"You killed them even though you knew they were innocent!" I screamed, struggling, but he was stronger and heavier than me. "No, no, no, Stella, I didn't kill them. You did. You killed innocent people, Stella. You hid that phone in that poor girl's closet to frame her," he whispered above my face. "Shut up!" Kenji yelled, but the guards' blows silenced him. "You killed those innocent people, Stella. You sacrificed them to survive," the Master continued as my brain processed his words. He was right. Maybe I wasn't the one who put that phone in Wendy's closet, but it was as if I had. If I had told the truth, Wendy and her Shadow would still be alive. I had killed innocent people. "No listen him, Sienna! No true! No true!" Kenji's voice echoed again, but it felt like my ears were blocked. They were ringing, and my hands, which had been trying to push the Master away, suddenly fell limp onto the sand. "Yes, Stella, you killed thoseinnocent people to save your own skin. I knew it from the first glance, I knew there was a monster hiding behind that angelic exterior," he said, his lips brushing mine, but I didn't react. I was completely disconnected, my body was no longer mine, my thoughts were no longer mine, my soul no longer existed. "And I know there's more behind that mask, Stella, and I can't wait for it to come to the surface. I can't wait for you to be as dark and dirty as me," he whispered before kissing me on the cheek, and a tear ran down my temple. He finally sat up and pulled me up with him like a doll. My eyes fell once more on the two lifeless bodies, soaked in blood, two innocent people I had killed. "Right, let's move on," growled the Master, signaling to his men, who suddenly lifted the corpses and headed for the cliff. A new wave of nausea washed over me as they advanced toward the edge. "No!"" I shouted, trying to stop them, but the arm around my waist prevented me. I watched in horror as the men threw Wendy's body into the void, followed by that of her Shadow, into the darkness, into the cold. They would never have a funeral ceremony, they would never have a grave where their families could mourn. Because of me.
"Now let's move on to your punishment, Stella," he said, turning me to face him. "Kill me," I said without even thinking. "Kill me!" I repeated more vehemently, struggling against him. I couldn't live with this, I couldn't. "Come on!" I screamed, tears streaming down my cheeks as I struggled like a demon. "Sienna!" Kenji yelled, but I couldn't see him anymore. He too would be better off once I was gone. Maybe my sister would hear about my death and no longer let Antonio threaten her with my video. Yes, I had to die, and then everyone would be better off. Except Wendy and her Shadow, I had already killed them. I was completely hysterical, screaming, struggling, hitting, scratching. Suddenly, my cheek burned and I found myself on the ground, my clothes soaked with blood, Wendy's blood. "Calm down,"growled Mother's voice as she slapped me again, standing next to the Master. The taste of blood spread in my mouth, my stitches had come loose, my hand rested against my sore cheek. "Thank you, Katy," said the Master, adjusting the lapels of his jacket, "I'll let it slide this time, Stella. I understand your shock and anger, but you'll get used to it. It's in your nature, I can feel it." He smiled, and despite the emotions swirling in my head, I understood. He was crazy, I could see it clearly now. He wasn't just a sadistic psychopath who enjoyed making others suffer. He was completely insane.
"Well, I was talking about your punishment, so it's going to be in two stages," he said, glancing over his shoulder as his men dragged Kenji over to stand next to me. "You see, young people, I invest a lot of money in training and maintaining my Stars, so there's no question of damaging them. That's where the second role of the Shadows comes in," he explained with a mischievous smile stretching across his lips as Igor approached with a long knife in his hand. "The second role of the Shadows is to endure the physical punishment of their Stars. Why damage a beautiful flower when poisoning its soil is enough to make it wither away little by little?" he continued as Igor grabbed Kenji's skull and lifted his face. "Wait… what are you doing?" I asked, sitting up on my knees and trying to reach Kenji, but I was stopped. "Stop!" I screamed as the knife slowly sank into my friend's skin, at the corner of his eye. He groaned, breathing harder and harder as I struggled like crazy, "Stop! Kenji! I beg you, don't do this!" "Oh but there is a way to avoid that for this time," the Master suddenly replied, stopping Igor by raising his hand. "Tell me who you called with the phone. Who is this person so important that you risked getting the phone? And delete their number?" he asked me as I struggled to concentrate. I felt like I was going to faint at any moment. "Tell me, and I'll let you off the physical punishment this time," he said, placing his hand ontop of my head and gently stroking my hair. There was no sound on the video, they didn’t hear my conversation with Selina. And Olga had deleted the number. She had deleted Selina's number before hiding it in the closet. She had protected me.
I looked at the Master and he stared at me with a smile. Tell him who I had called? No, I couldn't tell him about my sister. It would be horrible for her and me if the Master got in touch with Antonio. They would use us against each other to blackmail us, and we would never be able to get out of this hole. I couldn't do it. I couldn't let my sister become Antonio's slave even more. My gaze met Kenji's and he understood, he knew I wasn't going to do what the Master asked me to do. I shook my head, "I'm sorry," I sobbed as the Master sighed. "In that case, you can save your own skin, boy. Tell me who she called and what they talked about," he said, walking toward Kenji with his hands in his pockets, his gaze resting on the knife stuck in my Shadow's skin. It was the end. He was going to find out about my sister, about me, and about Emilio's death, and he was going to use it against me. Kenji had to tell the truth to save himself, and he was right to do so. But then he shook his head. "No!" Kenji shouted, and I stared at him with wide eyes. He had said no, he had refused, he hadn't betrayed me. His gaze met mine, dark and determined, as I shook my head slowly. He didn't have to do that. We had only known each other for three weeks. He was only seventeen, too young to bear such a mark. "Very well, let's get this over with," growled the Master, and the knife began to slide through my friend's skin, tearing through flesh and muscle, and his scream pierced the night. blood flowed, and I closed my eyes and lowered my head, unable to bear the sight, but a hand grabbed my hair and lifted my face. "Look, look what you've done," Mother's voice whispered in my ear, I watched as the knife continued its path to the corner of Kenji's mouth, his scream echoing off the cliff walls, his body writhing under thehands of the three guards holding him down, skin and muscle giving way under the sharp blade.
Igor finally withdrew his knife and Kenji's body fell heavily to the ground, kicking up dust. I broke free from the hands that were holding me back and dragged myself to him, sobbing, gently catching his head and laying it on my lap. "Kenji? Kenji, look at me," I begged as his blood ran down his cheek, soaking his T-shirt and then my dress. "Kenji?" I sobbed as he gently fluttered his eyelids. "Sienna," he whispered, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Kenji," I gasped, bending down to press my forehead against his damp but cold one "I'm sorry."
"Enough," growled the Master, grabbing my arm and dragging me away from Kenji across the sand. "No! Let go of me!" I shouted, struggling, and he sighed, lifting his chin toward Igor. I froze when he pulled out his gun and pointed it at Kenji, who was half-conscious. "Obey, or a third name will be added to your list of innocents," spat the Master, letting go of me and I fell on my backside, my gaze fixed on my friend. "Let's get to your punishment, Stella," he said, taking off his jacket and handing it to Joana, who had been standing back until now. "Kneel down," he ordered me as my throat tightened when I saw him unbuckle his belt.No, not again, I didn't want to."Well, if you don't want to..." "No," I cut him off, pressing my hands against the cold floor and pushing myself onto my knees. "Sienna," Kenji called weakly, but I didn't look at him, not now. The Mother slipped behind me and undid my braid, my hair falling against my back and cheeks as the Master unzipped his fly. "That mouth I've been dreaming about for months," he sighed as I closed my eyes, letting reason leave me, shutting my thoughts and emotions deep inside me, like last time, to protect myself, to protect Sienna. "Take him to the infirmary, Joana go with them. Katy and I will be busy all night with Stella," he said as he grabbed myhair, but I didn't open my eyes, forcing myself to feel nothing, to think nothing. Kenji's voice called out to me, but I ignored it, simply ignored it.
