Page 125 of His Darkest Obsession

How the hell does he know that? The only people who should know are Anatoly and...

No…

Vassily takes advantage of my shock and drags me down the corridor to a heavy wooden door into an old room that smells musty from disuse. As soon as we're inside, he shoves me forward roughly, and I brace myself as I crash against the large oak desk.

The moment I do, a familiar nightmarish memory I've tried desperately to bury swims to the surface. Fingers digging against the wood. The antiseptic smell of a hospital. A pen trembling between my fingers as I signed away my dignity and my truth through a blur of tears.

Blinking away my panic, I force myself up to face mother and son. My eyes dart back and forth between them.

"How do you know that name?"

"If there is one thing I taught my sons well," Valentina answers. "It's loyalty tofamily."

She circles the desk, running her fingers along its surface like she's inspecting it for dust.

"They keep nothing from each other," she continues. "They shareeverything. Including secrets."

I try to keep my face neutral and my expression brave. But inside, I'm shaking. Is she telling the truth? Did Anatoly really tell his family everything about me? About my real name? Has he been telling them everything this entire time?

I want to believe he didn't. I desperately need to believe he wouldn't betray me like that.

But how else would Vassily know to call me Amelia?

And didn't I just overhear Anatoly discussing the NDA with Roma?

How much more proof do I need before I accept the truth that no-one in this family gives two shits about me?

Valentina's lips curl into a cold smile. "Unfortunately, Anatoly never took that lesson to heart."

A tiny flicker of relief lightens the crushing weight in my chest at the knowledge that Anatoly didn't betray me to his family. But the relief is nothing compared to the dread of knowing that he is still workingwithBennet.

Valentina runs a finger through her immaculate hair as she continues. "But thank God my daughter-in-law told me enough that I could start digging."

"But I-I'm your daughter-in-law," I stammer, my voice barely above a whisper.

Valentina's face transforms in an instant. What little mask of civility drops and she closes the distance between us in a few quick strides. Before I realize what's happening, her hand explodes across my face with shocking force. Pain blooms across my cheek and my head snaps sideways.

"Myrealdaughter-in-law is Lola Tarasovna Volkov," she hisses. "And not a whore from the Bronx."

I instinctively reach up to touch my stinging face. But before my fingers make contact, Valentina slaps me again. The second slap lands even harder than the first, making my eyes water.

"Hands at your sides," she orders. "And look at me."

I obey, letting my arms hang limply as I force myself to meet her gaze. My cheek throbs in time with my racing heartbeat.

This time, she reaches forward to grabs my face, fingers digging into my jaw. Unlike the first time she did it on the day I met her, she doesn't dig her nails into my skin. But the grip is still firm enough that I can't move my head.

From the corner of my eye, I can see Vassily watching us with an expression that makes my skin crawl. His tongue darts out to wet his lips over and over again. His eyes gleam with something dark and hungry. He shifts his weight from foot to foot like he can barely contain himself, waiting for his turn to touch me.

Bile rises in my throat. I swallow hard against the nausea.

"This won't be the first time I've dealt with a Baryshev man who picked a whore over his wife," Valentina speaks slowly. "I did it to Stepan, and I will do whatever it takes when it comes to Anatoly if I have to."

What?

Terror courses through me like electricity until every nerve is crackling with it. My lungs constrict until I can barely draw breath. Yet in spite of my fear, I keep focusing on what she said.

My mind races back to Svetlana's words weeks ago. About how Anatoly's father Stepan had humiliated Valentina by having an affair. About how Valentina took vengeance for that humiliation and put a hit on Stepan.