“I can. And I will if this doesn’t change.”
“Papa, do something!” Anna turns to her father. “Don’t let him do this.”
Viktor laughs. It’s bitter, harsh. “Do something? What exactly do you want me to do, Anna? We’re in debt to him for millions. He owns our company. He married you as part of the deal. And now we find out he’s also the father of your children? We have no leverage here. None.”
“Papa, please?—”
“Please, what? You created this mess. You lied to everyone. You kept his children from him!” Viktor’s voice cracks. “How could you do this?”
“Because I was scared! Because I saw what he is and I knew I couldn’t let him have them.”
“What he is? He’s their father, that’s what he is.”
“He’s a criminal. A killer.”
“And you still married him. You still took his money and moved into his house.” Viktor throws his hands up. “You can’t have it both ways, Anna. You can’t take everything he provides while refusing to acknowledge what he is to those children.”
“Viktor, stop.” Svetlana’s voice cuts through. “Both of you, stop.”
“Svetlana—”
“I said stop!” She stands, placing herself between Viktor and Anna. “Screaming at each other solves nothing.”
“She lied to us.”
“I know. And it was wrong. But destroying each other over it helps no one. Least of all Mila and Alexei.”
“Don’t talk to me about those children. She kept them secret. She kept them from their own father!”
“Yes. She did. And that was wrong.” Svetlana turns to Anna. “It was wrong, Anna. No matter how scared you were. Luca had a right to know.”
“He would have taken them from me!”
“You don’t know that.”
“Yes, I do. Look at him. Look at what he does. How could I trust him with my children?”
“They’re not just your children!” Svetlana’s voice rises for the first time. “They’re his too! You don’t get to make that decision alone.”
Anna’s face crumples. “Mama?—”
“No. You listen to me. I understand you were scared. I understand you wanted to protect them. But what you did was cruel. To Luca. To those children. To all of us.”
“I was protecting them!”
“From what? From having a father who could provide for them? From security and resources we couldn’t give them? From a man who’s been trying to connect with them since they moved in here?”
“From a monster!”
Svetlana turns to me. Her eyes are hard. “And you. Threatening to take children from their mother? Thatdoesmake you a monster.”
“I’m protecting my rights as their father.”
“By traumatizing two four-year-olds? By ripping them away from the only parent they’ve ever known?”
“She kept them from me!”
“And that was wrong, but fighting over them like they’re property instead of children? That’s worse.” Svetlana looks between us. “Both of you need to stop thinking about yourselves and start thinking about Mila and Alexei.”
