Page 9

The next morning came early.

And without a text back from Sevan.

Although, I noticed she turned on her read receipts just so I would know she had seen it.

Breakfast was perfect—yes I had my Xanax and a plate of Blini, known as Russian pancakes.

But I also had the last word.

So I ate like a fucking champion.

"You are very happy this morning," Yury said as I sat down my fork.

I nodded once, "Ecstatic," I said, even if the stoic look on my face said otherwise.

"She probably hurt someone," Arina mumbled, poking at her pancakes.

Nikolai nodded, "Yes, that's one way to get our Via very happy," he said, which only earned a lazy nod from me in confirmation as I picked my fork back up to continue eating.

Until my phone buzzed once.

My fork clattered onto the delicate glass plate, noticing the familiar number that I refused to label in my phone.

My previous content faded, snatching my phone from the table to open the text she sent me.

Or the video.

"I go upstairs," I mumbled under my breath to everyone seated at the table.

And before they had a chance to respond, I had stood from the table and made my way out of the public space.

Misha and Varya immediately rushed to my sides, following me as I made my way upstairs.

The air was tense and almost suffocating, hating the idea of Sevan getting the upper hand.

Which was no longer an idea in my head.

Not as I sat in my room, my leg bouncing wildly up and down as I watched the video of her between another woman's legs.

She stared at the camera the entire time—the flash glistening against her smooth skin.

I balled my hand into a fist, flinging my phone on my bed as I stood from my bed.

The video continued playing.

The woman's moans echoed throughout my room—repeating Sevan's name over and over again for mercy under her touch.

I tugged my nightstand drawer open, grabbing one of my usual cigars and a lighter.

I don't want her to touch me.

No one touches me.

I want to make her feel powerless.

I will make her feel powerless.

I puffed out a long exhale of smoke, ignoring the video that echoed around me.

Instead, I took another long drag—letting out the smokey cloud only to take another deep inhale from the cigar.

I glanced up from the floor that my foot anxiously tapped on, hearing the video finally come to a halt.

My jaw clenched at the thought that suddenly surfaced to the front of my head, taking another long puff from my cigar.

But it didn't make the thought go away.

Especially not after I glanced over to my bright phone laying on my bed.

How it remained paused on Sevan between her legs—half of her face buried in the woman while her dark eyes stared at the camera.

Stared at me.

I put the cigar out, walking over to my bathroom for a cold shower.

Because for once, I refuse to touch myself.

I had done it on numerous occasions—my body is mine to touch.

But I refuse to do it at the sake of a video from Sevan Cortez.

So I stripped down out of my clothes stepping into the shower and under the ice cold water that made me shiver.

My body burned despite my resistance.

I stood under the shower anyway, waiting for my desperation to fade.

It never did.

Instead, my internal fire only grew into retaliation until I stepped out of the shower.

I tugged a robe over my bare body covered in goosebumps, walking out of my bathroom toward my bed where my phone still sat.

I closed out of the video I had previously been watching, deciding to navigate to a different contact.

It was last minute, but I managed to text every last mafia boss occupying Russia.

We have dinner tonight.

And Sevan will be there assuming it's business.

Revenge is always considered business to me anyway.

???????

The small black strapless dress clung to my frame and barely prevented my breasts from spilling out of it.

I wore my usual black stockings and stilettos with a light brown fur coat and my silky brown hair up.

My face was covered with a more sultry makeup look than normal, already having a hidden objective for this meeting.

"Oh no," Nikolai said as I walked down the stairs toward him and Ivan, "You're mad," he determined, which I knew was based on the way I carried myself.

I hummed tightly, "Not after tonight I won't be," I told him, holding my jacket shut to prepare for the cold air that awaited me, "I see you both later," I determined, earning nods from Nikolai and Ivan.

"We'll go check on real estate—word is Petrov is trying to flee Russia," Nikolai told me, pulling the front door open.

"Bring his head back when you kill him," I specified, walking out into the dark cold air before Nikolai could say anything else.

The tinted SUV awaited me as normal with my driver helping me slide into the backseat.

Where I sat calmly, pouring myself a glass of vodka and taking a Xanax to smooth out my nerves.

The restaurant called Ruski looked just as it normally did.

It also sat up on the highest floor where everyone I invited sat waiting for me.

Everyone except one specific person.

So I walked over to one of the cushioned chairs pulled out for me, purposely keeping my fur coat on for the time being.

"Koslov," the blonde man greeted me with a wide smile.

I nodded once as I sat down, "Dima," I addressed him, glancing to the other men and women seated before me to acknowledge their presence.

Until my focus naturally shifted elsewhere.

