"Clearly not." I close the door behind us. "Surprise."
He lurches to his feet, and I see it—the flash of guilt before he masks it with shock. He knows something. My instincts, honed by six years of reading captors for signs of impending violence, scream warnings.
"Holy shit." Viktor moves around the desk like he wants to embrace me, then thinks better of it when he sees my face. "What happened to you? Where have you been?"
"Georgia. In a very special prison that specializes in making people disappear." I lean against the wall, casual, while every muscle in my body coils for violence. "Someone sold me out.Gave my location, my security details, everything needed for a clean grab."
Viktor's face goes pale. "That's... that'sterrible. We all thought—Roman said there was a body. That the Markovs—"
"The Markovs." I taste the name like poison. "Tell me about that. About how everyone decided Kira's family was responsible."
"Well, the evidence was pretty damning." Viktor pours himself vodka with shaking hands. "Financial records showing her father was in debt. Communications between him and foreign interests.”
"And everyone just accepted this? No investigation? No questions?"
"There was an investigation." Viktor downs his vodka. "Roman led it himself. Spent months tracking down leads. The evidence all pointed to the Markovs trying to eliminate you. Clear the way for them to grab power."
Semyon shoots me a warning look, but I ignore it.
"And Kira?" I ask. "What did she say when accused of murdering me?"
"She didn't say anything. Barely spoke for months after you disappeared." Viktor refills his glass. "Then she pushed her father out and took over.”
"She took over after I disappeared," I say slowly. "Convenient."
“I don’t know that it was convenient,” Viktor says.
I ignore the comment. I don’t care if it was difficult. "What's she like now?" I need to know. Need to understand the woman I'm about to destroy.
Viktor considers this. "She doesn't play games—just makes strategic moves and waits for them to pay off. Everyone respects her, even the old guard who hate the idea of a woman running operations."
"And Roman?"
I need to know what people on the street are saying.
“He's... different from your father. More calculated. More willing to make hard choices." Viktor pauses.
"He's marrying Kira in three weeks. Uniting the families."
The words hit like a physical blow. I knew it was coming—Semyon told me that was the plan—but hearing it confirmed makes the rage spike hot enough to burn.
"How convenient," I say, my voice deadly quiet. "She eliminates me, builds her own power base, and then marries into the organization she destroyed. Gets everything she wanted."
"Maksim—" Semyon starts.
"Thank you for the information, Viktor." I push off the wall. "I'm sure we'll be seeing more of each other soon."
Viktor's eyes widen. "You're not going to—what are you planning?"“Taking back what’s mine.”
We're two blocks away before Semyon grabs my arm and spins me around.
"You need to slow down," he says. "Think this through."
"I am thinking it through." I jerk free. "Every detail confirms it. Kira had me killed so she could take power. Now she's marrying Roman to consolidate everything."
“You once told me you loved her,” he says. “And that she loved you. You told me you were going to marry her.”
"Kira's family was in debt," I argue. "Desperate. Getting rid of me cleared the way for them to—"
