“…then you’ll have it,” he replies.
I hang up.
And I dial the next number.
One after another. No hesitation now. No doubt.
Old generals. Financial minds. Men who once moved entire regions under my father’s name. Men who were told I was gone. Erased. Finished.
But they remember the structure. Even if they thought the person behind it was dead.
Each call follows the same rhythm.
Doubt. Recognition. Resistance. Then something older underneath it all—memory. Loyalty that never fully disappeared, only went quiet.
By the time the hour passes, my fingers feel steady in a way they weren’t before.
Not because everything is solved.
But because I’ve confirmed something important.
They were waiting.
Not for Anton.
For me.
It’s a heady feeling.
I’m ending the last call when Timofey walks into the bedroom.
The door closes softly behind him, and his eyes find me first. Then the phone in my hand. Then my face.
He doesn’t rush. He never does. He just studies me for a second longer than necessary.
“Who were you speaking to?” he asks quietly.
I tell him everything. About the contacts in Moscow. About the names I’ve just spoken to. About what they still are beneath the surface of Anton’s control. Not gone. Not broken. Just…waiting for me.
The Petrov network didn’t disappear when my father died. It went underground. Fragmented. Silent. But not erased.
And now, it’s responding again.
Timofey doesn’t interrupt me once. Not even when I pause. He just listens—fully, completely. When I finish, there’s a brief silence. Not heavy.
Then he exhales softly.
He smiles. “You’ve been busy.”
“I know. I think I’ve made over sixty calls. I’m exhausted.”
“I love you,” he says. “I trust you completely.” Then: “And I’m proud of you.”
The words land deeper than I expect them to. Not because they’re new; he’s said them a few times before. But because of the timing. Because of everything that sits between us and Anton, still waiting to break.
I let out a soft breath, something almost like a smile forming without permission.
“I already know,” I say gently. “I love you, too.”
