Page 113

I try focusing on something—anything—but the only thing I can hear is the muffled voices of the men, their harsh words, and the beat of my heart.
Papa’s anger, his voice so commanding like it used to be back when we were in Italy, only makes my chest tighten.
My throat feels as though it’s closing up, and the tears won’t stop falling down my face.
I can’t think straight.
I can’t do anythingbutbreak away from my brother’s arms, pulling backward from him, forcing myself to meet their eyes.
I don’t want to look, but I can’t help myself.
My gaze flickers to Nikolai and Mikhail, and my heart stutters in my chest.
It feels as though time slows down, like every second is stretched into a painful eternity.
Their eyes lock with mine at once, and the raw intensity in both of their stares make my stomach flip.
Nikolai’s gaze is sharp, almost as if he’s seeing straight through me. There’s something dark behind those icy blue eyes of his, something cold and calculating, but also something powerful too. It makes my skin prickle. I can’t breathe under his stare. His jaw is clenched tight, and although he doesn’t say aword, the pressure in the air around us is suffocating. I feel like he’s crushing me with just a single look.
Mikhail’s gaze is different, but just as powerful. He stands beside his brother, his posture relaxed, yet also commanding. The faintest of smiles plays on his lips, and when he catches me staring, he winks in my direction. His eyes flicker from mine, to Papa’s, then back to me, and I know that deep down, he’s thinking about what’s happening, and what’s to come.
I am too.
I can’t tear my eyes away from theirs.
My legs feel weak, my body suddenly heavy.
I want to shout. I want to put a stop to this madness, but I can’t even try.
My heart races faster, my breathing shallow as I try steadying myself. But the more I look at them, the more it feels like the walls are closing in all around me, leaving me trapped in a world I don’t understand.
My fingers curl into fists by my sides, and I can’t stop the sinking feeling in my stomach.
I can’t escape the gaze of the men who are now a part of this.
As the arguing reaches a new level of loudness, I hear Isaak shouting, and his words are full of a rawness I would never have expected to hear fromhim.
“I have lost one child, and almost lost another! I found Chiara alive and well, and I did what I would want somebody to do for my child, Francesco! What more do you want from me?!”
The tension in the room shifts, the atmosphere suddenly becoming thick with something darker, and something deeper.
Everybody turns to look at Isaak, but I can only focus on the twins; on Nikolai, and on Mikhail.
Slowly, I watch the way their expressions change; twin mirrors of pure shock and confusion.
For a solid second, nobody moves.
It’s like the entire world stops.
My heart beats so loudly that it drowns out everything else around me.
I can’t help but wonder what else.
What else is left to be revealed this evening?
They don’t speak. Not yet.
Instead, they look from their father to me, and for a moment, I’m frozen under the weight of their stares.