I head to the elevators, heart ticking faster. On the ride up, I catch glimpses through the glass walls—Lev striding past with a phone to his ear, Luk leaning over a set of files in one of the conference rooms, Alexei standing like a sentinel by the far windows.
No sign of Yuri.
But strangely, I feel grounded. Like I belong here.
I reach my office and settle in, placing my bag carefully on the floor and booting up my computer. For a second, everything is quiet.
Ding.
The elevators open with a sharp, metallic hiss, and then everything erupts.
FBI agents flood the floor, barking orders, weapons holstered but hands hovering over them.
Leading the charge is Agent Spalding.
“Federal Bureau of Investigation,” he announces. “We have warrants for the search and seizure of all physical and digital materials pertaining to Ivanov Holdings and its executive operations.”
Chaos ensues. Employees scramble. Security tries to step in, but the agents push past them, grabbing what they need—documents, binders, computers. Lev storms toward them, barking in Russian. Luk follows, more composed but no less furious. Alexei blocks the path to the data center.
The Feds have done their homework.
I slip out of my chair and walk calmly but quickly down the hall. Everyone’s distracted. No one stops me. I sneak into Yuri’s office and close the door behind me with a softclick.
The room is untouched. His desk is immaculate except for two USB sticks sitting beside his monitor. A third is plugged into the back of his desktop tower.
I feel the sudden need to protect him.
Without hesitating, I snatch the two from the desk and slide them into my pocket. Then I lean down, eject the one from the computer, and pocket that too.
Just as I turn to leave, I hear footsteps outside. I wait. Count to three. Then slip out. A pair of agents stride past me, heading straight into Yuri’s office. They don’t look back.
The next ten minutes are a blur. Agents move through the floors like locusts, collecting hard drives, laptops, and entire filing cabinets. Employees watch in stunned silence.
I’m standing near the elevator when it opens and Yuri steps out. His suit is unbuttoned, hair slightly mussed. His eyes narrow as he takes in the scene in a single sweep.
He walks forward, calm with an ice cold expression on his face.
Spalding turns to face him. “Ivanov,” he says, smug and cruel, “you’re just in time. You and your brothers are coming with us for questioning.”
“For what?” Luk demands.
“Tax fraud. Racketeering. Pick your poison.” Spalding holds up a sheaf of papers. “We’ve got the warrants.”
One by one, the brothers are handcuffed. No resistance, just quiet fury behind every snap of the cuffs. Lev’s jaw ticks. Alexei mutters something low and deadly in Russian. Luk doesn’t speak, just stares straight ahead.
Yuri’s eyes find mine as they lead him past. He doesn’t say anything, but something flickers in his eyes—regret, warning, maybe both.
Just before the elevator doors close, Spalding turns and locks eyes with me. There’s no smirk. Just cold, smug certainty.
You’re next.
CHAPTER 18
ASTRID
The FBI raid leaves behind silence, heavy and electric. Like a bomb went off and everyone’s still waiting to hear if a second one’s coming. A few agents still poke around here and there, talking into radios, rifling through drawers that no longer matter.
I’m standing just outside my office, somewhere between frozen and floating. My body’s here, but the rest of me is still in Yuri’s office, sliding those USB drives into my pocket like I didn’t just cross some invisible line.
