“Now, why would I tell you that? My leverage disappears the moment you have what you want.”
“Your leverage disappears when you’re dead,” Luca points out cheerfully. “Which could happen much sooner than you think.”
“Empty threats,” Yegor dismisses. “You need me alive to access the files. They’re encrypted with biometric locks.”
Rafa circles the chair like a predator. “What about the financial diversions? How long have you been skimming from both families?”
“Two years. Small amounts at first, then increasingly bold as I mapped your security protocols.” Yegor’s eyes find mine across the room. “Amazing what you can accomplish with inside information about system vulnerabilities.”
“Inside information from whom?”
“Family members who don’t appreciate being kept in the dark about important decisions. People tend to become chatty when they feel excluded.” His smile is poison. “Alexei was invaluable once I explained how his beloved sister was being used as a pawn in schemes she didn’t even know about. The beloved heiress had become a liability to the family name.”
The implication hits me like a slap. “Alexei was feeding you information to protect me?”
“Among other things. Your brother is surprisingly sentimental for such a violent man. The idea of his little sister being sacrificed for political expedience... it bothered him.”
“So you manipulated his protective instincts.”
“I exploited a weakness. Just like I exploited yours.” Yegor’s pale eyes lock onto mine with disturbing intensity. “Your needto save everyone. Your compulsion to solve problems alone rather than trust others with the solutions. You brought this on yourself.”
“That’s enough,” Rafa warns, but Yegor ignores him.
“Tell me, Kyrilla, how does it feel knowing that your noble sacrifice tonight was completely unnecessary? That the very family you were trying to protect has been working against you for months?”
“I said enough.” Rafa’s voice carries a dangerous edge.
“Or perhaps you’d prefer to discuss your Italian boyfriend’s surveillance habits? Did you know he’s been monitoring your personal systems? Reading your emails, tracking your communications, watching you like a hawk watches prey? How else would he have known about our meeting tonight?”
The world tilts sideways. I turn to stare at Rafa, looking for denial that doesn’t come.
“You’ve been spying on me?” My voice comes out smaller than intended.
“Kira—”
“Answer the question. Have you been monitoring my personal systems?”
The pause before his response tells me everything I need to know.
“Yes,” he admits quietly. “After you started pulling away, I needed to know if you were in danger.”
“So you violated my privacy. Hacked my personal files. Read my private communications.” Each accusation builds like pressure in my chest. “Just like every other man who’s decided they know what’s best for me.”
“It’s not like that?—”
“Isn’t it?” I can hear my voice rising, control fraying at the edges. “You complained about me not trusting you, but you’ve been treating me like a suspect from the beginning!”
“Because I was falling in love with someone who might have been playing me!” The admission explodes from him with raw honesty. “Because I needed to know if anything between us was real or if I was just the latest mark in some elaborate Petrov long game!”
“Love?” Yegor’s delighted laughter cuts through the tension. “Oh, this is perfect. You’re both so beautifully broken. So convinced the other is lying that you can’t see the truth right before you.”
“What truth?” Rafa demands.
“That you’re perfect for each other. Both paranoid, both controlling, both absolutely convinced that love is a weakness to be managed rather than a strength to be embraced.” Yegor’s eyes glitter with malicious joy. “Tell me, Rosso, what will you do when you realize she’ll never trust you as you need to be trusted? When you understand that her family will always come first?”
“Shut up,” I warn.
“And my beautiful, brilliant princess—what will you do when you accept that he’ll never see you as an equal? That he’ll always be the protector and you’ll always be the protected? That his love comes with chains disguised as care?”
