Page 96 of Her Darkest Possession

Webb's jaw clenches so tight I can almost hear his teeth grinding. "Yes," he finally spits out. "He's free to go."

As we walk out of the interrogation room, I can't shake this nagging feeling in the back of my head.

Something isn't adding up. I still can't quite figure out why Lola would want to do this. Why go through all this trouble?

When we turn down the hallways, I spot Roma standing by the wall and looking agitated. He rushes over as soon as he sees me.

"Tolya, sorry about having to do things the old-fashioned way," he says. "I tried sending the file directly to Kaufman but the internet was completely fucked at the mansion. Didn't realize until he called me."

That's when it hits me.

The internet was fucked but the mobile line was still working.

That's not a fucking a coincidence.

Someone was deliberately targeting our connection. Someone who needed our security system compromised.

I grab Roma's arm roughly. "How many men do we have at the mansion right now?"

Roma looks confused. "Just the usual guards, plus whoever might have arrived after I left to come here."

"Who else is at the house?" I demand, my grip tightening.

"Svetlana is still recovering in the east wing. Amara was there with your wife when I left." Roma starts to continue, "I can put men on finding who the current Ivan Yumatov is?—"

"No," I interrupt him sharply. "The internet being down wasn't an accident."

Roma's eyes widen as understanding dawns. "You don't think?—"

Before he can finish, my phone starts ringing.

The caller ID is masked, but I already know who it is.

"What did you fucking do," I answer, keeping my voice measured despite the rage building inside me.

"Ooh, so aggressive, Tolya." Lola's sing-song voice comes through the line. "Is that any way to talk to your wife?"

"Where the fuck are you, Lola?" I demand.

"Why don't you take a guess, Tolya?"

Her voice pulls away from the phone for a moment and I strain to hear what's in the background. At first, I hear nothing. Then, the sound of rushing wind and the unmistakable crash of waves against a cliff edge.

She's at the fucking mansion!

Now it all makes sense. Lola must've been behind the internet outage. She deliberately orchestrated it so that Roma would be away from the mansion, leaving Vassily alone with just a few guards.

I lock eyes with Roma and motion urgently toward the car. He nods and quickens his pace. We exit the precinct and rush for the car, and Roma is already pulling out the keys as soon as the first gust of cold air hits our face.

"How the fuck did you do it?" I ask. "How did you cut the internet?"

"Oh, Tolya," she sighs. "You should really be careful about who you choose to insult these days. I mean, when I heard what you did to poor Valentina Ivanovna… To be cast out of her own home by her eldest son. Well, I assured her that I'll return her to her rightful place. After I clear out the rats, of course. She was theone who installed those lines years ago. And she showed me exactly where she needed to cut."

Red creeps into my vision at the mention of my mother helping Lola do this.

After the mercy Indigo showed her by letting her walk away with her life intact. This is how she repays us?

"I made the mistake of mercy once, Lola." I say, my voice dangerously calm as I get into the car with Roma. "I won't fucking do it again."