Specifically to the doorway that Sevan emerged through.

Her dark hair was slicked back as usual, emphasizing her sharp face as she wore a white button-down with the sleeves rolled up and loose black dress pants.

"Sev," Dima noticed her presence first, standing from the table with everyone else.

To lower their heads?

Which naturally made my jaw clench, meeting her dark eyes that only stared down at me from across the table—despite the people openly displaying their loyalty.

So I stood from the table as well, which visibly pleased Sevan.

Until I shrugged off my coat.

Her pleased expression was ripped from her face, now trailing her eyes down my body.

"Sev," I purposely used the unfamiliar nickname, watching as her dark eyes clung to my displayed chest.

"Disengage," Sevan said, waving their loyalty off, which immediately made everyone lift their heads and take their seats back at the table.

"We talk business, da?" I said, holding Sevan's stare as I subtly leaned in against the table, emphasizing my chest even more.

Her eyes didn't glance down once.

"Business, Zinovia," Sevan said, which naturally made the air around us grow stiff.

Especially with my full name that Sevan used.

Something that no one addressed me by.

And by doing it so openly, she diminishes my role.

"I have my dealers on a shipment," I explained to everyone, still not glancing away from Sevan who listened carefully from the opposite head of the table, "I want your dealers taking care of this shipment too—have it gone by the end of the week."

The people crowding the table all nodded a few times, but I couldn't bother to focus on their words with her seated further down the table from me.

Sevan's stare shifted to my hand, watching as I traced my finger around the rim of my glass.

Until I picked it up and took a long sip, holding her dark eyes among the lowered chatter between everyone.

I watched her jaw grow tight, resisting to look down when I coincidentally spilled some of the vodka on my exposed chest.

The chatter immediately halted when Sevan strictly stood up from her chair, "With that settled, I'm leaving," she said, not sparing me a glance as she pushed her chair in.

Which furthered my annoyance.

"It's not settled," I spoke before she could back away from the table, "We talk business over dinner."

Sevan's dark eyes reluctantly locked with mine, "We talk business now or not at all," she specified.

I innocently tilted my head, "Why?" I murmured, eyeing her face that desperately clung to a stoic expression.

But I could see her irritation brewing.

"Because I have better things to do than babysit your meetings Zinovia," Sevan said, her words calm along with her posture.

"You wanted the shipment sold," I emphasized, staring so deeply into her dark eyes, "We discuss details now."

Sevan lazily raised her brows, glancing away from me entirely, "You discuss the details," she clarified, backing away from the table, "I collect the money."

I narrowed my eyes, watching as she exited the restaurant entirely, leaving me seated at a table filled with silent people.

Who all waited for me to say something before they dared to speak a word.

"I send remaining shipment to you all," I told them, sharply standing from the table and grabbing my coat.

I was out of the main dining room before they could form a response, walking off to the elevators that Sevan waited at.

But before she could glance over to me, one of them dinged open.

I followed her on—against my better judgment.

"Not one word Zinovia," Sevan said as she clicked the ground floor, "Not in an elevator with cameras," she emphasized, her voice lowered even under the quiet air.

"We finish talking business," I mumbled, feeling the elevator shift down.

"We finished last night," Sevan said, staring forward at the floors we passed down.

"Da," I said, tilting my head slightly, "We finished a lot of things last night."

Sevan hummed almost in amusement, "This morning too," she clarified, forcing my jaw to grow tighter.

But not with jealousy—given it's an emotion I'm incapable of feeling.

It's the feeling of being rejected for once in my life.

I don't hear the word no.

And what I have my eyes set on is usually mine.

Sevan objectifies both of those.

"Careful," I suddenly murmured, "Whatever you finished this morning might not be there the next," I said, and I wasn't insinuating a threat.

It was a threat.

I'll kill every last person until I get my way.

Sevan should know better than to underestimate me.

"Yours is already sitting in that room you stayed in last week," Sevan casually murmured, slipping past me when the elevator doors dinged open.

I remained stuck in place for only a moment, realizing she had taken Ida and locked her in that dark room.

A place where any sane person wouldn't survive.

"You said you don't fraternize," I purposefully said, following her through the lobby of the skyscraper building.

"I don't," Sevan said as we approached the motion sensor doors, "But that doesn't mean other people get to either."

I narrowed my eyes at her statement, realizing what she meant by her words.

Just because she can't sleep with me doesn't mean other people can.

The audacity?

"Have fun with that," I said as we exited the building out into the cold air, "I think I touch myself tonight," I murmured, passing by Sevan entirely and walking off to my waiting car.

But Sevan immediately grabbed my bicep, jerking me back to her in one fell swoop.

