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He clicks his tongue, shaking his head. “See, I knew you’d say that. Knew you’d be brave.” He gestures toward my mother with the gun. “But the problem is, I’m not done with her yet.”
My mother makes a muffled sound, her eyes pleading with me, shaking her head wildly.
My stomach churns.
I take a slow step forward, my hands raised slightly. “Ryan, whatever this is, it doesn’t have to go this way.”
His smirk drops. “Oh, but it does. You see, Lila—” He sighs dramatically, like this whole situation inconveniences him more than anything. “You and your husband? You’ve made things…complicated.”
My heart clenches.
Mikhail.
This is about him.
Of course it is.
I stare at Ryan, my mind racing, my heart hammering so hard it hurts.
“So,” I breathe, my voice shaking slightly. “You’re not really a finance guy, are you?”
Ryan chuckles, tilting his head. “No, I’m not. But I needed a local to help me fly under the radar, someone who could show me the right places around here. And your friend?” He smirks. “Maggie was very helpful.”
A cold chill snakes down my spine.
That’s why he needed her.
My stomach lurches. “Why are you doing this?” I demand.
Ryan scoffs, shaking his head like the question amuses him. “Because, Lila, you and your husband have made things very inconvenient for me.”
I swallow hard. “And Alex? He’s with you?”
Ryan’s expression instantly darkens, his smirk vanishing.
“Alexei? He’s a bitch. Don’t even say that fucker’s name,” he snaps. “He betrayed me.”
I flinch at the venom in his voice. And that name, I’ve heard it before but I can’t remember where.
But if Alex isn’t involved. Then…who?
I barely get the question out before?—
A shadow shifts in the dim light of the warehouse.
Someone else steps out from behind the stacks of crates.
I turn slowly, my breath catching, my stomach dropping to my feet.
My mouth opens—then closes.
My brain refuses to believe what I’m seeing.
Standing there, looking perfectly at ease, hands in his pockets, is?—
My father.
I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut.