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A violent tremor rolls through Gregory’s body as he looks at me, and I see the truth there.

No. No, this can’t be true. He’s lying.

“You know what to do, Gregory,” our father says against his ear, the grip on his shoulder firm, possessive. “Now is chance to prove yourself. To show you are man, not boy.”

I can’t let this happen. I can’t let him do this to Gregory!

Tatiana’s cries grow louder, desperate pleas spilling from her lips, while my mind struggles to catch up, to piece together the nightmare unraveling before me.

My father’s gaze shifts back to mine—dark, venomous. “She is traitor. You know what we do to traitors, don’t you, my son?”

“No!” My head snaps toward Gregory, his shoulders shaking, his eyes cast downward as if afraid to meet mine. “Don’t listen to him, Gregory! This isn’t you. You don’t have to do this. You don’t want to be like them. I know you. I love you! Please, don’t do this!”

Silent cries wrack through him, but our father only tightens his hold.

“Oh, he will. This has been plan all along.”

I blink, heart pounding against my ribs. “What do you mean? What are you talking about?”

A slow, knowing smile spreads across his face. “You thought you could take my son from me? You thought you could keep him away?” He scoffs.

The room tilts, the walls closing in around me. Nothing makes sense.

“Gregory…what is he talking about?”

Laughter, dark and triumphant, echoes through the space. “I’ve always been one step ahead, dochinka.”Daughter. “I had someone very useful helping,” my father taunts. “It was only reason I was able to reach my boy and talk to him all these years.”

A sharp inhale sticks in my throat. “Who?” My pulse pounds violently. “Who helped you?”

His smirk deepens. “You don’t worry about it.” Then he turns back to Gregory, his tone deceptively gentle. “Now, son. Do what must be done. End her.”

A sob shudders through Gregory’s small frame as he lifts the gun, his hands unsteady. And then his eyes find mine.

Everything inside me shatters.

Because the little boy I once knew, the one I swore to protect, is gone. And I don’t know what he’ll do next.

CHAPTER51

CILLIAN

“Please!”Lenny cries out, blood dripping from the deep slash across his face as Konstantin idly spins a knife between his fingers.

Another wound splits his chest open, but we’re still nowhere closer to the truth. I pace the length of Konstantin’s den, my pulse hammering, fury burning through my veins. We need to find Dinara. Now. Every second wasted is a second too long.

But the thought I keep pushing away slams into me again: she could already be dead.

Konstantin’s mole did give us a location, but by the time we got there, it was cleared out. Someone tipped them off. Konstantin believes Lenny is the rat, and honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised. I remember overhearing that suspicious conversation in Dinara’s room all those years ago. Told Konstantin as much. Now we just need Lenny to confess—to give us something, anything, to work with.

Konstantin leans back in his chair, unnervingly calm. “It’s in your best interest to tell me the truth. You know what happens when I grow impatient, yes?”

Lenny shudders. “Please! I would never betray you. I’m not stupid. I know what you’d do to my family.”

“Maybe.” Konstantin tilts his head. “Then answer me. Why were you in Dinara’s room that day? Who were you talking to?”

“That was a mistake, I swear!” Lenny pleads. “My wife, she called from Russia while I was looking for Sonya. I just stepped into the room for privacy because Dinara wasn’t there. That’s all! I didn’t touch anything. I didn’t do anything.” His breath shudders as he sobs. “Check my international calls. It was my wife. She was fighting with her father back home, trying to drag me into it, but I told her I was not getting involved. That’s the truth.”

“Aleksei is already checking,” Konstantin says coolly.