Page 22

CHAPTER 22

Oleksi

On the way to the penthouse the elevator ride is quiet and as I hold Sabrina against me, my mind is in fucking turmoil. When did Gavriil and Irina have a kid? Shit! I saw her a month before they were killed and she wasn’t pregnant nor did my brother, aunt, or cousin mention anything about them having a baby. I would’ve known if they had a kid.

The elevator dings to a stop and the doors slide open. Syd is there waiting for us. Her face is pale and drawn.

Sabrina's eyes dart to her immediately. “Where's Elena?” she demands, her voice edged with concern sensing that Syd is there with bad news.

“She's fine,” Syd assures quickly. “Elena is sleeping peacefully in the nursery.”

But Sabrina isn't convinced. She brushes past us, her footsteps echoing down the hallway as she rushes to see her daughter for herself.

I turn to Syd. “What is it?”

She hesitates, then speaks. “Sam called. It's about your aunt and Nikolas.”

My stomach tightens. “What happened?”

“Their yacht has gone missing,” she says, her voice barely above a whisper. “Sam received a distress call from Nikolas, and then... nothing. The yacht just disappeared like it was sucked into the fucking Bermuda triangle, only they were nowhere near it. Search teams are out now looking for them.”

“Damn it!” I hiss, running a hand through my hair. “Where were they when it disappeared?”

“Near Trabzon. You know the Turkish port city on the Black Sea coast, not far from the Georgian border.” Syd’s words send bolts of tiny shock waves through my system.

“What the fuck were they doing there?” I stare at her in disbelief. “I thought they were cruising through the Bahamas.” I rub my jaw. “That’s thousands of kilometers in the wrong direction!”

“I tried to find out from Sam but he’s as in the dark as we are,” Syd tells me but there is something in her voice and eyes that makes me think she doesn’t believe Sam.

“You think Sam’s not telling you the truth,” I point out.

“I think he knows more than he’s letting on,” Syd confirms. “About everything… ”

Before Syd can elaborate, Sabrina reappears, her face flushed.

“Don’t say a word about the yacht missing. Sabrina’s mother and Mark Dalton are on that cruise.”

“I know.” Syd nods.

“I just called my mother's phone,” Sabrina says, breathless. “Someone else answered. A woman who couldn’t speak a word of fucking English.” Her voice is raised in panic. “I asked her why she has my mother’s phone and was told that the phone was left in a hotel room. The woman is a housekeeper there and was taking it to the lost and found.”

“What?” My chest tightens. “Where? Where is the hotel?” I ask, my senses on high alert.

Sabrina looks confused. “Moscow,” she replies.

That cannot be a coincidence! The blood pumps faster through my veins as my heart picks up speed and I glance at Syd. “Get the jet ready. Pack your bags and round up Lev and Ivan”

“Of course.” Syd nods.

I turn to Sabrina. “How soon can you get packed and ready?”

She looks at me, confusion and worry etched on her face. “Why?”

“We're going to Russia,” I state firmly. “I hope you still keep your passport with you at all times?”

Sabrina

My heart skips a beat. Russia—again. At least this time, it's by jet, not a frantic drive across Europe.

“Twenty minutes,” I say, then pause, thinking of Elena. “Maybe longer, because of Elena.”

“Don't worry,” Syd interjects. “I'll have Magda get her ready.”

I nod, grateful.

“Oh, tell Magda to get ready as she’ll be coming with us to help with Elena,” he orders Syd and looks at me. “We’ll need Magda’s help with Elena as you and I have a lot to do there.”

He’s right and I nod then remember something. “Shit, I need to get the box.”

Before Oleksi can protest, I'm already moving, taking the elevator down to his office. Once there, I gather the birth certificate, letters, and photo. In my haste, I accidentally knock the box off the table. It hits the floor with a dull thud, and to my surprise, a false bottom pops open, revealing another hidden document.

Frowning, I pick it up. There's handwriting on the back:

Ask Sabrina if this will do and how we can change it to suit our needs .

Thanks T.

Gav

I flip it over and my breath catches. Adoption papers, dated a day after Gavriil's letter to the hospital in Moscow where he was asking for Lidiya Zorin’s birth certificate.

“What the hell?” I whisper.

Shoving everything back into the box, I race back to the penthouse. It’s the longest fucking elevator ride in history. I push through the doors before they are fully open as my heart is pumping in my ears. Oleksi is no longer in the hallway. Syd is gone and the study is empty too.

I dash for the bedroom, bursting in—and come to a complete halt.

Oleksi stands by the dresser, shirtless, and my breath catches hard in my throat.

