Thwip.
The bullet goes through his skull. He goes limp instantly. I look at the scene, two suffering, two dead. A perfectly balanced scale. "Clean this up," I mutter to the bloody room, and walk out the door.
CHAPTTER 26
RADIMIR MIROSLAV
"Father, you need to rest." Kirill stands in the doorway of the guest room, looking at me with the same exhaustion I know is mirrored on my own face.He lingers just inside the hall entrance, framed by the heavy wooden door left ajar, the warm corridor light spilling across the polished floor and cutting through the dimness of the room.
The guest suite itself is large but subdued, softened into something halfway between comfort and a medical ward.
The walls are paneled in pale cream, broken by tall windows veiled behind thick drapes that keep the outside world away.
A king-sized bed dominates the center, dressed in white sheets now cluttered with tubing and monitoring equipment. Machines sit on wheeled stands beside her, their lights blinking steadily, cables running like veins from metal to skin.
To my right, a closed door leads into the adjoining room where her friend lies under similar watch. On the opposite wall, a narrow door hides the bathroom, and another leads to a walk-in closet. The air conditioning hums softly through ceiling vents, keeping the space cool and sterile despite the mansion’s warmth elsewhere I don't look away from her hand.
"No."
"You've been sitting in that chair for six hours," Kirill says, walking further into the room. "You need to eat something. You need to sleep. You're no good to her if you pass out."
"I said no."
"Father..."
"What if she wakes up?" I interrupt him, sharply, but keeping my voice low, I don't want to disturb her rest. "She doesn't know us, Kirill. If she wakes up in a strange room with tubes in her arm and no one is here, she's going to panic. I'm not letting that happen."
Kirill stops, realizing he isn't going to win this argument. He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "I'll stay with her. Or Roman. You need to take care of yourself."
"I'm not leaving." I look at him then, letting him see that this isn't a debate. "She is my daughter. I missed the first twenty seven years of her life. I am not missing the moment she opens her eyes." He nods slowly. "I'll have some food brought up. Don't argue with me on that."
He leaves, closing the door quietly. The room is silent except for the steady beep of the heart monitor and the hum of the AC. I turn back to her and brush a strand of red hair away from her face. She looks so much like her mother it's painful. It's been twenty seven years, but seeing Iris is like seeing Elizaveta all over again.
God, I miss her.
I messed up so bad.
I was young and stupid, and I let my father control me. He wanted more power, so he sold me off to Evelyn's family and chased Elizaveta away.
He treated my life like a business transaction. I didn't know he threatened her until it was too late.
Everything was close to perfect. I was working on a plan to get us to be together openly and without restrictions when she disappeared.
I convinced her to stay when I got married. Evelyn didn’t love me either so she didn’t care what I did as long as it wasn’t in the open. But her father did. He found out about my relationship with Elizaveta and joined hands with my father to threaten her.
One moment she was here and the next day I couldn’t find her. Couldn’t get to her despite all the connections I had. Considering the fact that they were my father’s connections first I realised very quickly that they would be of no help to me.
I looked for her for years. I never stopped looking.
But I failed.
Now Elizaveta is dead, and I'm sitting here with the daughter I didn't know existed, wondering if she's going to hate my guts when she wakes up. And honestly? I wouldn't blame her. I wasn't there to protect them. I was living in my mansion while they were struggling.
I should have been smarter. I should have protected Elizaveta from my father instead of letting him run my life.
And now Elizaveta is dead. I missed my chance to fix it with her.
All I have is Iris.
