“Your father knew who really orchestrated Nicole’s rape.” Adrian’s smile is predatory. “He knew it wasn’t just a random attack by desperate men. He knew there was someone pulling the strings, someone with everything to gain from destroying Mikhail Artyomov’s family.”
My mind races, trying to piece together what he’s saying. “You. You were behind it.”
“Not just me.” Adrian turns away, moving toward a table covered with photographs. “Your father and I, we had a mutually beneficial arrangement. He provided informationabout Mikhail’s operations, and I provided the money to keep his gambling debts at bay. But then he got greedy. Started asking questions he shouldn’t have asked. Started digging into things that were none of his concern.”
He picks up a photograph and holds it out to me.
I don’t want to look, but I can’t help myself.
It shows my father, younger, standing next to Adrian and another man I don’t recognize.
They’re all smiling, drinks in hand.
“Your father helped me plan the attack on Nicole,” Adrian says, his voice matter-of-fact. “He provided the security schedules, the guard rotations, everything I needed to get my men inside that house. And in return, I paid off his debts and gave him enough money to disappear.”
“No.” The word comes out strangled. It wasn’t a drunken cruelty, crumbling from pressure from eviler men. It was so much more… “He wouldn’t. He couldn’t.”
“Oh, but he did.” Adrian tosses the photo aside. “And then he developed a conscience. Started talking about going to Mikhail, about confessing everything. I couldn’t allow that, of course. So I made sure Mikhail found him first. Made sure your father died believing Mikhail was his enemy, never knowing I was the one who set him up.”
The room spins around me. “Why?” My voice cracks. “Why would you do this?”
“Because Mikhail Artyomov took something from me.” Adrian’s face twists with rage, the calm mask slipping. “He killed my brother. Shot him in the head like a dog and left him in thestreet. So I decided to take everything from him. His sister. His empire. His peace of mind. And now, his wife.”
He pulls out a gun, the metal gleaming under the harsh light. My heart stops.
“The beautiful thing about revenge,” Adrian continues, “is that it’s never really over. Even after I kill you, even after I destroy Mikhail completely, there will always be another score to settle. Another debt to collect. That’s the world we live in, Mrs. Artyomov.”
“Please.” I hate the pleading note in my voice, but I can’t stop it. “Let Melinda go. She has nothing to do with this. She’s innocent.”
“No one is innocent.” Adrian gestures to his men. “Bring her.”
They drag me toward Melinda’s chair. Up close, I can see she’s barely conscious, her good eye unfocused and glassy. Blood seeps through the bandages wrapped around her wrists where the ropes have cut into her skin.
“Mel,” I whisper. “I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”
Her eye focuses on me for just a moment, and I see forgiveness there.
Forgiveness I don’t deserve.
Adrian presses the gun against Melinda’s temple. “Here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to kill your friend while you watch. Then I’m going to kill you. And then I’m going to send the video to Mikhail so he can watch you die over and over again for the rest of his miserable life.”
“Wait.” The word bursts out of me. “Wait. If you kill us now, Mikhail will hunt you forever. He’ll never stop. But if you let us go, if you let us walk out of here, I can convince him to back off. To let this vendetta end.”
Adrian laughs, the sound echoing off the warehouse walls. “You think I’m afraid of Mikhail Artyomov? I’ve been three steps ahead of him this entire time. I’ve been dismantling his empire piece by piece while he’s been too distracted by you to notice. By the time he realizes what I’ve done, it will be too late.”
He moves the gun from Melinda’s head to mine, pressing the cold barrel against my temple.
I close my eyes, thinking of Mikhail.
Of the way he looked at me this morning, the fear and love warring in his green eyes.
Of the way he held me last night, like I was something precious he was terrified of breaking.
I’m sorry. I’m sorry I couldn’t be stronger. I’m sorry I couldn’t save us.
“Any last words?” Adrian turns off the safety as he aims again at Melinda.
I open my eyes and look directly at him. “Yes. You made one mistake.”
