“Is what true?”
“The twins. Are they yours?”
I lean back in my chair. “Who told you?”
“Does it matter? Half the city is talking about it. I want to hear it from you. Are Mila and Alexei your biological children?”
“Yes.”
He goes very still. “You’re serious.”
“DNA test confirmed it. 99.97% probability.”
“And you didn’t know? Before the test?”
“No.”
“How is that possible?”
“Anna and I had a one-night encounter five years ago. I didn’t know her name. She got pregnant. She kept it secret. We ended up married through her father’s debt. She recognized me and said nothing.”
Maxim stares at me. “That’s insane.”
“That’s reality.”
“So I have two half-siblings living in this house.”
“Yes.”
“Four-year-old half-siblings who you’ve been trying to connect with while their mother blocked you at every turn.”
“Yes.”
“And now everyone knows. Everyone is talking about how Luca Volkov got played by his wife. How he didn’t even recognize his own children.”
“I’m handling it.”
“Are you? Because from where I’m standing, this is a disaster.” Maxim starts pacing. “Do you understand what this does to our position? Your competitors are laughing. They’re seeing weakness. They’re going to push.”
“Let them push. I’ll push back harder.”
“That’s not the point! The point is, you look foolish. And when you look foolish, it reflects on me. On the entire organization.”
“Then we contain it. Pavel is already handling the source.”
“The source? You mean Lina? The woman who brought you this information in the first place?”
“The woman who’s now spreading it publicly to damage my reputation. Yes.”
Maxim stops pacing. “And the twins? What happens with them?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, are they part of the family now? Are they in line for inheritance? Do they threaten my position?”
“We discussed this already. Your position hasn’t changed.”
“That was before I knew they were actually your biological children. Before everyone else knew. Now it’s different.”
