-guard types who still believe in honor. The ambush in the park? He’ll use that to justify escalation. If he can push Aleksander into making the first big mistake, he can erase him off the map and look like the reasonable one while he does it.”
I swallow, throat tight. “That’s not impossible.”
“After Aleksander’s gone, he doesn’t want me voicing my opinions. He doesn’t need Jack stirring up a public mess. And he definitely doesn’t need you around to challenge what comes next.”
I stare at the water glass Vlad left on the island, the print of his thumb ghosting near the rim. My chest is tight, and for a second I can’t find air. “You actually think he’d…” I can’t say it out loud.
“I think men like him call it clearing up loose ends,” she says. “No heirs, no lawsuits.”
“He—” I have to stop and start again. “He promised to keep me safe.”
“Of course he did,” she says gently. “He needs you to trust him right now. You’re the keystone in the story he’s telling. But once the story’s over… you know how this works.”
Do I? I used to think so.
“So, this is all about money?” I ask. “He wants to start a war to take out Volkov, and he needs an excuse?”
“Correct. And you’re a perfect one. No one’s going to question Vlad going after Volkov after what happened in the park. And a war is the perfect cover for taking me, you, and Jack out. Think about it—who would your parent’s company fall to after Aleksander dies?”
“Me. Or Jack.”
“Right. And with Maxim gone, I’m the sole heir to my uncle’s empire. So that means if all three of us die?—”
