“Mikhail.”
She nods. “Everyone said he would kill me on sight. That he hated the Morellos so much he’d torture anyone connected to them. But when I told him my story, showed him the scars…” She touches her wrist absently, tracing the faint white lines there. “He gave me a job. A home. Safety. He’s protected me ever since.”
I set down my coffee, my mind reeling.
This doesn’t fit with the cold, vengeful man who kidnapped me.
Who forced me to marry him.
Who showed me photos of my father’s execution.
“Why are you telling me this?” I ask.
Elena stands and returns to the closet, pulling out a simple blue dress. “Because I see the way you look at him. The confusion.You think he’s a monster, and maybe he is. But monsters are made, not born.” She lays the dress on the bed. “Mr. Artyomov wasn’t always like this. Before his sister died, he was different. Harder than most men in his position, yes, but not cruel. Not cold.”
“Nicole.” Her name feels strange on my tongue.
Elena’s expression softens. “You know about her?”
“Only what Mikhail told me. That my father…” I can’t finish the sentence, the words sticking in my throat.
“She was sixteen,” Elena says quietly. “Beautiful, smart, full of life. She wanted to be a doctor, to help people. Mr. Artyomov adored her. She was the only family he had left after their parents died.” She moves to the window, staring out at the gardens. “When she died, something in him died too. The part that believed in goodness, in mercy. He became obsessed with revenge.”
I think about the photos in his study, the shrine to a girl who will never grow up.
The raw pain in his voice when he talks about her. “He blames my father.”
“Your father and three other men broke into this house,” Elena confirms. “They were looking for money. They didn’t find money, but they found Nicole alone in her room.” Her voice drops to barely a whisper. “She killed herself after.”
The same story Mikhail gave me the night he kidnapped me.
Tears burn my eyes. I blink them back furiously. “I didn’t know. I swear, I didn’t know.”
“I believe you. But Mr. Artyomov can’t see past his grief. To him, you’re your father’s daughter. His legacy. His sin made flesh.”
“So I’m supposed to pay for what he did? Suffer because of his crimes?” Anger flares in my chest, hot and bitter.
“I’m not saying it’s right.” Elena returns to the bed and sits down again. “I’m saying I understand why he’s doing this. And I’m saying that underneath all that rage and pain, there’s still a man worth saving. I’ve seen glimpses of him. The way he checks on his men’s families when they’re injured. The way he funded a women’s shelter downtown anonymously. The way he looked at you last night when he carried you back from the tunnels.”
My cheeks flush at the memory. “That doesn’t excuse what he’s done to me.”
“No, it doesn’t.” Elena reaches into her pocket and pulls out a small cell phone. “Which is why I’m giving you this.”
I stare at the phone like it’s a lifeline. “Elena, if Mikhail finds out…”
“He won’t. Not if you’re careful.” She presses it into my hand. “It’s a burner. Untraceable. You can call your friend, let her know you’re alive. But Sophia…” Her grip on my hand tightens. “Be very careful who you trust. There are people in this house who report everything to Mr. Artyomov. And there are others who would use any information against him.”
“Like who?”
“Marco, for one.” Elena’s expression darkens. “He’s been Mr. Artyomov’s enforcer for years, but I don’t trust him. He watches you too closely. Asks too many questions about your conversations with me.”
A chill runs down my spine. I think about Marco’s cold eyes, the way he follows me everywhere. “You think he’d hurt me?”
“I think he’d do whatever serves his interests.” Elena stands. “Just be careful. And whatever you do, don’t mention Nicole to Mr. Artyomov. Not unless you want to see him at his most dangerous.”
“Why? What would he do?”
Elena’s face pales. “I’ve only seen him lose control once, when one of his men mocked how…she killed herself. Mr. Artyomov beat him so badly the man was in the hospital for weeks. When it comes to his sister, there’s no reasoning with him. No mercy. Just rage.”