"Send me a video," she whispered in my ear, her warm breath fanning across my ear, "I thoroughly enjoyed watching the last one," she purposely added.

Which made my jaw clench, hating how she stole my upper hand entirely.

"I send video elsewhere," I decided to say, turning my head slightly to meet her eyes darkened almost dangerously at my words.

"You don't want to play this game with me, Zinovia," Sevan said, her lowered voice so close to my ear as I openly held her stare.

I tilted my head back further, aligning our eyes, "And win?" I whispered so delicately, my lips naturally twitching up as I firmly pulled away from her.

And finally, I held the last word and the upper hand, walking over to the tinted SUV to bask in a successful night.

I met her dark eyes one last time, sliding into the backseat of the running SUV as soon as my driver opened the door for me.

The leather seat welcomed me as I leaned back, letting out a long content sigh as I stared out of the tinted window.

I drank my usual glass of vodka and water throughout the short drive back to the compound, humming to myself as I reveled in my win.

The house I walked into over twenty minutes later was quiet just as I liked it.

Arina wasn't laid out on the couch like a couple of nights ago—and my girls awaited me with wagging tails and affection.

"Ivo," I said, spotting his presence in the formal living room where he sat in front of a messy chess board.

He nodded at me in response, still remaining focused on the board in front of him.

"Reset the board," I said, walking over toward the bar off to the side and pouring myself a small glass of vodka.

By the time I instructed my dogs to stay and walked over to Ivan with my glass in hand—he had the chess board ready for us to play.

"I won tonight," I told him, still high off of my power play with Sevan from earlier, "I continue to win da?"

Ivan lazily shook his head once in response, moving his first piece with a challenge.

I moved mine next, sipping my vodka as I focused on the board.

Until I noticed a sudden presence enter the room.

Very slowly.

And limply.

"You don't sleep?" I asked Yury first, noticing his loose pajamas and tired eyes.

Yury sighed deeply, "New medicine keeps me up," he said, his voice weak as he glanced between me and Ivan, "You play chess?"

I nodded once, "Da," I said, glancing over when Ivan took his move.

"I... I enjoy chess," Yury whispered under his breath, awkwardly shifting his weight onto the other leg as he glanced away from us.

I moved my next piece, "Sit—you play winner," I said, picking up on his words and actions.

He wants company.

I glanced over, watching Yury walk over to the bar with a weak smile, "I make you both water first," he said, eagerly grabbing two glasses.

Ivan moved his next piece, staring over at Yury as I focused on the board in front of us.

My light eyes darted across the board, calculating my next move before moving my piece.

"You drink more water now Via?" Yury asked as he poured the water into two crystal glasses.

I avoided Ivan's eyes, nodding my head reluctantly, "Da," I mumbled as I watched Ivan's piece move forward.

"Good—you stay healthy and young," Yury said as he grabbed the two glasses and approached us.

I nodded again only silently as I watched Yury weakly set the two glasses of water down for us.

Ivan nodded as well, his silent way of showing appreciation for the water Yury made.

"Arina says you come to her school," Yury said, walking over to the couch and slowly sinking down with a weak sigh, "Thank you for talking to her teachers."

I hummed, recognizing the lie Arina most likely told him, "I know the school well," I said, brushing off his gratitude.

"Yes, well, Arina says she loves it more now that you talked to them," Yury told me, which immediately made my light eyes dart over to meet his—now wondering what else Arina said about me.

She claims to hate me, but it's clear she's just an insecure child who wants her grandfather to herself.

"She says anything else?" I asked, glancing over to the board before I could capture Yury's reaction at my question.

Even if he was silent for a moment, giving his response some thought.

"She uh... didn't have the best childhood," Yury suddenly said, his words hesitant and remorseful, which made my focus shift from the chess board, meeting his dark eyes weighed down by tiredness, "So she has a high guard with new people—but I think she admires you very much, Via."

I blinked a few times, unsure of how to react to his kind words.

So I nodded instead, "Having high guard is good," I decided to say, now glancing back to the chess board and making my next move.

Even if Ivan's dark eyes traced my face so openly, sensing something deeper beneath the surface.

But I've always lacked emotional complexities, so if there was anything deeper to it—it's gone before I can process it.

I let out a long sigh, taking a sip of vodka and chasing it with the dull water Yury had given me.

Who ended up falling asleep on the couch before we got to finish our game and let him play.

I had Ivan help me carry him upstairs—ensuring he was tucked under a proper amount of blankets with his humidifier on.

It was the second time an Orlova had fallen asleep on my couch.

And unlike anyone else who dared to do such a thing—

I didn't hate it.