Two men stand within that pool—one of them is clearly a bodyguard, but the other is the man I've come to see.
Luka Kolar is shorter than I expected, though just as impeccably dressed as I thought, and he watches me approach with eyes that miss nothing. This is a man who built an empire by being smarter and more ruthless than everyone around him, and right now, those calculating eyes are trying to figure out exactly what I'm up to.
I stop at the edge of the light, keeping my face in shadow, but before I can speak, he does.
"You're the one who requested this meeting." Kolar's voice is smooth and cultured, with just a hint of an accent I can't quite place. "You have information about Ana Veche?" He unbuttons his suit coat and slides his hands into his pockets coolly. At first I tense, wondering if I should reach for the weapon I tucked in my waistband, but I don't want to escalate this.
"That's correct," I say in my strongest voice.
"Then share it. I'm a busy man. I don't appreciate having my time wasted." Kolar's eyes dart to his guard as he jerks his chin up, and the guard folds back his suit jacket, exposing a weaponwhich I know is probably loaded and ready to take me out at any second.
I take a breath and remind myself that I've been training for this moment for weeks, that Lev spent hours teaching me how to project confidence and authority even when I'm terrified out of my mind. Ana Veche wouldn't hesitate or show fear. And right now, I have to be that pillar of strength one more time.
"Ana is dead," I say, keeping my voice steady. "She's been dead for months. Yaros killed her to take control of the family, and he's been lying to everyone—including you—ever since."
Kolar's expression doesn't change, but something shifts in his eyes, a flicker of emotion that's gone almost before I can register it. "That's a serious accusation. Do you have proof?"
"The Gravitch family has proof. Documentation, witnesses, everything you need to verify what I'm telling you."
"The Gravitches," he scoffs then chuckles darkly. Now his expression does change. His mouth curves into a smirk and then his lips purse angrily. "So this meeting does come through Gravitch channels after all. I thought the approach seemed unusual."
"The Gravitches don't know I'm here." I keep my voice firm even as my heart drills against my ribs. "I arranged this meeting on my own, outside their normal operations, because I knew it was the only way to get you to listen. If this had come through official channels, you'd have assumed it was a trick and you'd have sent Yaros in your place like last time."
My throat constricts even as I'm talking, and I have to fight myself to stand still. Everything in me is screaming to run away.
"And what makes you think I won't dismiss it now?" Kolar takes a step toward me, his bodyguard moving with him like a shadow. "Why should I believe a single word coming out of your mouth?"
"Because you're here." I stand my ground, but I know he sees me shaking. "You took this meeting even though you didn't know who was requesting it or what they wanted. That tells me you have doubts. You know Yaros's story hasn't been adding up, and you've been waiting for someone to give you an explanation that makes sense."
Kolar studies me with those sharp eyes, and I can practically see the calculations running behind them—weighing my words against what he knows, looking for holes in my story, trying to figure out if I'm telling the truth or setting some kind of trap.
"Take off the hood," he says finally.
My stomach drops. "That isn't?—"
"Take off the hood or this conversation is over." His voice has gone cold, all pretense of civility stripped away. "I don't negotiate with people who hide their faces. If you want me to believe what you're saying, you'll show me who you are."
I hesitate for a long moment, every nerve in my body screaming that this is a mistake. But I didn't come all this way to back down now. I won't let Lev down because I got afraid and ran when things got hairy.
I push back the hood and let him see my face, and Kolar goes very still, his eyes widening as recognition dawns. He knows what Ana looks like because he's worked with her closely. And right now, he's looking at a woman who could be her twin standing in front of him claiming that the real Ana is dead.
"You," he breathes. "You're the woman Yaros has been hunting. The impersonator."
"My name is Vivika Rozhkova." I force myself to meet his gaze without flinching. "I was abducted by the Gravitch family weeks ago because I bear a strong resemblance to Ana Veche. They trained me to impersonate her, to buy them time while they gathered evidence against Yaros."
"So you admit you've been deceiving people…" Kolar is enraged. I watch the blood flood his face as his forehead creases in deep-set crevices.
"I admit I did what I had to do to survive." I choke out my words as the façade crumbles and Ana fails me. "I was a translator before this. I had a normal life, a normal job, and then one day I was grabbed off a street corner and thrown into the middle of a war I didn't understand. I've been shot at, chased, nearly killed more times than I can count. And through all of it, I've learned one thing that matters more than anything else."
"And what's that?"
"Yaros Veche is a monster." I take a step toward him, closing the distance between us even though his bodyguard's hand moves toward his weapon. "He killed his own sister to take power. He's been running a human trafficking operation through the southern routes, selling women to the highest bidder while his family looks the other way. And he won't stop until he's destroyed everyone who threatens his control—including you, if he thinks you're becoming a problem."
Kolar's jaw tightens and his eyes narrow. "You have evidence of this?"
"I do…" I've never seen the evidence, but I know Lev has it. I'm banking everything on it. "And I can take you to it if you trust me.”
His hand slides into his coat pocket smoothly and he pulls out a gun, raising it to press it against my temple.