Sunlight filters through the tall windows, casting a warm golden hue across his skin. His broad shoulders taper into arms roped with muscle, every inch of him carved like he was poured into a mold designed to make women forget how to breathe. The sun glints off his chest highlighting the sharp definition of his pecs and the taut ridges of his abdomen—six hard lines that look like they were chiseled straight out of marble.

His belt is undone, hanging low on his hips, the open waistband of his trousers hinting at the dark trail that disappears beneath the fabric. That V—the one that should come with a warning label—draws my eyes like a magnet. My mouth goes dry.

He glances up and catches me staring, one brow lifting with the kind of raw, masculine confidence that makes heat bloom between my thighs.

“See something you like, malenkaya?” he drawls, his voice a decadent rumble.

Despite the urgency, a flush creeps up my neck. He strides over, fingers threading through my hair as he pulls me into a searing kiss that leaves me breathless.

Pulling back, he murmurs, “Nothing I'd like more than to bend you over the desk and make you scream my name as I’m buried deep inside you. But it'll have to wait until we're on the jet, maybe?” he teases wickedly.

I swallow hard, trying to regain focus. “Oleksi, I think I've solved the mystery of Gavriil and Irina's son.”

He pulls back, eyes narrowing. “What do you mean?”

I hand him the document. “Adoption papers,” I explain, pointing to the note on the back. “I think Gavriil wanted Tara to ask me to modify them for an adoption.”“

He scans the papers, shock evident on his face. “Where did you find these?”

“While I was retrieving the other papers and the photos I accidently knocked the box off the coffee and table and when it hit the ground I found it had a false bottom,” I explain. “This was hidden in it.”

He frowns, deep in thought. “Why would Tara hide this?”

“I have no idea.” I shake my head. “But the only thing filled in on the document is a date—dated the day after he sent that letter to the hospital in Moscow.” I point to the page where it is.

Oleksi looks at him in disbelief. “My brother and Irina were adopting?”

“Kirill said they had a son a few days before they were killed,” I remind him. “Maybe they got the child—a son. Maybe Tara disappeared to get it for them and was bringing it to them when…”

“They were killed,” Oleksi said. “Pavel told Syd that night the man he’d overheard speaking to Gavriil said his time was up to deliver.” His frown deepens.

“We thought maybe he had to deliver Tara,” I add and my eyes widen. “Oh fuck!” Suddenly I’m finding it hard to breathe. “Oleksi what if Tara and Gavriil got the baby…”

“Illegally and they wanted something in return from my brother,” Oleksi picks up on my line of thought. “They can’t deliver or run out of time to deliver.”

“Tara has already taken the baby…” I swallow.

“They retaliate.” I see his eyes darken with pain as he recalls his brother’s murder. “Tara takes off with the boy to hide him.”

“She thinks Kirill and Stephan are after the baby not knowing who they are.” I know I’m reaching here but now my mind is spinning.

There are so many unanswered questions and I’m playing in a world I’ve just stepped into. A world where people steal babies, or get them on the black market where people don’t so much as blink an eye before brutally murdering someone. And my sister is caught in the middle of all this—no wonder she was so scared about her pregnancy.

My eyes widen once again—oh fuck—Elena! My stomach clenches and my eyes settle on Oleksi. He’s just standing there staring at—processing this new development. Guilt washes over me. I’m torn between loyalty to my sister and knowing it’s time to tell Oleksi the truth. My brow furrows. Wait a minute. Why are they adopting if Gavriil was clearly fertile?

“Can I see that adoption document again?” Oleksi nods and hands it to me.

I read it more in depth and suck in my breath looking up at him. “Something else has been marked on page two of the document.” I turn it to show him. Under reason for process Gavriil has scribbled, three failed pregnancies. The longest my wife carried was three months.

“I didn’t even know they were trying,” Oleksi’s voice is low and hoarse with emotion. He raises his eyes to mine and they are haunted. “He never told us about this. Or at least not me.”

“Maybe he was going to tell you all when they had their little boy,” I reason, and I know now is the time to tell him about Elena. “Oleksi there is…”

A knock on the door distracts us and he quickly fastens his belt and pulls on his shirt. I’m not even sure he heard what I said as he barks. “Come in.”

The door opens and Syd steps in. “The jet is ready when you are.”

“Thanks, Syd, we’ll be there in ten.” He looks at me as she leaves. “Are you okay?”

I nod, my nerves zinging. Fuck did I really just nearly tell him about Elena? Maybe Syd interrupting was fate’s way of telling me not to. “I just need to pack. I won’t be long.”

He kisses me on the forehead. “I’ll be in the study when you’re ready.”

I nod and watch him go still zinging from what I’d almost done.