Svetlana doesn’t move to pick it up.
My pulse pounds in my ears.
Don Augusta knew exactly who I was the whole time.
And he let me believe that I had no one but him—no one who even cared if I lived or died.
He turned me into a weapon against my own blood. He fed me lies for decades.
Told me some sob story about taking me in off the streets like he was some saint.
All the while, he was holding me as a hostage—collateral to ensure my family never stepped back out of line.
Until the day my brother put a bullet in his head.
I wonder if Pyotr knew.
If he came for Don Augusta to get revenge for his family. But if he did, he took that secret to his grave.
I doubt, even if he hated the Don for what he did, that a man like Pyotr would have welcomed an estranged older brother back into his life, someone who could challenge his position asPakhan.
And then there’s Anika. The woman I married. The woman I’m madly in love with. My brother’s widow.
I stumble back from Svetlana, the room lurching dangerously around me.
“No,” I growl, my voice ragged with distress. “You’re lying.”
“I’m not,” she says calmly, but it only makes it worse.
“You’re just saying it to screw with my head.”
“Mikail—”
“Don’t call me that!” I roar. Blinding fury rips through me, and I wheel away from Svetlana as my hand lashes out before I can stop it.
My fist drives through the wall there. Drywall crumbles around my knuckles. Dust rains down.
But the old woman doesn’t flinch.
I yank my hand back, blood welling along my knuckles. “Why tell me now?” I snarl. “After everything that’s happened? After all that I’ve done.”
“You’re the one who came to me looking for answers. I didn’t want to force the information upon you, but I knew this day would come—when you were ready to know the truth, though Ithink you’ve suspected something all along. You deserve to know who you are.”
“I knew who I was, until five minutes ago,” I hiss, my brain screaming that she’s got it all wrong. Combing my fingers through my hair, I try to rein in my tumultuous emotions.
She’s just a senile old woman. Right?
Svetlana watches me, as quiet as a tombstone.
I turn to pace the room, rage boiling over as the truth claws at my soul like fire.
32
ANIKA
It’s harder to find Miko than I anticipated. That’s in large part due to the chaos that’s spread throughout the house after the so-called “minor disturbance” that has left the kitchen staff thoroughly rattled.
No one seems quite capable of telling me where my husband went, and my heart flutters anxiously as I start to worry that something’s wrong. That, perhaps, the danger hasn’t passed—or worse, thatMikois hurt.
