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“Can you both talk about your work another time?” I asked, trying to avoid more conflict. “Today is a day to celebrate.”
“Da, da.I’m sorry. You are correct.” Alexie brushed a kiss on my forehead and gave me a genuine smile.
“Let me hold my first grandchild.” He reached for our baby and pulled the bundle of joy close to his chest. “Ah! It is a girl, yes?”
“It is,” I beamed.
He sighed, disappointed. The pride in his eyes leaked away. “Well, it is what it is.”
If I wasn’t so tired, I would have felt like a fucking failure at the reminder.
I knew Alexie really wanted a son, but God did not bless us with one. He blessed us with a daughter instead. Though my husband seemed thrilled to have a healthy baby girl, I wondered if he secretly felt as his father did. Women held little value in the syndicate world. Daughters did not inherit positions of power.
Viktor appeared in the doorway. Honestly, he had seemed as excited as Alexie about this baby.
“Hey, where’s Tiffany?” I asked. “Doesn’t she want to see the baby too?”
“She’ll be here in a moment. She was talking with the staff.” Viktor took the baby from his father. “Such a beautiful little girl! —Hello! I’m your uncle!”
Alexie moved away from me. “I’ll go grab her. Knowing Tiffany, she probably got lost again,” Alexie teased. “Or distracted.”
Rather than acknowledge Alexie, Viktor spoke directly to the baby.
“Tell your daddy not to make fun of mymilaya,or I’ll be forced to kill him,” Viktor cooed in a sweet voice.
“Oh, your uncle can try,” Alexie quietly sang in response before the door closed behind him.
Viktor smiled kindly at me. “You’re good for him, you know?”
I nodded, exhaustion hitting me hard. “He’s it for me.”
“I can tell. And I’m glad.”
As Viktor and his father made idle chitchat, I felt myself dozing off.
Suddenly, the bedroom door swung open with more force than necessary, jarring me from my sleep. We all looked over to a red-faced Alexie.
“What’s wrong?” I tried sitting up, but it was still too painful.
“T-tiffany. I can’t fucking find Tiffany.”
Calmly, ever so calmly, Viktor handed me my baby. “What do you mean you can’t find Tiffany?” His voice was laced with ice.
“When I couldn’t find her, I went to the security room. We searched through the camera feeds. She is gone. No one has seen her since the meeting ended. You said she was speaking with staff?”
“Where’s Roger?” Viktor bit out.
“We don’t know. He’d escorted the Italians out. He is also missing.”
Viktor marched toward his brother, and for a second, I feared they were going to come to blows. Instead, he gripped Alexie’s shoulder tightly and pulled him close.
“Then we find them and kill the rest. Simple as that.”