Chapter 7
Sienna
"Enna?" Kenji called out when I didn't answer, his warm hands against my cheeks. "No," I whispered, grabbing his wrists. "You'll never betray me," I replied, smiling softly at him. "But I'm tired, Kenji. So tired," I murmured, closing my eyes, my eyelids suddenly heavy. "I'm tired of doubting everything around me, of doubting myself."
"At least you have a living body to feel tired," Wendy's accusatory voice sneered in my head, and I pressed my lips together.
The voice that followed me everywhere I went, the voice that haunted me, that tortured me. I had started hearing it in the hallways of the institute, at night when I lay in my bed and stared at her empty bed for hours, when I felt her breath on my neck, her mocking voice cursing me. I cried, begged her to forgive me and leave me alone. People started looking at me as if I were crazy. And maybe I was, because few people could remain sane after seeing bodies being swung off a cliff, right? "Her voice is there, Kenji," I confessed, my fingers digging into his skin. "She's taunting me, mocking me," I whispered. Kenji knew, he was the only one, even the girls didn't know anything. Someone had to know, I didn't want to be the only one who knew, I was scared. I didn't know how to silence her voice, hers and the others.
"Try jumping off a cliff, Stella, it'll work," she sneered again, making me grimace.
"Focus on my voice, Sienna, on mine, on your sister's, your nephews', your family's," Kenji said, his hands gripping myshoulders and shaking them gently. "You're the strongest woman I know, but even the strongest have limits. When you reach those limits, lean on someone. I'll always be here for you, Enna, but you have to trust other people. You can't keep living like this. You can't always be in survival mode," he continued. He was right, I couldn't keep living like this. It wasn't living, it was surviving, as he said. I sat up, swallowing hard, rubbing my face with my sweaty hands as I focused on Kenji's warm hands on my shoulders, on his presence, on his warmth, and gradually calm returned. "I'm going to live, Kenji, once the Master is dead,", I said, turning back to the windshield, my thoughts back in order. "I'll rest once I've killed him," I said, as Wendy's mocking laughter echoed in my head. Yes, I was crazy, the craziest of them all and I will fucking kill them all.
—
I entered the club with a confident stride, my Shadow behind me, night was gradually falling, and preparations for the evening ahead were almost complete. I walked between the tables and empty chairs, my heels clicking on the black marble floor as the spotlights danced across the dance floor. I arrived at the bar where Raoul greeted me, lifting the side of the counter to let me pass behind it, followed by Kenji. We entered the back room where hundreds of bottles of alcohol were stored before going down to the basement. "You're late," Esme accused me, pulling on her mini dress as she got up from the cash register where she had been sitting. "A delay," I grumbled, glancing over my shoulder at Kenji, who ignored me as he headed towards the other Star Shadows at the back of the room. "Anything new?" I asked, grabbing the glass Ava handed me before plopping down on one of the many crates we had placed there so we could sit. It was our place to meet, hidden from the Master's gaze, right under his nose, where he wouldn't think to look. "I was with oneof the guys who works at the Minnesota border two days ago," Emma said, exhaling cigarette smoke and shaking her head gently, her little blonde and pink curls bouncing against her cheeks. "He was one of Yelsky's men, and told me about Yelsky having secret meetings with the Canadians," she continued, her blue eyes sparkling. The Canadians? Selina had told me that the Ivanovs were negotiating a merger with them, a merger that would save them from their dependence on Minnesota and Yelsky. It was perfectly normal that Yelsky would want to prevent them from signing the contract. "What do we know about the Canadians?" I asked, turning to Esme. She was the one who recorded all the information the girls reported, even the most trivial details. Knowing even an important man's allergy could change the course of history. "Not much. William Tremblay heads an oil empire, but he also leads a very active criminal biker gang," Esme explained, thanking Azad, her Shadow, who draped a shawl over her shoulders. The two of them were madly in love, a romance that had blossomed after years of friendship and affection. It was complicated for them, with Azad having to wait outside Esme's door while she spent nights with men, unable to do anything about it. But they had found a way to get along, and above all, they had no doubt that the day when they could live peacefully would come, very soon if we succeeded in our mission. "He handles most of the drug and weapons trafficking in Canada. He's based in Ontario, as far as I know," she added, and I nodded. "We have girls in Ontario, Abby and Zina," Diane said suddenly, taking out her phone. It always seemed strange to me to see her with a phone in her hand. It was a recent development; three years ago, we weren't allowed to have them, but I had managed to convince Vassili that it was vital for us to be able to communicate with each other in order to organize ourselves. And besides, he knew it. Who else could we call for help? The cops? They were all corrupt. Our families?Most of us didn't have that, which is why we were the perfect choices to be Stars, no one who would come looking for us or report us missing. And run away to where? With what money? Our old lives had disappeared long ago, and the old us along with them.
