“He did. I suppose he was eager for the whole bloody affair to be over and done with. He believed what he wanted to believe. And besides, your mother, father, and your father’s heir were confirmed dead—what did it matter if a daughter remained?”
“Is there more?”
“Yes. Rumors that you were still alive surfaced here and there. You became something of a legend. The rumors grew so intense that Kolya realized that he couldn’t simply ignore them anymore. He had to find you—if you were indeed alive—and finish the job. My duty was to make sure that never happened.”
“But why?” I ask. “Why did you do all of this?”
He turns his eyes from the fire to me. “Because your father saved my life.”
I blink. “What?”
“A year before the massacre of your family, there was a hit put out on me. I was twenty-four years old, new to running the Camorra, and I made mistakes, got careless. The leader of another family determined that I was ripe for assassination. But Lev, your father, found out about the hit. He warned me, giving me the information I needed to find the man responsible and eliminate him.”
His voice is quiet now. “This allowed me not only to survive, but to send a message that I was not to be trifled with. But I still owed your father. And when I learned that you survived, I decided that the debt would be paid by keeping you alive.”
“So you’ve been watching me. For twenty years.”
“Not the whole time. For the first thirteen years, you were with Liza. I checked in periodically to make sure you were safe. But when Liza abandoned you…”
I shift in my seat. “I remember going to work the morning of my eighteenth birthday and returning to an empty house, and a letter that said I was an adult now, that I had to find my own way.”
His jaw tightens. I get the impression that what she did hurt him nearly as much as it hurt me.
“When she left you alone, I assigned people to keep watch, to make sure nothing happened to you.”
“And then?”
“And then, six months ago, someone from Kolya’s crew recognized you at the Belvedere. It was an old lieutenant who swore you looked exactly like your mother. And you do.”
My heart tightens.
“Luckily, I have contacts in the Bratva who were able to keep me abreast of all of this. I was told that the lieutenant took you on as a personal project and started digging. He eventually discovered the truth. Once Kolya learned that you were alive, everything changed.”
The pieces click into place.
“He orchestrated the whole thing,” I say. “The drinks, the auction. He was going to buy me. And then what? Kill me?”
“Eventually. The auction would be the perfect opportunity. Once a woman is bought there, let’s just say that her fate isn’t a matter of public discussion.”
My skin crawls and my heart clenches as I think of Sylvie again.
“Once he bought you, he would’ve brought you to his home and kept you there until he could confirm your identity, that you’re really Lev’s daughter. And then, yes, he’d kill you. Because as long as you’re alive, you’re a threat to his legitimacy as the head of the Bratva that he took as his own.”
“So you bought me first.”
My thoughts flash back to that night. I think of the way Gabriel had all but rushed the stage with that incredible intensity in his eyes. I realize that it hadn’t been just about making me his, it’d been about keeping me alive.
“Yes. I learned when you’d be at the auction, and I made sure to attend. Luckily, Kolya is a little under the weather these days and wasn’t able to attend himself. That made matters easier. But all the same, I was willing to pay any price.”
“But then you kept me here. Kept me locked up. Lied to me about who I am.”
“Yes.”
“Why?” My voice breaks. “Why not just tell me the truth from the beginning?”
He meets my gaze, unflinching. “I didn’t know if you’d believe me, if you’d cooperate. I worried that if I told you, you’d try to run—which you did anyway. I worried that you might do something that would get you killed. I needed time to gather proof, to build a case against Kolya. And I needed to convinceyou that I was an ally. Most importantly, I needed to keep you safe while I did it.”
“So you kept me in the dark. And you watched me, controlled me. Made me—” I pause, my face burning. “Made me fall for you.”
