I nodded slowly, the decision settling over me with grim finality. “You’re right.” The words came out steadier than I felt. “I need to tell him.”
“Now,” Hailey pushed. “Not later. Not after you’ve had time to talk yourself out of it. Right now.”
I looked at my phone, still clutched in my hand, Sebastian’s message still glowing on the screen like a bomb waiting to detonate. Forty-eight hours. Two days. The clock was already ticking.
I pulled up Kirill’s contact and hit dial before I could second-guess myself.
It rang once. Twice. My heart pounded harder with each ring, and I almost hung up. Almost convinced myself I could handle this alone, could figure out a way to stop Sebastian without involving anyone else.
Then Kirill answered.
“Barbara?” His voice came through warm and concerned. “Is everything okay? I thought you were having coffee with the girls.”
“I am. They’re here.” I glanced at Cassandra, Hailey, and Illyana, all three watching me with expressions of support and determination. “But something happened. Something you need to know about.”
His tone shifted immediately, going sharp and focused. “What happened?”
“Sebastian contacted me.” The words came easier than I expected. “He sent me a message. A threat.”
Silence on the other end. Then, in a voice that was deceptively calm: “What kind of threat?”
“He says I have forty-eight hours.” My voice shook despite my best efforts to control it. “Forty-eight hours before he releases the video. Before he sends it to everyone—my father, your Bratva contacts, the media. Everyone.”
More silence. I could practically hear Kirill’s mind working, calculating, planning. When he spoke again, his voice was cold and controlled in a way that should’ve scared me but instead made me feel safer.
“I’m coming home. Right now. Don’t go anywhere. Don’t respond to any more messages. Just stay there with the girls until I get back.”
“Kirill—”
“This time, Sebastian faces me.” His voice dropped, going deadly serious. “Not you. Me. Do you understand?”
I nodded even though he couldn’t see it. “Yes.”
“Good. I’ll be there in twenty minutes. We’re ending this. Today.”
The line went dead, and I stood there holding my phone, feeling the weight of what I’d just set in motion. Kirill was coming. Was going to handle Sebastian. Was going to protect me from this threat the way he’d promised to protect me from everything.
“You did the right thing,” Cassandra said softly, reading my expression.
“I know.” And I did know. Logically, rationally, I knew that telling Kirill was the only option. That trying to handle Sebastian alone would’ve been stupid and dangerous and ultimately futile.
But emotionally? Emotionally, I felt like I’d just surrendered the last piece of control I had. Like I’d admitted I couldn’t fight my own battles, couldn’t stand up to the man who’d terrorized me for years without hiding behind my husband.
“Hey.” Illyana’s voice cut through my spiral. “Stop that.”
“Stop what?”
“Whatever self-recrimination you’re doing in your head right now.” She moved to stand directly in front of me, forcing me to meet her eyes. “Asking for help isn’t a weakness. It’s a strategy. Sebastian is dangerous—cartel-trained, well-connected, and willing to do whatever it takes to maintain control over you. Fighting him alone would be stupid. Fighting him with Bratva backing? That’s smart.”
“She’s right,” Hailey added. “There’s no honor in martyrdom, Barbara. No prize for handling everything yourself.You have resources now. People who love you and want to help. Use them.”
I took a deep breath, trying to let their words sink in. Trying to believe that this wasn’t surrender or weakness or failure. That it was just—practical. Strategic. The smart move.
“Okay,” I said finally. “Okay. You’re right.”
“Of course we’re right,” Illyana said with a small smirk. “We’re always right.”
Despite everything, I almost smiled. Almost. But the fear was still there, coiled tight in my chest like a snake waiting to strike. Forty-eight hours. Two days until Sebastian tried to destroy everything I’d built with Kirill.