"Yes, they're in Ontario," Diane confirmed as she read her messages. She was the one who kept track of each girl's movements and knew by heart who was where. There were hundreds of us Stars scattered across the American continent. Vassili's business had taken root so well and was running so smoothly that information about South American cartels, Italian and Russian mafias, Chinese triads, and every other criminal organization passed through his hands thanks to the Stars. He may have been the biggest psychopathic bastard, but that didn't change the fact that he was intelligent, so intelligent and cunning, that asshole. "Do you think they can get close to him, or at least one of his closest man?" I asked. I needed information; this merger had to happen. There was no way Vassili's power was going to increase through Yelsky. I wasn't going to let them take on the Ivanovs so easily. Diane nodded as she started typing again. "They'll do anything for you, Enna," smiled Ava, already downing her third shot since I'd been there, and it couldn't have been her third, judging by how she was swaying and the dark look her Shadow gave her as he approached to catch her when she leaned dangerously forward. "I don't want them to do everything I ask them to do, only what they want to do," I sighed, turning to Kenji, who looked at me when he felt my gaze on him. "Do you know their Shadows?" I asked uneasily, not wanting to put the girls in danger. One was twenty and the other twenty-two, too young. Kenji nodded, crossing his muscular arms over his chest. Time had changed him; he had grown, he was no longer the slender, small boy among the others. He now towered over them, more muscular than some, a late bloomer,I would say. "Maxime and Luc, I trained them myself. They are eighth generation. Loyal, strong, and quick," he explained, scratching his chin. Eighth generation, that wasn't so old. Every year, Vassili, the Master, formed new groups of girls and boys to expand his network. We were the fourth generation, from the beginning of the business. There were eleven generations in total at the moment, and the twelfth would soon arrive, and it would be the last. I was going to do everything I could to make sure that was the case.
