Page 18 of Inked in Devotion

“Miss King, do you deny Mr. Petrov’s claim as your son’s biological father?”

Kolya and I locked eyes.

“No,” I whispered. Theo froze beside me. It wasn’t what we discussed, but face-to-face with Kolya, I couldn’t do that to him. And I forgot why I requested it in the first place.

“Louder, Miss King.”

“No.”

“And if there’s any doubt in this room,” Kolya said smugly. “I’m willing to submit to a DNA test.”

“Both will be done, regardless,” Eliza said. “For the records.”

Theo leaned forward to address Eliza. “We question his fitness to have unfettered access to Sebastian without supervision.”

Kolya slowly turned to Theo.

The two eyed each other steadily. “Mr. Petrov is an active member of an organized crime syndicate,” Theo continued. “He is their enforcer, and we know what that means.”

“Please do elaborate,” Kolya drawled. “Are you saying I’m a murderous son of a bitch?”

Eliza cut Kolya a glare. “I’m this close to ejecting you from the room.”

Kirill snorted, gaining her ire.

“This is not a joke,” Eliza stressed. “We’re talking about a child, and I’m clearly seeing the risks involved here. There’s an incident reported where you entered the building of Chloe’s residence and threatened the concierge at gunpoint. And it was recorded that you had four guns, four knives, and a…machete.”

Maksim groaned and glared at his brother and Kolya. I’d only noticed that the legal teams on both sides were scribbling furiously.

“I willingly submitted to a search and was divested of my weapons,” Kolya said in a tone that reminded me of a wolf who’d been asked to justify his fangs.

“Miss King, do you fear for your safety in the presence of Mr. Petrov?” Eliza asked.

For some reason, I wasn’t afraid of Kolya. Not for me. But I feared what he represented. He was an enforcer. He killed for the bratva.

“No. But I don’t want him armed around my son.”

Kolya opened his mouth, but thought better of it and didn’t say a word.

“Miss King, how is your relationship with Sebastian?”

I swallowed dreading that question. I had to admit in the arbitration that I’d been away from my son for a few months because I had feared for my life and my son’s. I didn’t want them to think I was hiding that information.

“He’s adjusting better to me.”

“But at this stage, is Sebastian regarding Dora Ellis as the primary caregiver?”

“Yes.”

“Will opening the NGO interfere with your care for Sebastian?”

“There are many women capable of working and raising a child,” I replied.

“Dr. Hawthorne, the Zahkarovs will embrace Sebastian as our own,” Maksim said. “Sebastian’s biological father will contribute to his care and support Miss King’s pursuit of opening her NGO.”

“We can hire an army of nannies if need be…Dr. Hawthorne,” Theo redirected.

“Mr. King thinks this army of nannies is sufficient, especially since he used them to raise his eight-year-old son.” Maksim was looking at Eliza, but it was a direct jibe at Theo. Come to think of it, I hadn’t met my nephew.