“You were protecting me. Making a case for my survival and my value to both families.” I reach out to trace the line of his jaw. “You could have thrown me under the bus along with the rest of them. Could have suggested eliminating the entire Petrov bloodline to prevent future complications.”
“I would never?—”
“I know. That’s why I’m not furious.” I pause, then add, “Though I’m not thrilled about having my future decided without my input.”
“That’s not what happened.”
“Isn’t it? You suggested I take over my father’s organization. You positioned me as a valuable asset rather than a security risk. You bought me time to ‘demonstrate my loyalties.’“ I sit up, pulling the sheet around myself. “All without asking what I actually want.”
“What do you want?”
The question hangs between us, simple and impossible. What do I want? Peace that doesn’t exist. Love without consequences. A future that doesn’t require choosing between people I care about.
“I want my family to stop making choices that force other people to kill them,” I say finally. “I want my father to step down gracefully instead of clinging to power until someone pries it from his dead hands. I want Alexei to find something to live for besides blind loyalty to a man who’s lost his way.”
“And if they won’t do those things voluntarily?”
“Then I want to be the one making the decisions about what happens next. Not Vito. Not even you.” I meet his eyes directly. “If my family is going to face consequences for their actions, I want to be the one determining what those consequences are.”
Rafa nods slowly. “That’s fair.”
“Is it? Because from what I overheard, the decision has already been made. Strategic elimination, right? Remove the problematic leadership and install someone more amenable to cooperation.”
“Nothing is set in stone yet.”
“But it will be. Soon.” I lean back against the headboard, pulling my knees to my chest. “Tell me honestly—do you think my father can be reasoned with? Do you think he’ll step aside willingly if we present him with evidence of how badly he’s miscalculated?”
Rafa considers this with the same analytical precision he brings to technical problems. “No. I think he’ll double down. Try to eliminate the evidence and the witnesses. Probably starting with me.”
“And Alexei?”
“Will follow whatever orders your father gives him. Even if those orders are suicidal.”
“Even if those orders involve killing me?”
The question stops him cold. “What?”
“If Father decides I’m a traitor for choosing you over family interests, if he concludes that I need to be eliminated to preserveoperational security...” I shrug with fake casualness. “Alexei will do what he’s told.”
“He wouldn’t kill you. He’s your brother.”
“He’s a weapon my father has spent thirty years sharpening. Brothers don’t override direct orders in our world.” I see understanding dawn in Rafa’s expression. “So yes, he would kill me if ordered to. And he’d hate himself for it, but he’d do it anyway.”
“Then they have to be stopped.”
“Yes.” The admission tastes like poison and relief in equal measure. “They do.”
“And you’re willing to be part of that?”
I’m quiet for a long time, staring out the window at the lightening sky. Thinking about the father who taught me chess but never let me win. Who told me I was brilliant but never trusted me with real responsibility. Who loved me in his way but always saw me as a tool to be used rather than a person to be cherished.
Thinking about Alexei, who protected me from nightmares as a child but now represents the greatest threat to my survival. Who sacrificed his own happiness for family duty and expects everyone else to do the same.
Thinking about the organization that’s shaped my entire life, that’s given me purpose and identity and skills, but that’s also trapped me in a cage of expectations and obligations.
“I’ve spent my whole life being my father’s daughter,” I say finally. “Being what he needed me to be, when he needed me to be it. Supporting his decisions even when I disagreed with them. Staying loyal even when that loyalty wasn’t reciprocated.”
“And now?”