"Find out everything you can about security in Tremblay and contact the two Shadows. I want them to be aware of all the risks and decide for themselves if they can protect the girls. If they think it's too risky, no one will go," I said to Kenji, and he nodded as he took out his phone. “What about the missing Stars?" I asked, turning back to Esme. "Still nothing?" The Stars of the first, second, and most of the third generation had disappeared, almost thirty women in total. All disappeared overnight. The Master considered them too old to continue or too damaged, so he simply erased them. These women I had become friends with, these women who had taken me under their wing when I arrived after the institute, most of these women who had become family to me. I had to find them, and if I warned the Ivanovs now, I would never find them. Only Vassili knew where they were. No matter how much they tortured him, that psychopath would never tell them anything. I knew him inside out by now, and there was no way I was going to abandon these women who were undoubtedly suffering at that very moment. "We may have a lead," Esme suddenly said, and I sat up, interested. We had been searching for traces of these women for so long. "Anita has been in contact with Igor for almost three months. She told me that he was trusting her more and more and that he had told her about an orphanage in the mountains." An orphanage in the mountains? A bad feeling crept into my veins. "Do you think therumors about these hunting parties are true?" I whispered, one of my hands sliding down my throat. There was a rumor that the Fallen Stars were taken to deserted places, often in forests, to be used in twisted and sadistic games during events that the Master threw for his good friends. They would release these poor women into the wild, giving them a head start before hunting them down with their weapons. Some even said that the Shadows took part in the hunt, promising them freedom if they managed to kill their own Star. Nausea rose just imagining the fear these women must feel if these rumors were true. "I don't know, Sienna, I hope not. Death would be a relief if these rumors turned out to be true," Esme replied with a sigh as the room was now plunged into deep silence, the Shadows having stopped their discussion, even Ava, drunk as she was, wearing a somber expression. "We're going to find them, we have to find them," I said as I stood up. "Anita has to keep digging. But she has to be careful." I turned back to Kenji. "Get in touch with her Shadow. If there's any problem, tell her to contact us," I said, and he nodded again as music began to play. The evening was beginning, and I had to leave before the Master arrived. "I spoke with Marion this morning, and she told me she ran into one of Ivanov's men," Esme suddenly informed me, pressing her lips together as my heart stopped. One of Ivanov's men? Who was it? Samy? David? Marcus? I suddenly felt like throwing up. What were they doing in the Mission District? That was Vassili's responsibility, and it was an important rule in the Bratva that none of the council members interfered in each other's affairs. It proved their trust in each other. If the Ivanovs knew that a kid was working in the Mission District, they would investigate, and they would suspect that Vassili was secretly plotting something.
Two things worried me in this case. First, if Vassili found out that the Ivanovs were investigating him before they could get any evidence, he could kick them off the council with Yelsky'ssupport, justifying it by saying that they were jeopardizing the trust between council members. And second, it was the Ivanovs' investigation itself, if they were conducting one. Just the thought of running into Sasha in the Mission District drove me crazy, and he must not find out the truth about the Stars and Shadows before I found the older generations. They would be lost forever. And I had to find her too,Valentina. "Does she know who it was?" I asked, my hand around my throat as I began to pace around the cellar between the shelves filled with drinks. "No, she told him she was lost and looking for her mother," Esme tried to reassure me. "She recognized the Ivanov family crest engraved on the collar of his shirt," she added, and I nodded. Each family member of the council had close men whom the families trusted implicitly. These men were easily recognizable by the first letter of the family name they served, which was engraved on the left collar of their shirts. "Tell everyone to be careful. If anyone comes across one of the Ivanovs or their men, they should get out of there," I said, and everyone nodded.Damn, that's all we need."Speaking of Marion, there's something else," Esme said, stopping me as I turned toward the stairs to go back upstairs. I froze when I heard her voice tremble slightly. I turned slowly, staring at her with a frown, but she pressed her lips together and looked down. This wasn't good, not good at all. "What's going on?" Kenji asked, joining me, sensing the tension rising. "That asshole Edouard is back!"" Ava exclaimed, raising her arms in the air, and my head turned so quickly toward her that I thought my neck was going to snap. "Edouard?" I suddenly repeated, looking confused. "Edouard, like the pedophile we beat to death and chased out of the neighborhood four months ago?" I asked, remembering very clearly the shit Kenji and the other Shadows had beaten him up for just before I threatened him. He was a pedophile who preyed on little girls and even little boys, and ifthere was one line I would never accepted to be cross, it was children.
"He found a large sum of money, he'll be here this weekend," sighed Diane, rubbing her arms as her anger gradually rose. "And he asked to be served by Marion, the Master agreed," Esme quickly added with a sigh. "Emma heard him when she spent the night with him yesterday." I turned to Emma, who had just finished her cigarette. "He wants to hire him," she said with a grimace, “ wants Edouard to train the next generation in Vegas." I felt my blood boil, my heart was beating so fast, the tension rose in the room, and then an uncontrollable laugh escaped me, and I laughed, covering my face with my hands. I laughed so hard that tears came to my eyes.Seriously?"Enna," Kenji whispered, putting his hand on my shoulder, but I ignored him. I was tired, I was so fucking tired. I felt like my brain was being stretched in every direction, like I had to think about a hundred things at once and make decisions, like I had to act on all of them. Why they wouldn't leave the girls and women alone, damn it! I sighed softly as I rubbed my face,think, Sienna, protect them, no matter the cost, protect the girls.
