Yulia gasped and dropped into one of the chairs that were spread around what must have been a waiting room. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?” she whispered, tears in her eyes.

  “For the same reason you never spoke of it.” She clenched her hands into fists at her sides. “If Oleksandr had found out about the child back then, he would have killed both you and the baby. I did what had to be done to secure your safety and that of my grandchild.”

  “All these years, I’ve lived with this guilt,” Yulia choked out, letting her tears fall unchecked. “It would have been comforting to have had someone to speak to about it. Someone I could trust.”

  “There are ears everywhere at home,” her mother reminded her. “I didn’t trust that we wouldn’t be overheard and the news get back to your father. I’m sorry you had to suffer in silence, but I did it for you.”

  A sob left her, but Yulia nodded. “I understand. I just wish…”

  “As do I,” Olena told her with a sad smile. Mother and daughter shared a long look, but after a moment, the older woman cleared her throat. “My people guided you to use the orphanage you did. I’d heard that Adrian and Victoria were looking into adoption, and I…” She glanced at Anya. “Well, Anya owed me a favor.”

  “Anya owed you a favor?” Victoria repeated incredulously. “How the hell did that come about?”

  “That’s not important,” Anya told her sister-in-law. “And it wasn’t any hardship to repay this particular favor Olena asked of me. You wanted to adopt a daughter, Sofia needed a family, and Olena needed her grandchild safe. It was a win-win for everyone.”

  “Sofia should be hearing this,” Victoria said with a sigh. “She deserves to know about all of this.”

  “And she will,” Olena promised in her soothing voice. “We can sit her down and tell her everything once she’s stronger. But from what Anya has told me Adrian said to her, Sofia is a bit…fragile at the moment.”

  Victoria’s shoulders slumped. “Yes.” Then her brown gaze landed on me, and her spine turned to steel. “No thanks to you. It’s a wonder she didn’t miscarry. Theo found her running. She was miles from your place, the rain soaking her through. The doctor said she burst a few blood vessels, but it’s a miracle nothing else happened.”

  Her words were like a gut punch with a wrecking ball. Somehow, I locked my knees and stayed upright, letting her land blow after blow with each accusation that flashed from her eyes at me. She was right. It was my fault.

  And I didn’t know how to fucking fix it.

  “I think the question we need to ask Zakhar is—does he love Sofia, or is all of this, in fact, just because of Oleksandr Davydov’s ambitions?” Scarlett said, placing an arm around her twin’s shoulders.

  All eyes turned to me, waiting.

  Sucking in a harsh breath, I answered honestly. “It started out to give Oleksandr what he wanted. I thought I owed it to him.”

  Victoria took a menacing step toward me, and I would have welcomed the physical violence she was about to inflict on me, but her sister tightened her hold around her. “Let’s hear him out,” Scarlett urged, but her brown gaze was just as fiery as her twin’s.

  “But then I met Sofia,” I told her mother. “And it no longer became about ambitions or bloodlines or my mentor’s desire for ultimate power. There was only her and how much I love her.”

  “Yet it was also still about Oleksandr,” Victoria argued. “You strived to get Sofia pregnant—as Oleksandr wanted. You didn’t tell her about her biological family. You didn’t admit to anything. Whether you do, in fact, love my daughter is still to be determined because, from your actions alone, they don’t speak of an undying love. Yesterday, I wouldn’t have doubted your love for her, but now I know better. Sofia might be special to you, but not enough. You were still working on your agenda. Or rather, Oleksandr’s.”

  “It’s all my fault,” Yulia muttered, more to herself than anyone else in the room. “If I’d just kept my mouth shut when I married Volodymyr, my father never would have known she existed. She would have remained safe from their scheming. God, she could have met some nice man who would have loved her as she deserves, and none of this would have ever been an issue.”

  Just thinking of Sofia with anyone other than me spiked my blood with jealousy. “No one will ever love her as much as I do. Not one goddamn man in this world will cherish and adore her like me.”

