Trauma counseling provided by specialists who understand performance arts
Physical therapy and medical care for injury recovery
Alternative career pathways: teaching, choreography, arts administration
Safe housing for dancers escaping dangerous situations
Partnership with legitimate businesses (Alexei's network) for job placement
Mentorship from professional dancers who've overcome adversity
"It's ambitious," I say around 3:00 PM, reviewing our notes.
"It needs to be. Elena was ambitious." Sonya traces Elena's handwriting on one of the documents. "And we have the resources. Your money, Alexei's legitimate business network, connections to ballet schools through my gallery work."
"When do we launch it?"
"After." She doesn't need to specify after what. "Can't announce it while Anton's still a threat. But the planning gives us purpose beyond just survival."
By 6:00 PM, we have a detailed plan. The foundation will exist. Will save others. Will turn our tragedy into something beautiful.
Dinner at 7:00 PM is quiet, intimate. Irina prepared something simple—roasted chicken, vegetables, and bread. We eat in the smaller breakfast room instead of the formal dining room.
At 8:00 PM, she returns to the third-floor studio for evening practice. I follow, settling into my usual spot by the window withmy laptop. Work that needs doing—Philadelphia operations, coordination with Sergei, final reviews of security plans.
But mostly I watch her.
She's working through Giselle choreography. Act II variations, the Wilis sequences. The ballet Anton wants her to perform. The ballet she's transforming into her weapon.
She dances Elena's dream into reality through movement—every leap, every turn, every arabesque is a promise that beauty survives violence. That art outlasts destruction.
At 9:30 PM, she finishes. Comes over to where I'm sitting, slides into my lap still sweaty from exertion.
"Bed?" she asks.
"Bed."