"Esme," I continued, sighing softly, "I have laxatives under my mattress. Make Marion take them. I don't want her to leave her room that day," I said, and she nodded. "The youngest after Marion is Rania right ?" I asked, referring to the eighteen-year-old girl, and Diane nodded. "Can she handle spending a few hours with Edouard?" "She's strong, even tough, I'd say," Diane said, thinking for a moment, and I nodded. "Good. Give her a sleeping pill and have her make him swallow it. Tell her to get out of the room as soon as he falls asleep," I said, and she nodded. I took out my phone and quickly dialed the number. "Chhori!Where are you?" Ganesh's cheerful voice asked me as several voices echoed behind him accompanied by laughter."Anjali is waiting for you to help with the wedding preparations," he continued. Anjali was his niece who was getting married soon, and she was a very good friend of mine. I had promised to help her with the preparations. It was one of the many things I had to think about and take action on. "Ganesh," I whispered, closing my eyes as his warm voice suddenly made me want to cry. I missed my father. All the girls here deserved a father like Ganesh. They all deserved to be protected and loved unconditionally. Suddenly, the noises behind Ganesh disappeared as I heard him move. "Suraj, close the door," he said, and I heard him sit down in his old, creaky chair. I had told him so many times to replace it; he was going to end up breaking it and hurting himself. "What's going on, Sienna?" he asked, his voice now dark. "Are you okay? Is Kenji okay?" I sighed slowly, trying to regain control, stay calm, stay strong. I couldn't show weakness, especially not in front of the girls and the Shadows. They all trusted me, and I couldn't let them down. "The pedophile we chased away a few months ago is back," I said, clearing my throat. "He'll be here this weekend and has asked to see the youngest one," I explained, rubbing my forehead, my hands sweaty. "Marion?" asked Ganesh, and I confirmed it. He knew all the girls as if they were his own. I heard Ashwin's voice behind Ganesh before he continued. "Send the time and room number to Ashwin. Make sure the back door stays open at night," he said as Ashwin and Suraj talked in the background.” Okay," I confirmed, biting my lip. "It'll be okay,Chhori, I'll take care of this," Ganesh reassured me before hanging up, and I closed my eyes and sighed softly. The girls weren't alone; they were protected. No one would suffer like I had suffered, no one.
I glanced at Emma as she stood up, dusting off her pale blue sequined dress. "Are you okay?" I asked after putting away my phone and checking her body for any injuries. I knew very well how violent Vassili could be in bed. Emma joined me, rolling hereyes. "Oh, Sienna," she sighed, standing on tiptoe to kiss me on the cheek. "Stop worrying about those who are grown up". She smiled at me before leaving the room, humming, followed by her Shadow, who nodded at me. I watched them leave, my lungs tight with worry. "You know, some of them have a much better life here than where they came from," Esme said behind me, and I closed my eyes. "Not all of them," I sighed before heading back upstairs myself. Not me.
