Nora looked between all of us, sensing the tension. “Is everything okay, Mom?”
“Everything’s fine, sweetheart,” Ella said, smoothing her hair. “Go ahead and color in the kitchen. I’ll be right here.”
Once Nora was out of earshot, Mikhail sank back into his chair, suddenly looking exhausted. “I never meant for any of this to happen,” he said. “Especially not to her.”
“Start talking,” I demanded. “Now.”
“My father wanted an heir,” Mikhail began. “Someone to continue his empire after he was gone. When he discovered that you weren’t actually his daughter, he became obsessed with wanting the MacGallan fortune and all its business ventures through me.”
“By forcing you to marry me,” Ella said bitterly.
Mikhail nodded. “At first, I went along with it. Iwas raised to obey him without question. But then I met you for real, not just in the photographs he’d shown me. And I...” He hesitated. “I fell in love.”
Ella’s laugh was harsh. “Love? You were spying on me for your father. I heard you on the phone that night.”
“Yes,” he admitted. “I was reporting to him. But not what you think.” He leaned forward, his eyes pleading. “I was telling him the plan was working—my plan, not his. I was going to take you away, somewhere he couldn’t reach us.”
“Why should I believe you?” Ella demanded.
“Because I helped him fake his death,” Caleb said quietly.
All eyes turned to him.
“I was stationed in Cyprus when Ella planted the explosives,” he continued. “Mikhail had already contacted me through mutual connections. He knew what Ella was planning and saw it as an opportunity.”
“You knew?” Ella whispered, horror dawning on her face. “You knew I went—”
“Yes,” Mikhail said. “And I’m sorry for letting you carry that burden. But it was the only way to convince my father I was truly dead. The body they recovered was Vassily’s—my servant who had terminal cancer. He agreed to take my place, to give his life meaning in the end.”
I looked between them, trying to process this. “So you’ve been alive all this time. Where?”
“Moving,” Mikhail said. “Never staying in one place too long. My father has eyes everywhere. But when I heard rumors that a private investigator had finally located Ella and my daughter, I had to come.”
“How did you find Caleb?” I asked.
“I’ve been keeping tabs on Jake for years,” Caleb admitted. “When I learned Mikhail needed help reaching Ella safely, I came back. I knew you’d protect them, Jake.”
The pieces were starting to fit together, but I still didn’t trust any of it. “And the threats? The cut fencing? The package? Scout’s poisoning?”
“The text messages were from Caleb from a burner phone; the rest were not me,” Mikhail said firmly. “My father’s men. They’ve been watching, waiting for the right moment to take Nora. That’s why I had to act now.”
Ella still held herself rigid, disbelief etched in every line of her face. “You expect me to believe that after eight years of silence, you suddenly care about our daughter’s safety?”
“I have always cared,” Mikhail said quietly. “I’ve been sending money to a trust fund in her name every month. I’ve kept my distance because it was safer for both of you.”
“The package that arrived at Jake’s,” Calebinterjected. “It wasn’t a threat from Mikhail. It was a warning. He was trying to alert you that his father had found you.”
I studied my brother’s face, looking for signs of deception. “And Scout? The antifreeze?”
“Kozlov’s work,” Caleb said grimly. “He was eliminating your security measures one by one. First the dog, then the cameras. We couldn’t wait any longer.”
“So you took my daughter without telling me,” Ella said, her voice dangerously calm.
“I knew you wouldn’t come willingly,” Mikhail admitted. “Not after everything. But I needed to get Nora somewhere safe while we figured out how to deal with my father.”
“And what exactly is your plan?” Rory demanded.
Mikhail exchanged a glance with Caleb. “We have evidence of my father’s criminal activities. Enough to put him away for life. But we need time to get it to the right people.”
