The name hit harder than it should have. I didn’t react. Years of training and being a part of this world ensured that. I knew exactly when to show an expression and when to hide one.
“Elisse,” I repeated evenly.
“She is one of the sisters.”
I opened the folder at last, and it felt as if my world shifted. A photograph stared back at me. A girl with dark blonde hair and blue eyes that flickered grey under certain light. She had sharp cheekbones and a controlled smile since the picturewas clearly taken at some press event. Her porcelain mask was absent, but I already knew who she was.
Elle. My Elle.
Everything came back to me at once. The elevator and the penthouse. Her breath heavy against my mouth, and the way she’d said yes without hesitation. The way she’d fallen asleep in my arms like she trusted me. My fingers tightened slightly against the paper, but I forced them to relax. I couldn’t let Kliment know.
“What do we know about her?” I asked.
“She had recently returned to Miami after spending some time in Europe,” Kliment said. “She studied fashion and has connections in the industry. She does make public appearances but keeps them limited. According to sources, she is very guarded.”
I barely heard him. Because all I could see was her in a gold silk gown in which she was anonymous and free.
“And what exactly do you want me to do?” I asked carefully.
Kliment’s gaze didn’t waver.
“Get closer to her.”
The room felt smaller.
“She’s not Ilana. What is the point?” I said.
“I’m aware she isn’t.”
“She’s not even politically positioned or part of the family business. She is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. I think we are barking up the wrong tree here.”
“She is still Chernykh blood, and when it comes to families, this is more than enough. If we destabilize her,” Kliment continued, “we destabilize them.”
“You want me to threaten her.”
“I want you to remind the Chernykhs that their empire has cracks and that people who are dear to them can also be taken away.”
His voice softened slightly.
“Make her fall in love with you if you have to, or kidnap her if you can, but somehow show the Chernykhs that they are just as vulnerable as us.”
The words landed like a physical blow.
“And then?”
Kliment’s expression didn’t change.
“Then we decide what serves us best.”
I closed the folder slowly.
“You’re asking me to weaponize a woman who had nothing to do with Ilana’s choice.”
“I’m asking you to protect your family and do what is required of you as part of this family.”
There it was again; Blood. Loyalty. Duty. The Romanov code etched into my very bones.
Kliment wanted me to dismantle Ilana’s new family piece by piece, and he wanted me to start with Elle. Elisse. The woman who had looked at me in a crowded ballroom and seen me without context. Who had said she believed in agency. Who had chosen me in a room full of masked strangers. Who had trusted me blindly.