Sasha
The man sobbed as Roman pulled out another fingernail with his pliers, "I don't know! I swear I don't know anything!" he screamed, his voice echoing in the empty hangar. I put the file I was reading on the table and stared at the trembling man, one of Vassili's henchmen. Our men had captured him discreetly as he left a bar last night, and we had been torturing him for three hours now to get information about Vassili's side business, but either he wasn't talking or he really didn't know anything. I was inclined to believe the latter; no one could withstand Karatel's interrogation for long, no one who had something to hide. Roman glanced at me over the man's head, shaking his head slightly and wiping his bloodstained hands, confirming my thoughts. No, he knew nothing. I sighed as I stood up and pulled my gun from my back before firing several shots into the man's chest. "Get rid of him. Vassili mustn't find out," I ordered, holstering my weapon. We had to find another source of information, one with real information if possible. We had to find someone closer to Vassili. "We should go take a look around the Mission District," said Roman, joining me with a dark look on his face. "We can't let girls be forced into prostitution against their will," he growled, rolling down his shirt sleeves before buttoning them. "As soon as we set foot in Vassili's territory,he'll know and internal war will break out. The Italians will take advantage of the chaos to attack us, not to mention the Chinese, who will attack our southern borders to take over the South American market," I explained in a monotone voice, telling him things he already knew very well.
"It doesn't matter, we'll take them all on," he growled as he put on his jacket. He rarely wore one, but he had to accompany Elif to an appointment today. I just shook my head at him and his hot-bloodedness. We headed for the exit while David and Marcus were already taking care of the man's body. "Has your recruit arrived?" I asked, referring to the young girl Sergei wanted to place with Vassili. "Soon. Serbia isn't exactly next door, and we're staging everything so that Vassili doesn't suspect anything. He'll never connect her to us," my brother informed me as he slid behind the wheel of his new sports car. I settled into the passenger seat and grimaced when I saw all that white leather again. "You really are an idiot," I sighed. "An idiot with taste," he sneered before accelerating, preparing to turn onto the road leading to the house, but I stopped him. "We have to stop somewhere first," I said, signaling him to take the road to the city center, which he did, frowning. "Did you forget a file at HQ?" But I shook my head. "We're going to the clinic," I replied, taking out my phone to notify the doctor of my arrival. My brother glanced at me out of the corner of his eye but said nothing, content to just drive.
—
An hour later, I walked into the living room and smiled when I saw the person I was looking for.Perfect. I approached the sofa where Selina was reading a book, her legs up on the sofa, her hand rubbing her rounded belly. "Sasha," she said in her soft voice when she saw me. She closed her book and tried to sit up, but it was difficult in her condition. I gently took her handand slipped my arm around her back to help her. "Thank you," she whispered once her feet were on the floor. "How are you? Are the kicks still as strong?" I asked, slipping a cushion behind her back. I knew that pregnant women had back pain; Elif had suffered a lot during her pregnancies. "I'm as well as a woman at full term can be," she sighed with relief as she leaned back against the cushion. "And yes, I think you could introduce her to kickboxing once she's here," she laughed softly, her hands gently rubbing her belly. Selina was a gentle woman, even when she was angry she got upset gently, with superhuman patience. When I first saw Nikolai take an interest in her, it worried me. A woman as fragile and gentle as her was not suited to our world. I thought she would weaken my brother, our family. But I quickly realized that this was a stupid thought. Selina's gentleness and patience were not weaknesses; on the contrary, they were strengths, something we needed, something Nikolai and the children needed. Like us, we had needed it before Elif arrived. Her gentleness and patience had helped us regain confidence in ourselves and in our family. But Elif had a dark side, a side she had used to protect us and support Grigori in his role. She was the perfect fit for her role, a gift from heaven at the right time. Just as Selina was for Nikolai and his sons, a thought that increased my guilt about what I was about to do. But I had to do it, for the gift that heaven had given me, a gift that kept pushing me away. I bent down and picked up the bag I had dropped on the floor. "What is it?" Selina asked curiously as she leaned over, and I smiled at her excited tone. She was probably expecting sweets, as she was used to Roman or me bringing them. A task I made a mental note of.
