His lips part slightly, and he releases a short breath.
“You bought it?”
“I did,” I confirm.
“Why?”
“Because leverage should be controlled.”
His brow furrows as he attempts to process that answer.
“So, what happens now?”
“You answer when called,” I reply. “You provide information when asked. You don’t disappear or attempt to contact the men who assaulted you.”
“And my sister?”
“If she reaches out,” I continue, “you inform us immediately.”
He nods slowly.
“She’s really missing,” he says, his voice breaking slightly at the edges.
“She’s not where she should be,” I reiterate.
His chest rises and falls unevenly.
“I thought she was happy,” he murmurs.
Happiness can be manufactured long enough to mask the truth.
“Medical evaluation,” I tell Karp. “Then move him to the Oakridge property. Restricted access.”
Karp nods once.
Jonathan watches me, confusion cutting through the fatigue. He won’t be going back to that apartment. Not while he’s leverage.
“You’re not going to hurt me?” he asks, less question than disbelief.
“No,” I reply evenly. “You are more useful alive.”
He nods once, swallowing again.
As Karp guides him toward the exit, Jonathan pauses.
“If she trusted this guy,” he says without turning fully, “maybe he didn’t know.”
That possibility has already occurred to me.
I’ve already considered that. If Ivan didn’t know Lila would be taken, then he isn’t the one in control. It’s definitely Arkady. And if he did know, then he allowed it.
Neither option simplifies this.
By the time I return to the estate, the temperature has dropped again. The sky hangs low and colorless over the drive, and the trees stand rigid along the perimeter.
The gates open as my vehicle approaches, the iron retracting along concealed tracks. The house is lit from within, every window monitored, every entry point secured. From a distance, it looks calm. It always does.
Inside, warmth replaces the cold bite of outside air, though it doesn’t reach deep enough to loosen the tension in my shoulders. The foyer smells faintly of polished wood and citrus cleaner layered over older scents that cling to the stone and plaster. My footsteps echo briefly across the floor as I move toward the study.
