LOGIN"Is Sergei with you?"Lily did not bother with greetings the moment Viktor answered the call.There was a brief silence on the other end before Viktor spoke."Well, you asking for another man immediately after I pick up the call is not exactly a good omen.” He said, “Are you trying to get me jealous?”"I asked if Sergei is with you." Lily said again, in no mood for this back-and-forth."No," Viktor finally said. "I haven't seen Sergei since he left the party a couple of hours ago. He followed after Nikolai, I think."Lily closed the bedroom door behind her and lowered her voice."Are you sure?""I would know if he was standing in front of me, wouldn’t I?”She exhaled shakily."Damn it."The change in her tone immediately caught Viktor's attention."What happened?" he asked instantly.She hesitated. Then she rubbed a hand over her forehead."I think Nikolai knows."There was a slight pause."Knows what?""He knows Sergei is the mole."“Now how could he possibly know that?”“I have no i
NIKOLAI "What the fuck is this?"I was already on my feet, shoving the chair backward hard enough for it to crash against the wall."No..." I muttered, "No... this isn't possible."The letter trembled in my hand now, as my eyes darted over the words again and again. Something here had to be wrong. There had to be another Sergei this was referring to."There has to be," I growled. “There has to be some sort of misunderstanding here.”The first letter I had found inside my father's journal had been from a woman that was confessing that she was carrying his child.At first, I had thought it to be impossible, as my father had never mentioned or even hinted to me that I had a sibling somewhere in the world. But then, my father had written about everything so vividly in his journals that it really was hard to miss.He could not risk accepting the child as his, which was why it was kept a secret all of this time. It was a tough pill to swallow, because even though I knew that my father was
"Where's Nikolai?"Sergei shrugged off his coat as he stepped into the mansion, the warmth of the house replacing the biting cold outside.Lily looked up from where she sat on one of the sofas, a glass of wine resting lazily in her hand.She rolled her eyes."He's in his study."Sergei arched a brow."Oh?""He came home a couple of hours ago." She took another sip before letting out a scoff. "Didn't even say a word to me."A smirk tugged at her lips."Whatever happened at that party must have been epic."Sergei chuckled quietly."It was quite entertaining." He said,"I wish I could have seen his face.""You should have."Lily laughed."I've never seen him lose his composure before.""He nearly lunged at Viktor.""Really?" she asked, “Because of his dear Katya.”“She was there too.”Her grin widened."Even better."She leaned back comfortably."I suppose tonight couldn't have gone any better.""No." Sergei smiled to himself. "It couldn't have."The image of Nikolai standing in the midd
NIKOLAI "Nikolai?"I barely registered Lily's voice as I walked through the front doors of the mansion."Nikolai." She hurried after me. "What happened?"I kept walking."You look bothered," she said as she stepped in front of me now, forcing me to stop. "How did the outing go?"I walked around Lily without answering. I could see the irritation on her face now."Did something happen?" she asked again.I climbed the stairs two at a time before disappearing into my study. The moment the door closed behind me, silence swallowed the room.I stood there for several seconds unsure of how to even proceed at first.My hand instinctively reached inside my jacket. The folded piece of paper was still there. I'd read it so many times during the drive home that the edges were already beginning to soften.I unfolded it again and my eyes moved across the familiar handwriting.I am sorry, Nikolai. It is Sergei. He is your mole. That was all there was in the letter.No explanation or anything else.
KATYA"I have to admit, Katya… I did not think you had it in you."My father's applause echoed through the enormous sitting room as he slowly circled me like a predator admiring its prey.A strange smile spread across his face."There may actually be a little Orlov blood in you after all."I forced myself to smile back, even though every instinct in me wanted to wipe that smug look off his face.Instead, I remained exactly where I was. Calm and obedient like the daughter he suddenly believed he had reclaimed."I'll be honest," Viktor continued, folding his hands behind his back. "A part of me expected you to fail the moment you set eyes on Nikolai."I let out a dry laugh."You opened my eyes." I finally said,He stopped walking."Oh?""I couldn't believe how stupid I'd actually been."The words tasted bitter on my tongue."I actually thought..." I shook my head, letting out another laugh. "I honestly thought I was falling in love with him."Viktor watched me carefully."What was I thi
NIKOLAI “They are trying to get a rise out of me.”I stared at the cream-colored invitation Sergei had placed on my desk, my fingers tightening around the thick card-stock until it creased beneath my grip.Sergei stood across from the desk with his arms folded, watching me carefully.Viktor Orlov requests the honor of your presence… This motherfucker clearly had some nerve.My jaw clenched.The celebration was to formally introduce his daughter, Katya Orlov, to the Bratva families.For a long second, I simply stared at it all, and then I laughed.“To think she swore to me she had nothing to do with her father.” I muttered,If the disappearance of the Concord had not confirmed my suspicions before...This certainly did."Of course she was lying." Sergei snorted.I looked up."It is that evident in this," he continued. "Why else would Viktor throw a full-blown party in her honor? Come on, Nikolai."I exhaled slowly through my nose.The image of Katya crying in the cell flashed through
KATYAWe landed in Russia three hours later.I stared out the window at the gray skies and endless stretch of snow-covered ground while panic clawed its way through my chest again.This could not be real.People did not just get kidnapped and flown across the world because their estranged father ap
KATYAMy voice shook violently from the ache splitting my chest open so painfully I genuinely thought I might collapse right there on the balcony.Nikolai did not move.The mark from my slap still burned faintly against his cheek but he barely seemed to notice it.“You satisfied now?” I asked shaki
KATYAThe next morning, Nikolai came to the dungeon.I knew it was morning only because a maid had brought food earlier and judging by the exhaustion sitting heavy in my body, I had slept at some point during the night curled up on the thin mattress shoved into the corner of the cell.The food tray
NIKOLAII walked into my father’s study where his council were waiting.“Nikolai” One of them clasped me on the back.“I did not think you would arrive so soon and with the girl.” My father’s second in command nodded at me.“It was not hard to find her” I said.No way was I going to tell them to th







