My voice was cold, but my emotions were anything but.Seraph. I had not allowed myself to think that bitch’s name in almost nine years. She was nothing. Less than nothing. A fucking Judas. A wannabe Delilah. But her betrayal of me did not go as she imagined. She was the one who ended up disgraced and destroyed. In a moment of weakness, I spared her life, but that was all. And then she disappeared. Ilya’s chuckle pulled me out of my thoughts.
“Whore… that was the best part, I think.”
I smirked again. “Fucking her? Yes, the pussy was excellent. Too bad it was so used.”
“Nah. Not fucking her. Making you think that I did.”
I was used to eyes being on me. I was thepakhanof the Sidorov Bratva. People watched me every day. Sometimes, they were curious. Sometimes, their lives depended on it. But nothing felt like this moment, when the men closest to me were suddenly stiff, eyes laser-trained on me. And then, I saw something flicker in Artyom’s eyes.
He never believed what we had discovered about her. He had been too well-trained to say it, would never go against me. But he was one reason she was still breathing. And now, this…
“Maxim,” he said softly.
He rarely said my name. Always deferentially referred to me as “Sir.” But now… I looked at him. Again, the slight shake of his head. But I could not help myself. I moved closer to Ilya, my steps echoing in the coolness of the warehouse. Ilya’s smile widened, grotesque in his battered face.
“So, now I have your attention,” he mumbled.
“Only because I am curious as to why you think I would care about the slut after almost a decade. She betrayed me. She almost got my cousin killed. She got what she deserved,” I bit out.
“She got what she deserved,” he repeated before falling into a coughing fit.
I should have walked away.
I did not.
Then, there was the one eye. Back on me. Full of... victory?
“But did she really? I would have agreed with you once. I wanted her to hurt, to suffer like I did. I loved her since she was five and I was seven. And she decided to spread her legs for you,” he spat.
“I am sure you felt better after she did the same for you,” I responded.
Another raspy laugh. “Except she did not.”
I went completely still, unable to process what he was saying.
“So fucking naive, our Seraph. Anya and I always told her that. Not to be so trusting. Not to give her whole heart. And she still did. Especially with you. So loyal it was sickening. And you believed the first negative thing you heard about her. Such a shame,” he mocked me.
He was lying. I knew that. He was a pro at it, only disclosing the truth when it benefited him. Or when he could gloat. Like when he told me about Seraph. But my cousin Konstantin confirmed it. And then, so did she.
“She admitted the child she carried was yours.”
My voice was tight, the remembered anger and humiliation washing over me.
“Hmm. I wonder what you said to her first.”
I refused to think about that, about how I had scorned her, brought tears to the big, velvety brown eyes until they would no longer focus on me. Now, thismudakwas saying that it all may have been unnecessary. That I may have cut out my heart and crushed it for nothing.
“Sir, we should go,” Artyom spoke up.
My friend was trying to save me, keep me from embarrassing myself by engaging this fool in front of my men any further. And yet, when it came to her, I could not help it. I had to hear, to know. So, I ignored Artyom and kept my eyes trained on Ilya.
“How do you explain the pictures? How do you explain that you and Smirnov knew Konstantin’s location? You are at death’s door, and you are still lying. You are pathetic, Ilya. It is a shame you must die with no honor,” I hissed.
“You question my honor. Perhaps I die without it, but I die with something that tastes much better. My vengeance. Youshould have asked Konstantin about the company he kept. He was happy to throw Seraph under the bus to save his own ass. And I was happy to give him the idea. Happy to make sure you would not have the woman whom you were obsessed with, but whom I loved.”
He coughed again, his ravaged body shaking. And then the coughs became a bitter laugh.
“Happy to make sure you would not know the heir you wanted so desperately. He is a perfect blend of the two of you, by the way. Golden brown skin, curly black hair. But his eyes, Maxim. His eyes are all you. Almost silver, but not cold yet. Maybe they will be if she ever explains how his father cursed him and abandoned him.”
