The tension in the room is palpable, but we’re closer to the truth than we’ve ever been.
“Sit down, everyone, please,” Zoya says softly in her childlike voice as she enters the room carrying a large tray of tea and cups. “I find it’s easier to have a pleasant conversation when we’re sitting.”
I love her so. Rafail takes the tray from her despite her protests and slides it onto the coffee table. “Semyon. Get the vodka for those of us who need something stronger than tea.”
“You’re wise, Zoya,” Grandfather says, his eyes twinkling at her. “You have more than your parents to thank for that.”
She’s so cute when she blushes.
Yana sits up straight, her eyes never leaving Rafail. “Where’s Gleb?”
“In holding.”
Yana nods and turns her focus straight to Ekaterina. “As I said to the others, there’s a shortage of women in these two families, so we must stand together. Allow me to make some introductions.”
I barely hear her. My gaze is trained on Rafail, who paces behind the sofa despite Zoya’s request. His friend Vadka has joined us.
“Before we begin,” my mother starts. She places her teacup down on a saucer, her hands trembling. “I’m afraid that some of this… is my fault.” Her eyes shimmering with tears, she turns to me. “I… I wanted a daughter, Polina. So badly.”
I stare at her, bewildered. I knew I was adopted, but I never knew the terms of the adoption.
“I begged your father for a daughter, and after years of waiting, he finally granted my wish. He was reluctant, you know—daughters hold a different meaning in our world. Sons bring strength, alliances, power. That’s why we have six of them. All adopted, yet all bound by loyalty. Then, one day, he brought me you.” She smiles, but her eyes reflect a sadness from long ago.
My throat feels tight, and my nose tingles, but I listen as calmly as I can.
“I didn’t know until ten years later that you had a sister. That you were separated in infancy. Another family adopted Anissa and took her as their own. It was a closed adoption, and they made it clear they wanted no one to ever contact them again.” She shakes her head. “But I knew your father was powerful and above all that. I knew he could’ve found out what he needed to.”
I stare, trying to process what she’s telling me. I haven’t had time to truly dwell on this since Gleb mentioned someone who looked just like me, and now my own mother is admitting as much.
I have a sister.
A sister who was supposed to marry the man who I’m in love with.
A sister who looks just like me and is presumably alive if she ran from him not that long ago. Who is she? Does she remember me? I don’t remember her, but my heart aches thinking there’s someone out there I’m related to who I’ve never met.
Jesus, I’m gonna need some therapy after all of this shit.
Zoya meets my eyes and swallows hard before giving me a tentative smile. This sweet girl has lost both her parents, was raised into near adulthood by her brother, and knows her family lives on a razor’s edge. And still, she hasn’t forgotten how to smile.
She’s inspiring.
We all listen in rapt silence. Even Mikhail looks shocked. He didn’t know.
She clears her throat. “So I never told you, Polina. I feared you’d want to find her, and I feared the wrath of her family if you did.” Sighing, she continues. “I let fear guide my decisions, and for that, I’m so sorry and ask your forgiveness.”
My god. What other secrets is she hiding?
With a sigh, she continues. “And our family was weakened. With the divide that tore us apart after your father’s death, Mikhailwas on a mission to strengthen us. We made strategic choices. I never imagined that bringing you to Moscow would have put you in danger. I was trying to do the very opposite.”
Rafail watches in stony silence, his gaze fixed on my mother. I feel the rift between us as painfully as I felt the ache in my bones after the accident. I close my eyes and remind myself I overcame that then. I can overcome this now.
Zoya hands me a cup of bracing hot tea. I nod in thanks, not trusting my voice, and take a sip.
It helps.
“And when I brought you here, I thought I could keep you safe. I have friends in Moscow,” she explains to Rafail. “And I feared the attack of Soloto.”
Nodding, he listens in stoic silence.
