Page 16 of Claimed By my Ex’s Uncle

So, that seems to be an easy way to get them to do what I want. A good thing to have in my back pocket. The guard leads me through the corridors, and I feel a twist in my chest as we draw closer and closer to Ilya’s office, not sure exactly what I’m going to say to him, but certain that I will not let this opportunity slide.

The guard knocks on the door, and a voice barks from within.

"What is it?"

"Rose wants to speak with you."

"Tell her it can wait."

"She says it’s urgent. And that the police are on their way."

I hear movement from inside the room, and a moment later, the door opens. Ilya is standing on the other side, mouth set in a hard line. He glances to the guard and jerks his head down the corridor, indicating that he should go. The guard takes off. Turning his attention to me, Ilya’s eyes sweep up and down me, like he is just realizing that I’m wearing the clothes that he picked out for me.

"Come in," he tells me, pushing open the door.

I brush past him, holding my head high, trying to remind myself that I have every right to be here. I have information he’s going to need if he hopes to deal with the cops without landing in too much trouble. I don’t know much about his line of business, but I am pretty certain that he would rather keep law enforcement as far removed from it as possible.

"You called the cops?" he asks as he takes a seat behind his desk. I stay standing, raising my eyebrows as I play at incredulity.

"I didn’t need to," I reply. "Becky called me. Told me that they had been by my apartment, looking for me. Someone must have seen what you did at the store and realized I didn’t want to be stuck with you, so they sent someone."

"You sound pretty certain of that."

I stop in my tracks, suddenly surprised by his confidence. He doesn’t seem shaken at all, as though he is already completely aware of what is going on here. But there’s no way he can be, right? No way he can actually mean this.

"Why else would they be looking for me?" I shoot back. "I mean, it’s not like I’ve done anything."

"Because your ex pointed to you as the reason he’s been embezzling funds from his business for the last four years," he replies, not missing a beat. "And they think you might have an explanation for it."

I stand there, feet rooted to the ground, heart sinking like a weight into my guts. What the fuck? I search his face for something that will make sense of this, something that will admit to this being some kind of joke, but it doesn’t seem to come. He just stares back at me, not breaking my gaze for a moment, letting the news sink in.

"You... what are you talking about?"

He rises to his feet and pours himself a drink, seemingly utterly unbothered by my complete shock.

"I got a call from a friend in the police department a few hours ago," he replies. "After I dropped off your charger. Petar and his fiancée were arrested this morning on suspicion of embezzling funds from their business. And Petar said that you were the reason it had started at all. Said that you seduced him into providing a certain lifestyle for you, and he had to start stealing money just to pay for it. As far as they’re concerned, you’re the mastermind behind all of this, and if they get their hands on you..."

He shrugs.

"Who knows who they’ll believe, huh?"

My mouth is dry as my mind races, trying to make sense of everything he said to me. It can’t be real. It can’t be. Petar might be a cheating shithead, but embezzlement? And trying to point the finger at me as the reason behind it? Anyone who knows me knows that’s crazy. I am perfectly capable of providing for myself, and I would never look to a man to support me. Let alone manipulate someone into stealing money to take care of me.

I think back to Lisa coming into the store, flashing that enormous ring right in my face. Did he pay for that with funds that he stole? Is she the one behind all of this?

"So, if you want, tell the police where you are," Ilya says, taking a sip of the drink in his hand, letting the glass play against his lips. "But you might not like what they have to say when they get their hands on you."

I feel like I am going to throw up. Would Petar do something like that? I grope back in my mind to find some logic to it, but there’s nothing. I’ve always known Petar to just say or do whatever it takes to get him out of a problem there in the moment, but this, even for him, is crazy. I can’t believe that he would pull something this stupid. Doesn’t he realize how it makes him look, pointing at me? If I had known that he was involved with something like this while we were together, I would have dumped his ass in a second.

And now, even though we are ancient history, he’s still trying to drag me back into his life. Throw me under the bus to save his new fiancée.

God, now that I think about it, it sounds just like him.

But before I can get another word out, the door opens, and I glance around to see a man I don’t recognize standing there. He looks to be a little older than Ilya, with a scar that runs from just above his right eyebrow down to his neck. He hardly even acknowledges my presence there in the room, focused entirely on Ilya.

"Report?” Ilya asks him, lifting his chin expectantly.

"Nothing to report here," the man replies curtly. "The footage from the store has been scrubbed. No sign that you were there at all."