It’s not a complete lie. I do trust him…when he’s not consumed with anger and revenge.
Back in our bedroom, I lock the door and lean against it, my heart hammering.
The pregnancy test seems to mock me from the drawer, a small box that holds the power to change everything.
My hands shake as I open it, reading the instructions I’ve already memorized.
Three minutes. That’s all it takes to confirm what I already know in my heart.
I watch the test develop, my breath caught in my throat. One line. Two lines. Positive.
I’m pregnant with Mikhail’s child.
The realization crashes over me like a wave. A baby. A tiny life growing inside me, innocent and unaware of the violence and chaos that surrounds us. A child who deserves better than parents consumed by revenge and bloodshed.
I sink to the bathroom floor, the test clutched in my trembling hand.
This changes everything.
I can’t let this war continue, can’t let my child grow up in a world where Lorenzo’s shadow hangs over us.
I can’t watch Mikhail destroy himself trying to protect us.
I can’t run to another safe house and wait for Lorenzo to find us again.
There’s only one way to end this.
I have to go to Lorenzo myself.
The plan has been forming in my mind for a few days now, bits and pieces slowly coming together.
But now I see the full picture with crystal clarity. Lorenzo wants me dead, wants to use me to hurt Mikhail.
But what if I offer myself willingly?
What if I can get close enough to end this once and for all?
It’s insane. Suicidal. Exactly the kind of stupid thing I promised Tony I wouldn’t do.
But it’s also the only way I can see to save Mikhail’s soul and protect our unborn child.
I pull out the burner phone Elena gave me, the one I’ve kept hidden for emergencies.
My fingers hover over the keys as I compose a message to the number I found in Tony’s things, the one Lorenzo used to contact him.
I know what you want. Let’s talk. Just you and me. No more innocent people have to die.
I hit send before I can change my mind. Sneaking out to confront Tony hadn’t gone well, but this time I’m choosing to take down our enemy.
The response comes within minutes.
Tomorrow. Noon. The abandoned Moretti warehouse.
That’s where it’ll start, but I know he’ll take me somewhere else, somewhere symbolic.
I delete the messages and hide the phone again.
Then I look at myself in the mirror, at the woman staring back at me.
