“Believe me,” he says, his voice taut. “I’ve examined every possible enemy and friend in Yuri Vasiliev’s circle. The truth is, no one dares to make a move against him. He is untouchable. And now, you’ve taken out all three of the Maiburovs, who werethe only individuals who could have confirmed your story that Yuri ordered a hit on you…” He trails off. His eyes shift from me to something behind me or someone. My arm reaches out and snakes around Alyona’s waist as soon as she’s within reaching distance, and I pull her onto my lap, kissing her neck.
“You found her,” Abram says, rolling a coin across his fingers.
“Imagine our surprise when we discovered she’d been right here all along,” I say, narrowing my eyes at Abram.
He’s remarkable at his job, which is why he’s been a loyal employee for us all these years. Having been on the Vetrov’s payroll for over a decade, he earned a reputation for his expertise. Our father trusts him implicitly, and Ven shared that confidence as well. So, it irked me deeply when we found her here and Abram had not. I can’t shake the feeling that there’s more to this story, and I need to understand why he kept it from us.
“There’s not many people I can’t find.” He nods his head to Alyona in greeting.
“Exactly,” Rodion says as he straightens in his seat beside me, leaning forward and steepling his hands on the table. “So why is it that you struggled to locate Alyona here with not one, but two, Vasiliev offspring?”
The pulse flickers in Abram’s jaw. “When I looked into her disappearance, I found Diana’s signature all over it.” He snatches the coin when it slips from his knuckle and rolls across the table. “I brought my findings to Ven, and he instructed that it was best for both Alyona and the Vetrov name if she wasn’t found.”
Rising, Rodion slams his fist onto the table’s wooden surface, the sound reverberating through the room. “So, you actually knew where she was all along and chose to take Ven’s authority over ours?”
Abram remains composed, his expression unreadable. “Your father agreed with Ven,” he replies coolly, as if the matter were merely a business negotiation rather than a betrayal of our trust.
“I should break your fucking neck,” I seethe, slipping Alyona from my lap. I step in front of her making sure she’s safe behind me.
If the fucker is afraid, he doesn’t let on. Just keeps toying with his stupid coin. I’m about to make him swallow the damn thing.
“My main job is to do whatever I need to do for the best interests of the Vetrov name,” he defends. “I didn’t like it, going to your cousin and father, but with Diana involved, I had to.”
“And Diana…” I say, darting my eyes to Alyona who gives me a sheepish look.
Pushing her hands into the pockets of her jeans, she swallows and says, “I had two bodies in the bed of a truck and no money or ideas on what the hell to do. I needed Diana.”
“Twobodies?” Rodion and I say in unison.
“Your housekeeper.” Her brow furrows.
I shoot my eyes at Rodion, who jabs a finger at me and growls, “I fucking told you Betty wouldn’t have ghosted us.”
“Alexey killed her.” Alyona winces. “I’m sorry.”
Betty was good at her job, and her demise is unfortunate, but we won’t mourn her for fuck’s sake.
“No need to be sorry, Alyona. Come here,” I order, taking a seat and pulling her back down onto my lap.
“I have the other items you requested,” Abram announces as he slides two brown envelopes across the table. One envelope toward Rodion, while the other rests before me.
“Well?” I prompt, watching Abram’s gaze shift hesitantly to Alyona, who sits quietly, observing the interaction. I raise my hand lightly in a dismissive gesture. “You can speak freely in front of her. There’s no need for secrecy.”
Abram takes a breath, his expression serious. “Inside, you’ll find the family tree and medical history documents. However, your father has overruled me on this matter too. He insisted that he will discuss the details with you personally.”
I don’t like this one bit. I asked Abram to find out if I had any living or dead blood relatives and all medical history available. We bounced around a lot when I was young, so I didn’t know any extended family members. I also asked him to find out what happened to my parents to get them murdered. Why would our father want to discuss this face-to-face? It can’t be good news, that’s for damn sure.
“Do you go to our father witheverythingwe ask you to do?” I demand, seething in anger.
“Yes, if it affects him.” No hesitation.
Motherfucker.
“What family tree are you talking about? What did you ask him to investigate?” Rodion demands, shooting me a puzzled look.
I feel the heat of his gaze on the side of my face before he snatches the envelope from in front of me. Tearing it open, he scans the documents inside, his eyes widening in disbelief.
“The Chester family?” he asks, his voice growing sharper as he processes the information. “Why would you do that?” He fails to mask the anger radiating off him, which makes my skin itch. I don’t like upsetting him.
