LOGINMikhail’s POVThe mansion had never been this quiet before.Not even after deaths.Not after funerals.Not after bloodshed.This silence was different.It felt hollow.Rotting.Like the entire house had finally become what Nora always called it from the very beginning.A cage.The flowers in the living room had died days ago. Nobody bothered replacing them anymore. The roses I once filled the mansion with for her had withered into dark brittle things before the maids finally threw them away. Even the marble halls felt colder now, stripped of the warmth her presence unknowingly brought into them.I spent most days locked inside my office.When I was not working, I was drinking.And when I was not drinking, I was staring at the ceiling unable to sleep because every time I closed my eyes, I saw blood soaking through Nora’s clothes while she cried about our baby.Our baby.Even now, two weeks later, the words still carved through me like glass.The whiskey burned going dow
Nora’s POVPain wakes me first.Not sharp.Not violent.Just deep.Heavy.Like my entire body has been hollowed out and stitched back together wrong.My eyelids feel too heavy to open at first. My throat burns like sandpaper and every breath tastes sterile and cold. Somewhere nearby, machines beep steadily in slow repetitive patterns.I force my eyes open.Light floods my vision instantly, making me wince.Everything is blurry at first.White ceiling.Soft gray walls.A large window with pale morning light bleeding through the curtains.It takes several seconds for my vision to fully adjust before I realize I am lying in a hospital bed.Private room.Private wing.Of course.Romanov money could probably buy an entire hospital if they wanted.My head turns slightly.Flowers.So many flowers.Bouquets cover nearly every available surface in the room. White roses. Lilies. Orchids. Expensive arrangements tied with silk ribbons. Cards rest beside them, some handwri
Nora’s POVThe SUV flies down the highway like a bullet ripping through darkness.Everything shakes.The engine screams beneath us while the driver fights the wheel with both hands. Trees blur past the windows in streaks of black and gray. Rain from earlier still clings to the road, making every sharp turn feel like we are seconds away from death.Behind us, headlights remain locked on our tail.Mikhail.I can feel him even before I see him again.Relentless.Viktor grips my arm tighter as another gunshot cracks through the night.The rear of the SUV jerks violently.“Faster!” Viktor snaps.“We are losing the tire!” the driver yells back.Another shot rings out.Then another.The fourth bullet destroys the tire completely.The explosion is deafening.The SUV swerves hard.Everything happens at once.The driver loses control instantly. Tires screech against wet asphalt as the vehicle fishtails across the highway. My shoulder slams painfully into the door while Vikt
Nora’s POVThe SUV flies down the highway like a bullet ripping through darkness.Everything shakes.The engine screams beneath us while the driver fights the wheel with both hands. Trees blur past the windows in streaks of black and gray. Rain from earlier still clings to the road, making every sharp turn feel like we are seconds away from death.Behind us, headlights remain locked on our tail.Mikhail.I can feel him even before I see him again.Relentless.Viktor grips my arm tighter as another gunshot cracks through the night.The rear of the SUV jerks violently.“Faster!” Viktor snaps.“We are losing the tire!” the driver yells back.Another shot rings out.Then another.The fourth bullet destroys the tire completely.The explosion is deafening.The SUV swerves hard.Everything happens at once.The driver loses control instantly. Tires screech against wet asphalt as the vehicle fishtails across the highway. My shoulder slams painfully into the door while Vikt
Nora’s POVThe SUV flies down the highway like a bullet ripping through darkness.Everything shakes.The engine screams beneath us while the driver fights the wheel with both hands. Trees blur past the windows in streaks of black and gray. Rain from earlier still clings to the road, making every sharp turn feel like we are seconds away from death.Behind us, headlights remain locked on our tail.Mikhail.I can feel him even before I see him again.Relentless.Viktor grips my arm tighter as another gunshot cracks through the night.The rear of the SUV jerks violently.“Faster!” Viktor snaps.“We are losing the tire!” the driver yells back.Another shot rings out.Then another.The fourth bullet destroys the tire completely.The explosion is deafening.The SUV swerves hard.Everything happens at once.The driver loses control instantly. Tires screech against wet asphalt as the vehicle fishtails across the highway. My shoulder slams painfully into the door while Vikt
Nora’s POVThe room smells like metal, dust, and old rain trapped inside concrete.I sit tied to the chair exactly where Lucien left me, my wrists raw from struggling too long against ropes that refuse to loosen. The bulb above me flickers every few seconds, throwing weak yellow light across the walls before dimming again. Time drags strangely here. Every minute feels stretched thin and uneven.At some point, exhaustion settles into my bones so deeply that even fear becomes tiring.But my mind never stops.It keeps circling the same things over and over again.My parents.The accident.Mikhail.The pregnancy I still have not spoken aloud.My stomach twists painfully at the thought of it. I press my bound hands tighter against the chair behind me and force myself not to think about it. I cannot afford to break now. Not here.The door opens again.Lucien walks in carrying a glass of water. Calm. Composed. Like he is visiting someone instead of holding them captive.He crou
Nora’s POVI wake up to the shrill ring of my phone vibrating against my skull underneath my pillow.I pick it up, already feeling an headache brewing.I squint at the screen through blurry, swollen eyes.4:03 p.m.Elias.My stomach drops.I swipe to answer, voice hoarse from crying myself
Mikhail’s POV – Olga’s Ranch House, Friday afternoonThe drive to Babya’s ranch is forty-five minutes of open road and silence.No convoy today.No Dmitri in the passenger seat.Aleksei had left on the first flight back home. His father and uncle had called him up for family business.Just me,
Nora’s POVThe ride back from the bar is a blur of flashing lights and Mikhail’s hand on my knee, steady and possessive, like he’s afraid I’ll vanish if he lets go.I don’t push it away.I’m too exhausted, too numb from the blood and screams and gunshots still ringing in my ears.The shooter—a
Mikhail’s POVI’m in the middle of a conference call with Moscow when the text comes through.The room is dark except for the glow of the screens: Dmitri on one, Aleksei on another, Viktor’s encrypted line patched in from God-knows-where.We’re discussing Lucien Hayes.We’ve been discussing







