He was there when my father was recovering—every day, calm and composed, like nothing could shake him.
Now he’s near her.
And I hate how fast that gets under my skin.
My teeth grit before I can stop them. I picture his hand on her back, correcting her posture, too close. The kind of professional touch that’s somehow worse.
“Is he—always that hands-on?”
A pause.
“He’s efficient,” Oleg replies. “And married.”
I say nothing.
He continues anyway. “With two toddlers.”
Right.
I nod, like that matters.
Then Oleg shifts tones—just slightly. “There’s something else. ThePakhan’scar has been prepared. He’s heading to La Sirena Cove.”
My jaw locks.
Of course. Her beachside prize. A gift from the days Anatoly still thought with something other than his paranoia.
“He’s meeting Tatiana?”
“That’s the instruction, yes.”
“Do you know who scheduled it?”
“Tatiana herself. Through back channels. Quiet. But not invisible.”
Of course she did.
She’s playing her endgame. Thinking she can charm him into rethinking the line of succession.
Not on my watch.
“Send someone. Quietly. I want eyes on that cove before he arrives.”
“Understood sir.”
I grit my teeth. “Suka,” I mutter under my breath.
Tatiana thinks she’s clever—slinking around behind the scenes, playing seductress with a man who once built an empireon fear and flesh. She thinks she still has power. That she can flash a smile and make him forget everything.
Not this time.
She won’t win him back with perfume and nostalgia. Not while I’m breathing.
I end the call with Oleg and toss the phone onto the desk. For a second, I almost call Galina. I almost tell her to get the car ready.
Maybe it’s time I went home.
The screen lights up before I can reach for it. I swipe without thinking.