  They all looked at me for a few seconds before bursting into loud, humorless laughter. Every one of them, with the exception of Olena. “I believe you, Zakhar,” she said softly, causing the others to roll their eyes at her. “But you are going to have to prove yourself to everyone, especially Sofia.”

  “How?” I rasped out, begging her with my eyes to help me. “Please, Olena. I’m at a loss here. I broke something precious, and I have no idea how to put it back together.” Tears stung my eyes, and I unashamedly let them fall. “When I came to live with you, that was the first time I knew what having a family meant. But it wasn’t until Sofia loved me that I understood how that emotion truly felt. She…she doesn’t even hate me right now. There is just indifference, and that is a million times worse. Because if she hated me, at least I would know she still felt something for me.”

  “Give her time to heal,” the only mother I’d ever known urged, her touch soft and kind when she grasped my hand. “She’s in shock. Finding out about us, about your scheme with Oleksandr, nearly losing the baby. All of that is too much to take in for anyone.”

  “It is a lot for anyone to take in,” Victoria agreed. “But Sofia is stronger than that. She’s a fighter. This…” She swallowed roughly. “This is not my Sofia. The hurt goes too deep. Raven and I have decided that Sofia will return to Creswell Springs with her as soon as the doctor clears her for travel. Time and distance from here are what she really needs.”

  “What?” I exploded. “No!”

  “Yes,” Victoria bit out. “The wedding is off. You two are no longer together, and you have no say in the matter. Be thankful I’m even telling you where she will be.”

  I scrambled for something to use to hold on to, to keep her in New York, but I only had one thing I could use. “She’s pregnant with my child!”

  “Raven will keep me updated on Sofia’s progress, and I, in turn, will share the details with you,” Victoria said with a shrug. “When her due date approaches, I will join them. If you don’t piss me off any more than I already am between now and then, I might find the will to care enough and share photos of my grandchild’s birth with you.”

  “And what does Sofia say about all of this?” I gritted out.

  “I haven’t told her yet, but I’m sure she will agree that it is in everyone’s best interest—especially hers and the baby’s—to put as much distance as possible between the two of you.”

  “You’re not taking my woman and unborn child away from me!” I snarled. “Doing this makes you no better than Oleksandr and what he forced Yulia to do when she discovered she was pregnant. You are separating a parent from his child.”

  Victoria blanched, but she quickly squared her shoulders, her voice turning to pure ice. “I disagree. According to more than one person in this room, Oleksandr would have killed his own child and grandchild for his own gain. I am merely putting my child as far away from the person who has hurt her the most in this world, so her heart will have time to heal while she grows and nurtures the baby she carries within her.”

  “Sofia just told me herself that we could share custody of the baby.”

  “And that is her right to decide,” Victoria said with a tight smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “But the birth is still many months away. The two of you can revisit the custodial agreement when the baby is born. Until then, I suggest you return with Oleksandr to wherever the fuck you came from and leave Sofia alone.”

  “I will never leave her!” I roared.

  Victoria jerked away from her sister’s hold and got in my face. “Listen to me carefully, Morozov. My baby girl isn’t herself right now. Because of you. She nearly lost my grandchild. Because of you. The only thing that is keeping me from slitting your throat right here in this room and letting your surrogate mother and sister watch you bleed out at my feet, is that you are the father of my grandchild. As badly as I want to end your life for hurting my daughter, it is for her sake that I will allow you to continue to breathe. Until she’s herself again, and can cognitively make her own choices, I will refrain from ending your pathetic life.”

  It was there in those brown depths, the truth that she would do exactly as she had threatened. I didn’t doubt for a single moment that she would have done just that. Slit my throat and possibly even danced in the pool of my blood. Perhaps even taken a vial of it back to Sofia as a souvenir.

  This woman was a hundred times stronger and braver than Yulia. It made me thankful she was the one who had raised Sofia. But there was only so much nurturing could provide. Right then, it was Yulia’s weaker biology that was coursing through Sofia, making her fragile in light of what had happened.

  Sofia

  The door shut behind Zak, and I expected to feel relief that he was gone. He’d left as I’d told him to.

