And then it clicks.
“You needed money then, not in some distant future,” I say.
His eyes dart away. Guilty.
"Did you have something to do with my imprisonment?" I ask directly, my voice deadly calm. "Did you sell me out?"
"No!" The denial comes fast. Too fast. "I swear, I didn't—I wouldn't—"
"Then who did?" I tighten my grip on his collar. "Someone paid you. Who?"
“It was for an investment. A business.”
“What business?”
He blinks. “Start up. Importing.”
"You're lying."
"I'm not!" He’s lying and afraid. Two things I know how to identify. "Look closer to home, Maksim. There are other people who benefited from your death. People much closer than me."
The implication makes my blood run cold. "Who?"
"Think about it. Who took over after you disappeared? Who consolidated power? Who had the most to gain?"
"What did Kira know?" I demand. "Was she part of it?"
"Nothing!" He shakes his head violently. "She knew nothing. My daughter loved you. Was destroyed when you died."
I release him. He slides down the wall like a puppet with cut strings.
"She didn't know," he repeats, softer now. "Whatever happened, whatever I did or didn't do, Kira was innocent. She's always been innocent."
I stand there, staring at this broken man, and feel my certainty crumbling completely.
If Kira's father is saying she didn't know, then maybe she really didn't.
Maybe I've been destroying an innocent woman while the real enemy watches and smiles.
Roman.
The pieces start falling into place. Roman identifying my body. Roman investigating my disappearance. Roman taking over the Bratva. Roman arranging to marry Kira.
Roman controlling everything.
But Roman was never meant to inherit. It was a series of circumstances that led him to become in power. Circumstances he couldn’t have controlled.
I leave without another word.
The drive back to the estate is a blur. My mind races, re-examining every piece of evidence through this new lens.
Roman was like family.
He loved my father like a brother. We were close in age, and I always thought of him as a young, fun uncle or an older brother.
There’s just no way.
But I know I’m missing something.
