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“Then why did The Knights and The Founders believe the lies?”
“Because it’s what Fitzgerald told them.” Papa’s Russian accent was thicker than I remembered. “He’s the most powerful man in the country. Everyone fears him. But your mother didn’t.” He smiled as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “You look just like her. So beautiful. She would have been so proud of you,kisa.”
“Why did he kill my mom?”
“Because she defied him when she married me. He disapproved of our union. He knew I was lying about my identity, but your mother knew everything. I never hid the truth from her.”
“So you were a KGB agent?”
He bobbed his head to confirm. “Your mother was my mark. The Russian government sent me to the United States to get closer to her. They wanted me to learn her father’s secrets. The Knights and The Founders have access to valuable information.”
“Did she give it to you?”
He raised his broad shoulders, which filled out the black tailored suit. “Some things. But your mother knew little. Her father kept his secrets well guarded.”
“So instead of walking away, you stayed. You married her and had me.”
He bent down, so we were at eye level, a grin stretching the corners of his mouth. “Every moment of every day for the past thirteen years, I have thought about you.” His hand cupped my cheek. “About how you would look. What you would be like. How you would sound. I imagined you with your mother’s beauty and my resilience. You’re exactly as I had hoped, Katarina.”
“I go by Grace now.”
“I know.” He lowered his hand from my face with a sigh. “But you will always be my Katarina.” He tipped his head toward the thick hedges. “We have to get into the neighbor’s yard. Your grandfather has too much security on his property.”
Viktor made a path for me, parting the bushes. “I worked in intelligence for years,” he continued. “I learned things about your grandfather and The Founders. They killed your mother, took you from me, and tried to destroy my life because I knew about your grandfather’s plot to kill his eldest daughter.”
“Bastian’s mom?”
He nodded. “Fitzgerald paid The Lucaya Group to make the plane crash look like an accident.”
“So that part is true?” My mouth widened in horror. “Why would he kill Bastian’s mom?”
“Because she spent most of her trust fund to start Atlantic Airlines with Marcus Kincaid.”
Bastian’s father.
“Fitzgerald hated Marcus’s family. Your aunt went against your grandfather’s wishes when she married him. He considered her a great disappointment.”
“What about the Townsends?” Cole asked. “Damian’s parents were aboard the plane when it crashed.”
“The Townsends would have inherited the shares in the company. But Fitzgerald didn’t like them. He thought they weren’t good enough to be Founders.”
Cole grabbed my hand and pulled me into his chest. “Grace could be his next target.”
“We can’t leave,” I pointed out. “It will only make my grandfather more suspicious.”
“You need to come with me,” my father insisted. “I can keep you safe until we deal with Fitzgerald.”
“No one will go against him without proof,” Cole said.
My father handed me a flash drive. “I have evidence of his crimes.”
I handed the drive to Cole, and he tucked it into his pocket. After a brief conversation, we exchanged phone numbers, promising to make contact after we read the drive’s contents.
My dad bent down to hug me, wrapping me in his strong embrace as he kissed my head. “I will be watching you,kisa. We’ll never be apart after Fitzgerald is dead.”
Then he disappeared into the darkness with his friend.
ChapterFifty-Three
