Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 45635 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 183(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45635 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 183(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
I had one problem now, and I’d handle it the same way I handled everything else. I’d eliminate the threat before it had time to turn into a bigger problem.
But before that, I was going home to my wife and stake my claim over and over again until I could convince myself no one would take her from me.
Chapter Eighteen
Lucia
Ididn’t realize how long I stayed in the study until the quiet started to press in around me. I didn’t remember when I’d picked the folder back up, but I stared down at it now, my fingertips white because I held on to it for so long.
The paper felt heavier now than when I’d first opened it, and no matter how much I tried to block it out, I couldn’t make any of this feel normal. I didn’t understand it, all not the full picture or all the details, but I understood enough to know it wasn’t something I could brush off.
I set the folder back exactly where I’d found it, making sure it looked untouched. My fingers lingered for a moment before I stepped away from the desk, my gaze moving over the room as if I might find something else that explained everything.
I left the room without looking back. The hallway outside was quiet, but not empty. A guard stood near the far end, his attention shifting to me the second I stepped out. He didn’t ask what I’d been doing, but I saw it in the way he straightened slightly. He knew I’d been in Alexei’s study, but he’d never question it. He’d never overstep his duties and roles with Alexei and his wife.
That realization—that I held some power—filled me suddenly.
I moved through the house with no real destination in mind, just trying to settle the unease sitting in my chest. The staff shifted around me in a way that didn’t go unnoticed. Conversations stopped when I entered a room, and whatever task they were working on wrapped up quickly before they stepped out, leaving the space to me.
It felt like this was how things were supposed to be now. Like I had a place here, whether I was ready for it or not.
I found myself out on the terrace, needing air. The land stretched out in front of me, wide and quiet, but it didn’t ease the tension in my body. My thoughts kept going back to what I’d seen, and all the things my mind conjured up.
I didn’t know how long I stood out there, but I felt my husband right behind me before I heard or even saw him.
“You shouldn’t be out here alone.”
His voice came from behind me, low and close, and I turned to face him. Something in me tightened. He stood just inside the doorway, his attention fixed on me, taking in every inch of me.
“Hi,” I said breathlessly. “I just needed some air.” A lump formed in my throat when he took a step closer. Alexei was silent for long seconds. “I didn’t expect you to be home yet.”
“I finished what I needed to, so I came straight here,” he replied, stepping closer. “I needed to see you.”
His gaze moved over my face slowly, and I knew there was no point pretending I hadn’t been somewhere I wasn’t meant to be. I was a shitty liar, and my poker face was laughable. His expression, even as stoic as ever, told me he already knew something was wrong.
“What’s wrong, moya devochka?” he asked, his tone was even and controlled, but softer when he said the endearment.
“I found a file on your desk,” I said, my voice quieter than I meant it to be.
The words came out fast, and I felt that flicker of guilt for going through something that wasn’t mine, but I didn’t take it back. He was my husband.
In this world, there were things wives were expected not to ask about, not to look into, but I had never been good at pretending I didn’t see what was right in front of me.
“It had names,” I continued, forcing myself to stay steady. “Dates. Places. I don’t know exactly what I was looking at, but it didn’t feel like normal business. My head’s been going in circles trying to make sense of it.”
Alexei didn’t speak, but his expression was open, and I knew he wanted me to continue.
I let out a slow breath before continuing. “It looked like… people,” I said. “There were names with ages next to some of them. Different locations. Dates that lined up like they were being moved from one place to another. And the money… it wasn’t set up like business accounts, but like it was tied to each name.”
I should have been terrified admitting all of this to Alexei. But, I wasn’t.
I paused, trying to keep my voice steady. “I’ve heard enough over the years to know what that can mean. The way men talk when they think no one’s listening, the things they don’t explain but don’t bother hiding either. It looked like people being handled like something you could buy, move, and pass along.” I swallowed, my chest tightening. “So yeah… my mind went there. And if that’s even close to what it is, I can’t just pretend I didn’t see it.”