I got out of bed and walked over to the couch, then sank into it. My fingers combed through my hair as I began to carefully analyze the side of the Vetrov story that was hidden from the public.
It turned out that the man I thought was wrongfully convicted had chosen prison over his freedom. He made a deal with the Bratva behind closed doors, and even his family was unaware of it. They also believed he was forced to confess to a crime he didn’t commit.
But that wasn’t the full story.
His imprisonment was the only reason they were still walking God’s green earth. If he hadn’t taken the fall and the Tarasov Bratva hadn’t cleared his debt, they’d all be dead by now.
In a way, it was a win-win situation for both parties. The Bratva wasn’t associated with the bombing, and Vetrov’s family was spared. Case closed.
If I’d known this earlier, I wouldn’t have bothered with the case at all. But that wasn’t even the most disturbing part. The more I thought about it, the more I began to view the world through a different lens.
The lines I once believed in so fervently—right and wrong, good and evil—were blurring. Karik believed I was naive and fartoo optimistic for this world. Maybe he wasn’t wrong. Maybe I’d been living in a fantasy world this whole time.
He said I believed everyone was innocent until proven guilty, but in reality, the opposite was true. That was before he revealed that the half a dozen men who died in that explosion weren’t as innocent as I thought.
Even the warehouse that was bombed was just a front; despicable things went on underground. In essence, he was saying that everything I knew about the case was a lie. Half-truths at best.
“Open your eyes. The world isn’t black and white,”his words echoed in my head.
At this point, I started to question everything that I was taught, everything I thought I knew.
The knock on my door snapped me back to the present. I whipped my head toward the entrance. “Come on in. It’s open.”
It was Agata.
She stepped inside and closed the door behind her, her head slightly lowered. “Ma’am, do you have a minute?”
I squinted at her subtle unease, wondering the reason behind it. “Sure.”
She stopped a few paces in front of the couch, fingers scratching the back of her head.
“What’s the matter? Is everything all right?” I asked, concerned.
“Um…I’m really not sure.”
The fine leather crunched beneath my weight as I leaned in, watching her closely. “Is it Karik?”
She swallowed hard, unable to meet my gaze.
My face twisted into a faint scowl. “Did he yell at you again?”
“Ohh, no, no.” Her response was swift, her eyes glancing up at my face. “He didn’t. It’s just….”
A pause.
“Well, spit it out already. What did he do that’s got you so worked up?”
She hesitated, rubbing her greasy palms over her black-and-white dress. “It’s embarrassing,” she whispered.
I raised my brows, thinking nothing could be as embarrassing as the nasty things I said to him in bed. But nevertheless, I was eager to hear what she was so embarrassed about.
“I’m sure it can’t be that bad,” I said. “I mean, it’s not like he caught you fucking or something.” A quiet laugh escaped my lips.
It was supposed to be a joke.
But for some reason, she didn’t find it funny. Instead, she lowered her head again, as if to hide the guilt etched in her face.
My smile slowly broadened as it dawned on me that I might’ve guessed right. “Wait a minute.” I rose to my feet, my gaze pinned on her. “Did he actually catch you…?”
