"It feels like weakness."
"It feels like torture," he corrects. "Because you're caught between what you want to be true and what might actually be true. And those two things are destroying each other."
I sink back into the chair, suddenly exhausted. "All I know is that I can't stop now. Can't let go of the revenge that kept me alive. Even if it's pointed at the wrong target."
"That's not living, Maksim. That's just existing with purpose."
"It's all I have."
"No." His voice is firm. "You have more. You're back. You're free. You have choices now that you didn't have in that cell. The question is whether you're brave enough to make them."
I stare at him, feeling the truth of his words settle like lead in my chest.
He's right. I know he's right.
But I don't know if I'm brave enough to let go of the hatred that's defined me for so long. Don't know if I can survive without it.
"Stay here tonight," Semyon says. "Sleep. Clear your head. Tomorrow you'll get the files, and we'll figure this out together."
I nod, too tired to argue.
Chapter Thirteen
Kira
The warehouse is empty.
I stand in the center of the concrete floor where I've negotiated some of my most important deals, and the silence is deafening. No suppliers. No product. No Misha.
Just me and the echoing evidence of my crumbling empire.
My phone buzzes. A text from Misha:
Sorry, boss. Better opportunities elsewhere.
Better opportunities. The words are a knife between my ribs.
Misha was supposed to be loyal. He swore he'd stand with me no matter what.
But apparently "no matter what" has limits.
And that limit is named Maksim Barinov.
I want to scream. Want to throw something. Want to call him back and demand answers I already know.
Instead, I stand in the empty warehouse and feel the walls of everything I built closing in.
This was supposed to be a routine meeting. Suppliers from the south bringing in a shipment I'd arranged weeks ago.
And now another piece of my organization has been stripped away.
I pull up my contacts and start calling. Five remaining lieutenants. Five people who should still be loyal.
Three don't answer.
The fourth—a man that’s been with me for four years—at least has the decency to be honest.
"I'm sorry, Kira. But Maksim came to me yesterday. Made an offer I couldn't refuse."
