“Still compiling. But preliminary information shows standard employment history. Part-time jobs, nothing significant. Education stopped after two years of university. No red flags, no criminal record, no concerning associations.”
“What about relationships?”
“None documented in the last five years. Before that, a scattered dating history, but nothing serious.”
“And the twins’ father?”
Pavel hesitates. “Still nothing, but I can dig deeper.”
I stare at the papers on my desk without seeing them. “She’s hiding something.”
“Everyone hides something.”
“This is more than standard privacy. She looks at me like she’s waiting for me to figure out what she’s keeping from me.”
“Or maybe she just hates you for forcing her into this marriage, and you’re reading too much into it.”
Maybe. But I don’t think so.
“Keep digging,” I tell Pavel. “I want to know everything about her. Where she went, who she knew, what she did in the years before the twins were born. Someone knows who their father is. Find them.”
Pavel makes a note. “This might take time.”
“Take whatever time you need. Just get me answers.”
He leaves, and I’m alone with files I’m not actually reading and thoughts that keep circling back to Anna and those children.
I’ve acquired companies, dismantled rival operations, negotiated deals with men who would kill me if they thought they could get away with it. I’ve built an empire on understanding leverage, reading people, and knowing exactly what pressure to apply and when.
But Anna is a problem I can’t solve with standard tactics.
I can’t threaten her because she’s already living under the worst-case scenario from her perspective. I can’t buy her cooperation because she returns every gesture I make. I can’t ignore her because she’s my wife, and those children are living under my roof.
So what’s left?
I stand and walk to the window. From here, I can see the east garden where the twins were playing earlier. It’s empty now. Just manicured grass and flower beds and silence.
I think about what Pavel said. Maybe she thinks I’m planning to harm them.
The idea is absurd. I have no interest in hurting children. I’m not a monster, despite what Anna clearly believes. But how do I prove that when she won’t let me near them?
Movement catches my eye. The conservatory door opens, and the twins emerge back into the garden. Anna isn’t with them this time. They must have convinced her to let them play again.
I watch them for a few minutes. Mila runs in wide circles, arms spread like she’s flying. Alexei sits in the grass and lines up toy cars in a precise row. Even from this distance, I can see the concentration on his face. The way he adjusts each car until the spacing is exactly right.
He’s meticulous. Orderly. I recognize that trait because I have it too.
Mila trips over her own feet and falls. For a second, I think she’s going to cry. But she sits up, laughs at herself, and goes back to running.
The conservatory door opens again. Anna steps out, scanning the garden until she spots the twins. Her posture relaxes slightly when she sees they’re safe. She sits on the same bench as before, watching them with an expression I can’t read from here.
She’s a good mother. I can see that even from a distance. Attentive without being smothering. Present without hovering. The twins are well-behaved, healthy, and clearly loved.
Whatever mistakes she’s made, raising those children isn’t one of them.
Which makes her hostility toward me even more confusing.
If she’s such a good mother, why does she think keeping me away from her children is the right move? What does she think I’m going to do to them?
