Page 94 of The Pakhan’s Debt by Leona White

Sergei laughs under his breath. “No.”

I tilt my head. “No?”

“No, Elena. That only makes his control visible, and it leaves the real ownership open to challenge.” He taps the table with his knife. “You should know this.”

I ignore the bite. “So we shut down the old shells, confirm ownership, then cancel the proxies.” I give him just enough wrong.

His mouth pulls tight.

Beautiful.

“No. Cancel the old proxy chain first, or the old nominees can move before your new filing takes hold.”

I keep my eyes on his face. “Then we confirm ownership?”

“Still wrong.”

I reach for my tea and let him see me hesitate. “Then explain it.”

He studies me for a few seconds, and I feel the old pull of wanting his approval and expecting his disappointment. That same tone from my childhood, when he made me chase the answer until I earned a nod. I press my palm lightly to my stomach under the table. Not today.

Sergei watches the movement. “You understand now.”

“I understand you turned my child into a claim.”

“I protected the line.”

Coming from him, it’s rich. “You protected your leverage,” I say.

“Both can be true.”

My hand tightens around the tea glass, and I take a sip because throwing it at him would waste good tea.

“You said I only know the surface,” I say. “So what’s under it?”

He glances at Maksim. “He can’t hear this.”

“He hears what I hear.”

“That is dangerous.”

I hold his gaze. “So am I.”

Sergei looks pleased with himself. “Succession language comes last, tied to both signatures. If you rush it, the child can be contested.”

I keep my hand still on the table.

“That’s why you put me there,” I say. “Not as collateral.”

His smile widens by one careful inch.

“As the Volkov bridge,” he says.

Behind him, Maksim’s fingers close around his cup, then stop.

Sergei leans back, proud enough to forget caution. “The old men wanted leverage. They never understood structure. You did. I built you into their empire, and now they need you to cross their own paper.”

My throat tightens, but I keep my face still.