LOGINAlexei and Dmitry arrived at the Rurik mansion shortly before lunch. Snow continued to cover the garden, reflecting the pale winter light, and the property seemed strangely peaceful after everything that had happened in those days.Alexei got out of the car without saying anything, hands in the pockets of his overcoat. Dmitry closed the door behind him and observed his brother for a few seconds.“You’re quiet.”“I’m thinking.”“That’s usually dangerous.”Alexei cast a sideways glance, one eyebrow raised.“For you or for me?”“For everyone. Especially the furniture.”A small smile appeared on Alexei’s face. It was not happiness — genuinely happy Alexei seemed like a rare disease — but there was something different about him, a lightness that had not existed when they left. Dmitry noticed. He did not comment. The two entered the mansion.Lunch took place almost in silence. Alexei ate more than he normally would when he was worried — Marina, satisfied, filled his plate twice — but he see
Alexei remained standing. The sheet was still in his hands, and his mother’s words remained engraved in his mind. “Do not let them choose for him,” “Do not try to separate what was born united.”He had never imagined that searching for his mother would mean discovering mysteries about himself. For years, all he had wanted to know about Ulyana was who she was. And only in that moment did he realize he had been so buried in himself that he had forgotten his original desire. He wanted to know a person he never had the chance to know. His mother.Boris watched his grandson in silence. There was no hurry in his eyes. For many years, he had not been trying to decide how much Alexei could handle. He was simply waiting for him to ask. And Alexei asked, his voice coming out quieter than he intended:“Who was she?”It was not a question about her death, not about the secret she kept, not about what she knew regarding the being he carried. It was about her — the person, the woman, the daughter B
The sheet trembled slightly between Alexei’s fingers. Not because he was afraid — at least that was what he wanted to believe. But there was something in that handwriting, in the ink already worn by time, in the simple fact of holding a part of his mother after twenty-eight years, that made his chest tighten in a way no battle had ever managed.Ulyana. The handwriting was hers. He would recognize it anywhere — from the photographs he had received in the mysterious box, from the contact notebook he still kept in the office.He took a deep breath before lowering his eyes to the paper. The lines were short, interrupted, like notes made in a hurry by someone who had little time. It was not a letter; it seemed more like a desperate attempt to record a thought before it disappeared.“If one day he discovers…”“Do not let them choose for him.”“Do not try to separate what was born united.”The last line ended abruptly, the ink failing at the end as if the writing had been interrupted before
Morning dawned silently at the Rurik mansion. Snow covered the garden, the tree branches carried small white layers, and the world seemed frozen in a kind of artificial calm. But Alexei knew that some storms did not need thunder to exist — some began inside one’s own head, silent and devastating.He stood in front of the living room window, a forgotten cup of coffee between his fingers, staring at nothing. For the first time in a long while, he was not running from a question. He was going after it.“You’re going there.”Dmitry’s voice came from behind him, calm and controlled as always. Alexei did not turn around.“You have the terrible habit of appearing without making a sound. You should wear a bell.”“And you have the terrible habit of thinking no one notices when you’re planning to solve everything alone. It’s a pattern.”Alexei let out a sigh, bringing the cup to his lips and making a face. The coffee was already cold.“Sasha already used that argument yesterday. In the garage.
Alexei took a few seconds before opening the bedroom door. He made as little noise as possible. Carla should already be asleep, and she was. Lying on her side, partially covered by the duvet, an open book on her chest rising and falling with the rhythm of her breathing. She had fallen asleep reading again.He smiled. Carefully, he approached the bed and removed the book from her hands, marking the page before placing it on the nightstand.She woke at the same instant, her brown eyes opening slowly. She blinked. Then she smiled in that small way that always made something tighten inside him.“You came back.”“I did.” He sat on the edge of the bed, his eyes tracing her face. “I didn’t take long.”“You talked to him.”It wasn’t a question. Alexei let out a small laugh, shaking his head.“You’re getting annoying.”“I always was. You’re the one who took too long to notice.”He stayed silent for a few seconds, looking at his own hands. Carla asked nothing; she simply waited. She had learned
The mansion was already asleep. The hallway lights had been turned off, leaving only the lamps, casting a yellowish glow through the silent halls. Outside, snow fell slowly, covering the garden like a white sheet.Alexei walked without destination. Or at least that was what he told himself. He passed by the library, where the books rested on their shelves like silent witnesses to centuries of history. He passed by the music room, the piano closed, the sheet music untouched. He passed by Dmitry’s empty office, the desk still covered in papers.He ended up stopping in front of the large window in the west corridor, the same one where he used to watch the snow as a child, when the world seemed simpler and the only battles were fought with toy swords.He rested his forehead against the cold glass. The temperature burned his skin, but it was a welcome discomfort—something real, that wasn’t made of shadows and unanswered questions.“Alright... enough.”Silence answered first. Then the ancie
The sun had barely risen when Susan opened her eyes, the sheets tangled around her legs, her heart beating faster than normal.The room was still submerged in darkness, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep.Once again, the same dream. Dmitry. The clearing near the lake. His mouth. H
The large meeting room at Rurik Motors exuded power. The floor-to-ceiling glass windows offered a privileged view of Moscow, while the dark wooden oval table dominated the center of the room. The black leather chairs, the discreet shine of the metal details, and the absence of any decorative excess
The glass-walled room on the top floor of Rurik Motors offered a silent spectacle of Moscow at night — cold, pulsating, and indifferent. Dmitry stood before the wall of glass, shoulders straight, a lit cigarette between his fingers, releasing the smoke with the same slowness with which time seemed
Standing in front of the imposing Rurik Motors building, Susan tried to ignore the wave of anxiety that was overtaking her. She took a deep breath and adjusted her glasses on her face before entering the building.The mirrored facade reflected the gray sky, giving an even more austere appearance to