I took out the small box and handed it to her. "It's a CGM. You probably know what it is," I said, and she took it, frowning. "Yes, of course. It's a small sensor placed under the skin that continuously measures the glucose level in the interstitialfluid," she explained, and I nodded. "Has Sienna ever worn one?" I asked, clasping my hands together as I began to gently manipulate her. I had to, I had to protect her. I had been avoiding her for almost four days, four days of sitting as far away from her as possible at the table, four days of leaving a room as soon as she appeared, four days of watching her look away every time she saw me, and it was driving me fucking crazy. "Yes," Selina said, frowning after a moment's thought. "When she had her first symptoms as a child, our parents decided she would wear one." She continued with a slight, sad smile, surely remembering their parents who had died in a car accident when they were still young. "But she didn't like wearing it, she complained that it itched. You should have seen her, she had our parents wrapped around her little finger," she laughed, shaking her head, which made me smile. I didn't doubt it for a second. "I think it would be a good thing if she wore it again," I said slowly, breathing in gently. "Especially since we don't know where she goes on her own. You'll be able to monitor her blood sugar levels and call her if there's a problem," I continued, looking into her eyes. It was strange to see how the two sisters had almost the same eyes but such different expressions, clearly reflecting their personalities.
My sister-in-law stared at me for a moment, pressing her lips together before shaking her head. "She won't want to," she sighed, lowering her gaze to the box, but I put my hand on her arm. "She'll agree when she sees how worried you are, Selina, especially since you're almost full term," I smiled before getting up. A urge to vomit tightening my throat. "Okay, I'll talk to her. Thank you, Sasha." She smiled at me, and I nodded before heading for the stairs to my office, ignoring my guilt and growing disgust, but I had to protect her, to at least know how she was doing and, above all, where she was going. I took out my phone as I climbed the stairs, making sure that the app linked to theCGM was downloaded on my phone. A CGM that I had asked our family doctor to modify, adding a GPS device inside. I closed the office door behind me, and my phone began to ring, displaying my secretary's name. "Yes, Sally, have we received the merger documents?"" I asked, sitting down at my desk to turn on my computer. I needed to print them out and proofread them before having my brother sign them, but I froze when Sally hesitated to answer. "Sally?" I called, my voice now dark. "Um, Mr. Ivanov, Mr. Tremblay's secretary just contacted me to inform me that... he no longer wants to be part of the merger," she said in such a weak voice that I had to literally press the phone to my ear. I slowly processed my assistant's words, and anger rose so quickly that I instantly got a migraine. "Mr. Ivanov..." But I already hung up and was dialing another number. "Tremblay," said a deep voice on the other end of the line, with shouting and laughter in the background, as if he were in a bar. "What the hell is going on, Tremblay?" I yelled, banging my fist on the table. There was a moment of silence on the line before he let out a sigh, "I had no choice, Ivanov," he said gruffly as I heard him move around before the noise in the background faded away. "Are you kidding me? You had no choice?" He growled as a door slammed behind him. "Stop getting upset, asshole. I have a fucking Council to deal with too, and there's someone on your side who convinced them that the merger was a bad idea," he retorted, and I clenched my jaw at his words. Someone on our side? Only Yelsky was capable of such a move. His cousin was on Tremblay's Council,damn it.I had known Tremblay for many years. He was a few years older than me, but we had spent a lot of time together during our childhood; our mothers had been close."We need this merger, Will," I said, trying to calm myself, "I know, Sasha, it could have gotten us out of a difficult situation too, but I need a majority vote on the Council for this decision," he replied, and I could sense his unease over the line. This merger wassomething our fathers had already discussed back then, and we had just managed to get organized to put it in place. "I'll try to get them to agree, Sasha, one way or another," he promised in a sombre voice before hanging up. I threw my phone on my desk and massaged my neck. This was a mess.
“Look, Uncle Sasha, it’s a drawing I made for my sister,” Andrei told me the next morning as we were finishing breakfast, holding it up proudly. “It’s very well done, Andrei. I’m sure she’s going to love it,” I said with a smile, ruffling his hair. He joined his brothers in the living room, and my gaze lifted to meet Nikolai’s at the other end of the table, over his wife’s shoulder. His look was dark.
Fuck. My eyes shifted to Roman, and my younger brother immediately looked away, whistling softly. Him and his big mouth,fucking fuck.
