"Because I've been staying here these past few days,"Tatyana said gently. "Naturally, I've observed her schedule. This information helps verify protective measures."
Her explanation sounded perfectly reasonable, but warning bells continued clanging in my head.
"Anna," Alexander said wearily, "you're being paranoid. I hope you won't let personal feelings interfere with your judgment of the bigger picture."
I felt the world tilting around me. The man I trusted most was dismissing my concerns as paranoia when my daughter might be in mortal danger.
"Personal feelings?" My voice began to shake. "You think I'm saying this out of jealousy?"
"I didn't say that—"
"That's exactly what you meant!" I lost all control. "My daughter's life means less to you than your ex-girlfriend's word!"
"Anna, calm down—"
"I am calm!" I shouted. "Calm enough to see everything clearly! You don't care about us at all—you only care about her!"
The room fell into mortifying silence. Tatyana stood quietly aside, and I caught what looked like a flicker of satisfaction in her eyes.
"Enough," Alexander finally said, his voice glacial. "Go back to your room and rest. Stop letting your imagination run wild."
Those ice-cold words shattered the last barrier protecting my heart. Imagination? In his eyes, my maternal instinct to protect my daughter was nothing but paranoid fantasy?
I turned and walked out without another word. Back in the bedroom, I sat on the edge of the bed, my heart turned to ash.
The room was quiet except for Sofia's peaceful breathing. I gazed at her sleeping face and felt a surge of fierce, primal protectiveness.
I realized I could no longer depend on anyone else. Alexander had chosen to believe Tatyana over me, and that told me everything I needed to know. In his heart, I ranked far below that blonde woman.
To protect Sofia, I would have to rely solely on myself.
I had to get her away from this dangerous place immediately.
I crept to the closet and began gathering essentials—passports, important documents, some cash, and Sofia's favorite toys.
Tomorrow morning, while everyone was still asleep, I would take Sofia and leave.
Leave this place I had once believed was home.
Leave this man who no longer trusted me.
My only goal was protecting my daughter, even if it meant facing unknown perils alone.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Alexander
I shifted on the couch and felt a sharp ache shoot through my neck, snapping me awake. Opening my eyes, morning sunlight leaked through the blinds, carving thin strips of light across the hardwood floor. The study reeked of coffee and tobacco, with papers and photos scattered across the desk alongside several cold coffee cups.
I sat up slowly, rubbing my stiff neck. The clock read seven-thirty. Anna and Sofia should be having breakfast in the dining room by now. Thinking about last night's fight, a heavy wave of guilt crashed over me. I'd said terrible things, dismissed her concerns about her daughter's safety as being "paranoid." Looking back now, those words stabbed at my heart like needles.
I stood up, working the numbness out of my limbs, and decided to shower first, then find them and apologize. Maybe today I could take Sofia to see those ponies she'd been talking about nonstop. It was a promise I owed her.
The hallway was quiet, only my footsteps echoing in the empty space. When I pushed open the bedroom door, something felt wrong. Too quiet. The air lacked the faint scent of Anna's perfume. I walked to the bed and touched the sheets—ice cold.
"Maybe she got up early, took Sofia to the garden," I muttered, but unease was already crawling up my spine like tiny ants.
I went to the closet and opened the doors. Several of Anna's usual outfits were missing, including that blue dress I particularly loved. I checked her vanity next—her makeup bag and daily skincare products were gone. In the drawer, her ID and passport had vanished too, leaving only the credit card I'd given her lying there untouched.