  Good. Maybe he’d go back to Oleksandr and the two of them would leave me the hell alone.

  But even as that thought filtered through my mind, it pissed me off. How dare they do this to me. I was worth more than just the children I could bring into the world. I was more than just the DNA that coursed through my entire body. I was better than that, and I sure as fuck was better than Oleksandr Davydov.

  I was Sofia Volkov, the only daughter of Adrian and Victoria Volkov. Bratty sister to Theo Volkov. Niece to the Anya Volkov Vitucci. They were my family. Not the Davydovs. Who the hell cared that I might share DNA with those idiots? I was raised by people who loved me, taught me the value of life and love. And made me a fighter.

  Lying in a hospital bed, feeling sorry for myself because some stupid guy had broken my heart, that wasn’t fighting. That was rolling over and letting them walk all over me.

  “Fuck this bullshit,” I hissed to myself as I threw back the covers, unhooked the wires attached to the heart monitor, and ripped out the IV.

  I found some medical tape to put over the small wound caused by removing the IV. The only thing I was wearing was a hospital gown, but Tavia had brought me a robe, and I quickly thrust my arms into it. Tying the sash at my waist, I walked to the door and started to pull it open just as I heard female voices. Frowning, I waited and listened.

  Olena told Zak that they needed to talk, and then Tetka said she had secured a room. I waited until I heard their footsteps moving down the hall before opening the door completely and following after them.

  Down the corridor, I saw Raven close a door behind the group, and her green gaze locked with mine for mere seconds before she closed the door. When I got nearer, I noticed she’d left it cracked slightly, and I could see her shadow. Curious, I leaned against the wall beside the door and waited, listening. By the time Olena finished her confession, my heart was racing, and I was glad I’d taken the heart monitor wires off before leaving my room.

  I hurt for Olena and even for Yulia, but my anger at Oleksandr only heightened. All of this was his fault. If it hadn’t been for him, how would my life have turned out?

  But then I realized, if Yulia hadn’t been so scared of her father, she never would have given me up for adoption, and I wouldn’t have become a Volkov. I closed my eyes, considering that maybe, just maybe, I had something to thank that old bastard for. But getting the best parents in the universe was all I had to be thankful for.

  Anger boiled through me, and I was about to push away from the wall, go in search of my clothes so I could leave and find my biological grandfather. It was time to show him that I was worth more than just bearing his great-grandchildren. And I sure as fuck was more dangerous than he’d ever imagined himself to be.

  But then I heard my mother’s plans for me. Send me to Creswell Springs with Raven. To heal and let my pregnancy progress. Because she thought I wasn’t strong enough to deal with Zak.

  My heart broke at the pain in her voice. I knew she would have wanted to be a part of every moment of my pregnancy, so this decision couldn’t have been easy for her. But she’d made it. To protect me.

  It pissed me off that I’d let her down, though. That, for a short time, I’d let my pain get the better of me and I’d made her think that I couldn’t handle the consequences of my own stupidity. I blamed that on the Davydov DNA I unfortunately possessed. But it was my mother, aunts, and even Raven who had taught me to be stronger than that.

  I wouldn’t let them down again.

  Putting the steel back into my spine, I squared my shoulders and stepped away from the slightly cracked door. As I did, Raven gave me a wink, and I found the energy to flash her an evil grin. A grin that she’d had a hand in teaching me to possess.

  Without wasting time, I made it back to my room. Maybe I should have been surprised to find Tavia and Lexa waiting there, but deep down, I wasn’t. Tavia already had my clothes set out, and she and Lexa helped me dress. Sneaking out of a hospital was more complicated than I would have thought, but given the security my dad had put into place for my protection, it was to be expected.

  Twenty minutes later, I slid into the back of an SUV that Lexa’s husband was driving. My brother was in the passenger seat, and he glanced back for a long moment, assessing me from head to toe before giving the nod for Ben to drive.

  Ben stopped outside of the hotel where Oleksandr and his family were staying. As I stepped out onto the sidewalk, my brother unfolded himself from the front passenger seat and pulled a gun from the holster under his suit jacket. “Just in case,” he said, but I shook my head.

