"I'm in the middle of lessons with?—"
"Dimitri can watch her. Get down here."
The line goes dead before I can respond. I stare at the phone for a moment, then pocket it and walk back into the dining room where Vivika is still standing with her hand extended toward an imaginary guest.
"Something's come up," I tell her. "My Uncle Dimitri is going to watch you while I'm gone."
Her expression shifts, a flicker of unease crossing her features. "Is everything okay?" The very instant she switches back to being Vivika, every trace of Ana's character melts away and she folds in on herself.
"Everything's fine. Keep practicing what we worked on." I pause at the door, remembering the other task I need to arrange. "A woman is coming by later to take your measurements for wardrobe. We need outfits tailored for you, things that fit better than what we've given you so far. Those were mere guesses at your size…"
"Tailored outfits?"
"Ana Veche doesn't wear off-the-rack clothing. Everything she owns is couture." I meet her eyes, holding her gaze. "You need to look the part from head to toe. No shortcuts." And my cock jumps as I think of what that goddess will look like in designer clothing. Though, the way she made me rock hard wearing nothing but plain cotton panties speaks for itself. I'll never be able to control myself if I see her in silk.
She nods slowly, processing this, and I leave her there with her hand still half-raised and her green eyes full of questions I don't have time to answer.
Dimitri's waiting in the hallway as I walk out, watching my expression as he stands and meets my eyes. As Yuri's brother, Dimitri is set to take charge of the family if things don't go the way the boss has planned, and I'm not about to let that happen after seeing the way he tried to maneuver the family against Yuri when Dominic died. I'm surprised he's even in St Petersburg right now after all of that. He's a loner. He'd rather be handling his business out of town.
"She giving you trouble?" he asks, nodding toward the dining room.
"She's doing fine. I have to go speak with the boss." I clap him on the shoulder as I pass. "Don't let her out of your sight. And make sure the wardrobe woman gets in to take measurements when she arrives."
"Got it," he says, though he has infinitely more authority than me in this family. But he's finally making amends.
I make my way down the hall to Yuri's study, where the door is already closed and the sound of low voices vibrates through the wood. I knock once and enter without waiting for an answer, finding Yuri behind his desk and Fyodor sprawled in one of the leather chairs with a folder in his lap. My brother looks up when I enter, his eyes tracking me as I close the door and take the seat beside him.
"What's the intel?" I ask, skipping the pleasantries.
Fyodor tosses the folder onto Yuri's desk. "Ana Veche. Or what's left of her story, anyway."
Yuri opens the folder and spreads the contents across his desk—photographs, surveillance reports, transcripts of intercepted communications. I lean forward to get a better look, recognizing some of the names and locations mentioned in the documents.
"Our sources inside the Veche organization have been talking," Fyodor says. "The official story is still that Ana's visiting family, taking an extended trip, whatever bullshit Yaros has been feeding people. But the people closest to the inner circle are telling a different story."
"Which is?" I glance up at him and lift an eyebrow.
"Ana was double-crossed." Fyodor's voice is flat as he leans forward and pushes a file toward me. "By her own family. The intel suggests Yaros might be behind her disappearance."
I sit back in my chair processing what he's saying. Yaros taking out his own sister? It's not unheard of in our world—family ties mean nothing when power is on the line—but Ana was the one who raised him, who groomed him, who gave him everything he has. For him to turn on her…
"Why?" I ask. "How could a man do that to his own family?"
"Control." Yuri stalks over to us and sits in one of the leather armchairs. "Ana was the Donna. Yaros was her puppet, dancing on strings she pulled. Maybe he got tired of dancing."
"Or maybe someone offered him a better deal," Fyodor adds. "There are rumors that Yaros has been in talks with some of the smaller families, trying to build his own coalition independent of Ana's alliances. Hard to do that when your sister's still calling the shots."
"So you think he sent her away?" I ask him, looking down at the file Fyodor pushed at me. It's a report from one of our men tucked away inside Ana's organization for safekeeping.
"I have no proof, only a gut feeling. But I'm leaning that way." Yuri reaches into his pocket and pulls out a cigar and sniffs it. "But this doesn't change our plan. If anything, it strengthens it."
"How?" I ask, dropping the file back to the table.
"The Veche allies don't know Ana's gone. They have no reason to doubt Yaros. After all, he's following the rules of the alliance. So when she suddenly reappears—when our Ana reappears—they won't see it as strange. They'll think she's come back to take her rightful place." A cold smile spreads across his face. "And they'll move to surround her, support her, rally behind the Donna they've been loyal to for years."
"Leaving Yaros isolated," Fyodor says, catching on. "Because she'll be doing things we want her to do."
"Exactly." Yuri's eyes lock on Fyodor. "His own allies will turn on him, thinking they're supporting Ana's return to power. By the time anyone realizes the truth, we'll have what we need and Yaros will be too busy fighting fires to come after us."
