"Oh, precious child—" Vera mumbles, but the humor in her tone is forced and Mila talks over her.
"—and why I now own it again. Whatever you have planned, forget it. And leave my family home now." Now her chest heaves with emotion and her eyes sparkle with unshed tears. I doubt she'll shed them, either. From what I've seen of her, she's more of a soldier than a few of my own men.
"Roman, you can’t think I sent her to do this," Vera says again from behind me. She walks over to stand beside us as I stare at Mila and try to decide what to do. "I feel like we could work this out simply if you just?—"
"You stole from me…" I say, interrupting Vera, and my eyes are locked on Mila.
I don't like this at all. I would never let something like this slide. It's what I’m known for, parsing out punishment where it's due and toeing a line. I don't go soft on people, and this time, my hands are tied.
Mila's bottom lip trembles slightly before she schools it and scowls. "I took what was mine."
The nerve… I could smack her, but I control myself and glance at Vera who still hovers nearby like she's watching an execution. She has a smug smirk on her face and her daughters have come crawling back into the light like timid roaches.
"You stole from me," I repeat, and this time, I keep going. "And the punishment for theft is death." I pause, turning fully backto Mila. "Now I understand this agreement was made for me before I was able to consent, and I do admit that I've taken the obligation upon myself to stay faithful to it."
Mila watches as I pull my lighter from my pocket and hold it under the letter, now dangling from my fingers. Her mouth forms an "O" as I flick the lighter and hold the flame under the paper. It browns at the edge before catching, then slow flames trickle upward, letting smoke filter toward the vaulted ceiling.
"The agreement is complete," I state. Then I say, "But you still owe a price."
Mila scoffs and starts to walk off, but Yegor snatches her arm and holds her in place as I continue handing out my punishment.
"You will work for me for ten years, after which time you will be free to do as you please." I nod at Yegor. "And now Yegor will take you to my car and you will stay there with him?—"
"You can't do this!" she hisses, straining against his grip. "That letter means nothing to you! You owe a debt."
"Enough!" I shout, and it startles her. "Take her to my car. I’m done talking," I tell my driver, and he begins wrestling her through the doorway, much to her protest. She claws and screams and Yegor has a fight on his hands, but I turn slowly to address Vera and her predatory grin.
She's already recalibrating too, finding the new angle, and I can see the process of it happening in real time, the slight lift of her chin, the adjustment in posture, the expression settling into something more businesslike and forward-looking. She's good at this, and I make a note of it.
"Ms. Koval," I say, because she clearly is not a Radin in any form. "It's a shame you can't defend your daughter against this, but I don't suppose it matters much at this point. I'll be taking her for now."
"And the arrangement I mentioned?" she says. "My daughters… Surely, you understand how an alliance would benefit your family. A marriage of this stature could seal things nicely. You'll consider it?"
"I'll think about it," I tell her, but honestly, I'm not interested in the slightest. "Good day."
Turning, I exit the property and see Yegor still fighting Mila into the back seat, and now I do see tears on her cheeks.
I may not be interested in a marriage alliance with that horrible woman, but the prospect of owning everything Anton Radin built does pique my interest. Maybe I won't start a war over this, but Mila humiliated me in front of my men. That means she owes me a huge debt—maybe not death, but certainly more than ten years of servitude.
And what really interests me is why Vera said nothing. Why she would just let me waltz into her home and take her dead husband's daughter. Something is off about her, and I'm going to figure out what.
Right after I tame this rebellious woman into something I can manage.
5
MILA
The guard shoves me through the doorway, and I stumble forward into darkness as the door slams behind me and the latch clicks. I catch myself against the wall and stand there huffing while my eyes try to adjust. There's almost no light coming from anywhere. A thin line under the door, that's it, and I'm so angry.
I spent the entire drive arguing with that horrible man about propriety, and it doesn't matter that we live in a civilized society with rules and laws. All he cares about is that I owe him some figurative debt because I took something that already belonged to me. And now I'm powerless to defend myself or go for help because he "owns" me.
I should have seen it coming. All of it. The moment Vera smiled at me and handed me that invitation, I should've known she was setting me up to fail, but I was so desperate to belong somewhere that I walked straight into it like an idiot. Now this?
I yank the door back open and the same man is standing there with his arms over his chest, which is puffed out as he stares down at me.
"Yes?" he says and glowers down his nose.
I scream and growl at the same time and slam the door in his face, then lean against it and feel so defeated, I could cry again. I'm not a crier, but I did let a few tears sneak out in the car as that ogre shoved me in. I'm just so pissed at the injustice of it all. There's no doubt in my mind that all of this was a setup and that my stepmother is probably so pleased with herself for working out how to get me out of her hair.
