Page 141 of Secret Heir

“What did they say?”

I close my eyes again, remembering. “Alexander said something like, ‘The accountant is handled. Cyprus accounts are cleared.’ The other man asked if his partner was still on board. Alexander said yes, that they’d move against his brother in three to four months. That the brother’s guard was down, that he—referring to someone—came up with half the plan himself.”

I open my eyes, look directly at Nikolai.

“Alexander said the Corsicans were ready. That once the brother was gone, they’d split the territory.”

The council members are exchanging looks. Some are skeptical, while others are thoughtful.

“You’re certain of what you heard?” one of them asks. He’s older and heavyset, with a scar running down his left cheek.

“Yes.”

“How far away were you?”

“Maybe twenty feet? I was behind crates.”

“Could you have misheard? Misunderstood?”

I shake my head. “No. They were speaking clearly when it was in English. I heard every word.”

Another council member speaks up—a thin man with sharp eyes. “Why should we believe testimony from eight years ago? Memory is fallible. You could be misremembering. Or lying.”

“I’m not lying.” My hands clench on the armrests. “I know what I heard.”

“You admit you were in shock,” a third council member says. “You’d just witnessed an execution. The mind plays tricks under stress.”

I scowl. “My mind didn’t play tricks,” I snap. “I heard Alexander Morozov conspiring to murder Nikolai Sokolov and take over the organization.”

“With whose help?” the heavyset man asks. “You said there was another man. Who was it?”

“I don’t know,” I say, dread pooling in my gut. “Like I said, it was dark. I couldn’t see him clearly.”

“So you can’t identify this supposed conspirator?”

“No. But I heard him. I heard both of them,” I insist.

The thin man leans back, skeptical. “Without seeing this person, how can we know who Alexander was talking to? Or if there even was someone else? Perhaps you heard a phone conversation. Perhaps Alexander was talking to himself. Perhaps this entire story is fabricated.”

“It’s not fabricated!” My voice rises, frustration bleeding through the fear. Why won’t they believe me? “I know what I heard!”

“But you can’t prove it,” the man says flatly.

Alexander seizes on this. “The woman is lying or delusional from trauma. I was alone in that warehouse after Maksim left. There was no conversation because there was no one to converse with.”

The heavyset council member leans forward. “So you admit you were there after Maksim left?”

Alexander doesn’t hesitate. “Of course. We were disposing of a body. It’s standard procedure, as you know. One person retrieves supplies while another stays to secure the scene. I remained to ensure nothing was disturbed.”

“And you were alone? No phone calls? No one else present?” He presses.

“Completely alone,” Alexander responds and I want to smack the smug look on his face. “This woman is fabricating a conversation she never heard to drive a wedge between me and Nikolai. She’s Maksim’s lover—of course she’ll say whatever he wants her to say.”

My hands shake. They’re not believing me. I can see the skepticism and doubt in their faces.

Then Nikolai speaks, his voice cutting through the tension.

“Miss Delano, you said you heard Alexander talking to someone. Describe Alexander’s voice. What did he sound like?”