I stared at them lined along the wall of the art room, colors alive, bold, luminous in a way I hadn’t managed in years. I could see what I had accomplished and how light was breaking through the shadows. Gold threaded through darkness, and pieces that spoke of hope clawed out of fear.
Anyone else would have been proud. I already knew Avgust was. He had been praising all my pieces for days now and talking about a gallery opening once I had enough paintings. I hadn’t stopped him, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted all of that. All that attention and praise. Especially when I was toiling through one of the most difficult times of my life.
I felt restless.
My chest buzzed with unease, like a warning I couldn’t really silence. No matter how much I painted or how much I poured myself into color and movement, my thoughts always circled back to the same impossible truth.Avgust and my brothers cannot exist in the same future.
And yet they did. Already. In my mind, at least.
A few days had already gone by since the dinner, and Avgust formally introduced me to his family. I missed them. The warmth of a family that had accepted me without a single question was more than I could have asked for. Yet there was still no progress on anything else. I slept in Avgust’s arms every single night, but the guilt was growing stronger with every passing day now. I knew something he wanted to know, yet I was keeping it from him.
I took off my painting apron and kept it aside, stepping out of the art room into the deserted corridor. I made my way to the kitchen, looking for Marta, and found her right by the door.
“Marta!” I called out.
“Yes, Miss Ilana?” Marta asked, turning around with a warm smile on her face.
“Have you seen Avgust?”
“He went out a few hours ago. He wanted to tell you, but you were absorbed in your painting, and he did not want to disturb you, so he told me instead.”
“Alright, thank you.”
My heart thundered loudly in my chest. I hadn’t found another chance of going to Avgust’s office since the last time. I still discussed things with him, and he was happy to tell me everything he knew and discussed it all with me, but I needed to search for things in his absence as well. I might find something that could stop my life from falling apart the way it was threatening to fall apart right now. I made my way to his office and walked inside the unlocked room.
“Please let there be something that can be useful.”
I checked the files but could find nothing. His laptop was open, and the screen glowed, but there was nothing on it I hadn’t already seen. I could see notes scribbled in sharp, decisive handwriting, but nothing of consequence. He was trying to find my family, and he was not getting any closer to them. He had nothing. No first names or confirmations, or recognitions. It made me feel relieved but guilty at the same time.
Because it meant that danger hadn’t disappeared. It was only waiting.
I was just about to leave when I noticed a drawer at the far end of the room that had not been closed fully. I opened it and noticed a burner phone kept inside. It was smaller, darker, and unmarked. My pulse jumped. I stared at the phone for a long moment, then finally picked it up and dialed the number, which was stored in my memory like a scar.
Fyodor.
He picked up the call on the second ring.
“Fyodor speaking.”
“Brother,” I whispered, his voice sending a shiver down my spine. I did not know if it was relief or anger.
“Ilana?” His voice was sharp with disbelief. “Where the hell have you been!?”
Her throat tightened. “I’m fine.”
“You just disappeared and sent us that creepy text from a strange number, which blocked all of us whenever we called,” he snapped. “Kliment’s losing his mind, and Nico’s furious. Come home at once,”
“I need you to tell me something, Fyodor. And I need you to be honest,” I said, my mind only looking for one answer.
“What is it, Ilana?” he sounded concerned.
“Tell me if all of you are somehow linked to the Bratva? Do you have contacts with the dark side of things? Or are we just plain old hoteliers with nothing like this staining our business?”
There was a long pause, which was enough for me to know.
I had not been imagining it. All of it was true.
Fyodor sighed through his nose. “We are not having this conversation over the phone, Ilana. Come home, and we will talkabout it in detail. In fact, where are you? I will come get you myself.”
