"I'm sorry." Her voice was quiet but clear. "I tried to set up a decoy to draw the enemy away and protect you both. But I underestimated Marcus's intelligence network. Made things worse instead. Nearly got you both killed."
She looked up, tears glimmering in her eyes. "When I learned through my network that you'd been kidnapped, I immediately contacted Ivan. I'm the one who told them you might be at the slaughterhouse. If my plan had worked, you never would have been taken. This is all my fault."
I stared at this woman who had once made me jealous and suspicious, now seeing nothing but sincerity and guilt in her eyes.
She laid out her entire plan—how she'd deliberately leaked false information on monitored calls, how she'd designed the "witness's daughter" files as bait, how she'd prepared a trap at a fake address on the west side... Every detail matched what I'd heard from the kidnappers.
"You did all this... to protect us?" I asked, my voice trembling.
"Yes," Tatyana nodded. "Alexander is one of the mostimportant people in my life, even though we can't be together. But I want him happy, want the people he loves to be safe. You and Sofia... you're his whole world."
She paused, finally letting tears fall. "I love him, so I wanted to protect what matters to him. But I failed. I almost got him killed."
I shook my head, tears flowing again. "I'm the one who should apologize. I shouldn't have suspected you, shouldn't have stopped trusting Alexander... If I'd just stayed calm, if I'd verified the facts, if I'd chosen to believe him..."
My voice choked off. If I hadn't left the manor, Alexander wouldn't have been in that desperate situation, wouldn't have taken a bullet saving me.
"No," Tatyana said. "Your reaction was normal. Any woman seeing that 'evidence' would have made the same choice. My plan wasn't thorough enough—I didn't consider that you might see those materials."
We looked at each other in silence, all past grievances dissolving into a single sigh.
Finally, Tatyana took a deep breath and wiped her tears. "He's only ever risked his life like this for you. Take good care of him."
She turned to leave, but I called out. "Tatyana."
She turned back.
"Thank you," I said sincerely. "Thank you for protecting us, thank you for loving him."
Tatyana gave a bitter smile. "Don't thank me. He deserves to be loved, deserves happiness. And you... you're the one who can give him that."
She took one last long look toward the OR, then resolutely turned and walked away. Her figure disappeared at the end of the hallway, exiting our lives forever.
I knew this would be the last time I'd ever see her.
Yekaterina sat beside me and held me tight.
"He'll be fine," she whispered in my ear. "He's too strong to die."
I leaned against her shoulder and finally broke down completely. All the suppressed fear, guilt, and regret poured out in that moment.
After what felt like forever, the red light above the OR finally went out.
I shot to my feet, practically running to the door. My legs were numb from sitting so long, but I didn't care.
The door opened, and the attending physician emerged, pulling off his mask. His face showed exhaustion, but his eyes held light.
"Surgery was successful," he said. "We removed the bullet. It damaged the shoulder blade and some muscle tissue, but no vital organs or major blood vessels. He lost a lot of blood, but the transfusion was timely. He's out of danger now."
"Really?" I could barely believe it. "He's... he's really okay?"
"Yes," the doctor nodded. "Though he needs proper rest. No strenuous activity for a while, and the wound needs regular dressing changes. Fortunately, he's in excellent physical condition, so recovery should be relatively quick."
My legs nearly gave out, but Yekaterina caught me.
Tears came again, but this time they were tears of relief and gratitude.
"Thank you," I told the doctor. "Thank you all."