  I wasn’t there to spill the old man’s blood. Death was too good for him. He deserved a long, lonely life, knowing he’d fucked himself out of the things he’d been so ambitious for, that he’d cast aside all the good things he might have had a chance to share in.

  “There’s no need for that,” I told Theo.

  “But he might try to hurt you,” he argued, pushing the gun into my hands.

  “And if he does, I know how to protect myself. Don’t worry about me, big brother. I’ve learned more than you realize while staying with Raven over the summer.” Forcing a smile, I turned away and walked into the hotel, mentally reminding myself that I really didn’t need that damn gun.

  Days before, I’d wondered why Oleksandr and his family hadn’t decided to stay at the townhouse with Zak, but now I understood all too well. Zak hadn’t wanted to chance Oleksandr running his mouth.

  Refusing to think about Zak yet, I focused on what I would say to my grandfather when I confronted him. All the way up to the penthouse, I considered everything I wanted to express to him. My anger only escalated as the elevator rose higher.

  It was midmorning now as the doors opened, and I stepped off. Sucking in a steadying breath, I marched over to the door and knocked.

  The door opened several moments later to Volodymyr. It was weird, looking into eyes that were the exact same shade as mine, down to the little flecks of darker blue on the outer rims. Growing up, I’d never given my biological parents much thought, and even as I looked into the face of the man whom I shared one half of my DNA with, I still couldn’t find the will to care much about him. Adrian and Victoria were all I needed, all I’d ever wanted. This man and Yulia didn’t matter to me on the parental level.

  Still, it was a bit surreal looking into a pair of eyes identical to my own.

  Surprise flickered in his own blue gaze. “Sofia,” he murmured. “I thought…”

  “I’d like to speak to Oleksandr, please,” I told him in an emotionally neutral voice.

  He stepped back, allowing me entrance. “He’s in the dining room, having breakfast.”

  “Thank you.” Without waiting for him to lead the way, I walked through the huge penthouse and into the dining room. A table that could seat twelve took up the center of the room and was laid out with enough food to feed at least twenty. It was a waste, but something I never would have considered before spending the summer in Creswell Springs. All that food could have filled tiny, hungry stomachs, and it made me sad that it wouldn’t, that the hotel staff would most likely just toss it into the trash at the end of the day.

  As I entered the room, the old man lifted his graying brows, and I focused on him instead of the tragic reality of so many people going without food daily. “Thought you were in the hospital, girl.”

  “I was, old man.” I matched his tone, cool and uncaring. His eyes were hard, perhaps even cruel, as they looked at me, and for a flash of a moment, I pictured holding the gun Theo had urged me to take. Pointing it at Oleksandr’s head and pulling the trigger, ridding the world of a man who wanted to rule it but would no doubt only crush it if given the chance.

  Without being invited, I took a seat at the table. His place was at the head, and I took the chair to his left. Grabbing a carafe of fresh orange juice, I poured myself a glass and took a sip. Placing the glass on the table, I gave him an impartial appraisal. “I don’t see it.”

  His eyes narrowed on me. “See what?”

  “Everyone seems to think you’re so powerful. Scary. Your own daughter was even terrified for her life, thinking you might kill her if you had known she was pregnant with me.” I shook my head. “But I just don’t see the danger.”

  He tilted his head slightly, slowly, like a predator inspecting his prey. Playing with me, trying to intimidate me. “What is it you do see, then, girl?”

  I let my gaze drift over him for a long moment. With each tick of the clock in the distance, I could feel his tension rising. It was almost amusing, but given how much I hated this bastard, I couldn’t bring myself to laugh. “I see a sad, pathetic man who thinks he can control those around him with a flick of his wrist. You consider yourself untouchable, yet you feel as if you don’t have the power you deserve.” I leaned in toward him ever so slightly and lowered my voice, sharing the secret that he and I were all too aware of. He just didn’t want to admit it to himself. “But we both know you’re too weak to control that power even if you did, by some miracle, get your hands on it.”