1. Anastasia
Chapter 1
Anastasia
Age 25
“I am not getting married,” I say firmly, concealing my hands behind my back, the sharp pain of my nails cutting into my palms the only thing holding me together.
The woman in front of me raises a perfectly arched silver brow as she takes in my response. Her intricately embroidered jacket and black slacks make her look regal as she stares down her nose at me. She’s technically my grandmother, but since this is the first time we’re meeting, she’s nothing more than a stranger.
“You’re in no position to argue, Anastasia,” she says with a hint of a lingering Russian accent.
My teeth grind together as I hold myself back. The condescension dripping from this woman’s mouth has me on edge.
My brother clutches my shoulder. “That’s not what we discussed on the phone when we agreed to meet.”
The matriarch of the Romanov family replies expressionless. “You say that as if we are the ones in need of a favor when it is you who requires our help.”
Her words sink like a stone in my stomach. Our father’s only been dead for two weeks and has already managed to screw us over. He’d been secretly borrowing money from the Salvatore organization, piling on an insurmountable debt we didn’t know about until they came knocking on our door the day after his funeral.
The Salvatores aren’t like the Order of Saints. They don’t follow any sort of code, instead operating completely outside of the law. They’re a crime syndicate, not a secret society.
Nothing could have prepared me for the promise in their eyes that we would pay. That the consequences of being late would be worse than anything we could imagine. There isn’t a single ounce of me that doesn’t believe them.
The men had sat calmly in our living room as if it was just another day and not one that was turning my life upside down. It was simple. Either we pay in full, or we’d be working it off for the rest of our lives. The way they leered at me told me exactly how women pay things off in their organization.
Which brings us here, begging our estranged grandmother for help. As the head of the Romanov family, second only to the Order itself, it would be nothing to lend us the money, but she’d insisted we come to New York in person before she’d hear us out.
It seemed simple: show our faces, bow our heads, and swallow our pride. I should have known it wouldn’t be that easy. After all, it was my mother who’d betrayed them to begin with.
“Marriage won’t be necessary. Once we’ve recovered our businesses, we’ll pay you back twice over,” my brother says, his hands fisting at his sides.
My grandmother’s head tilts, disdain clear in her cold features. “Look around. Does it look to you like I need your money?”
The room’s ceiling towers over us, adorned with intricate gold designs that scream expensive. The entire house resembles more of a castle than a typical home. Our feet press against smooth marble floors, veined with warm brown tones, while thick velvet curtains hang on either side of the windows. It’s immediately evident that every aspect of this place exudes opulence and a level of extravagance that even billionaires would envy.
It presents an image of a fairy tale. One that my mother left behind when she met my father for a love so strong it destroyed him.
The woman in front of us could be made of ice. She’s standing so still, expressionless, as she waits for us to accept our fate. She’s nothing like her daughter, who was warm and kind. My heart twists as her memory tries to invade my mind, bringing the guilt with it. I shove it down deep, but I can’t prevent the voice in the back of my head, whispering that this is all my fault.
I’d get on my knees and beg if I thought it would make a difference, but something about her tells me she’d hate that even more.
“If I get married, you’ll give us the money?” The second the words are out of my mouth, a chill runs down my spine.
“It’s a start. We can’t forget that your brother is the heir to our family, so of course he’ll have to marry too.”
“What?” I gasp, stumbling back into my brother, whose face is ghost white.
He stiffens. “I have no plans to be your heir.”
“You say that as if you have a choice. Both of you agree to marry, and we’ll provide you with the money required to save your family’s company. That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? You wouldn’t have come if it wasn’t absolutely necessary.”
Dread settles in my chest, making it hard to breathe. I knew they’d demand something when we came here. It’s not like I expected to be welcomed with open arms, but not this.
Nikolai has done everything he can to save the Volkov family. He’s meant to be the one who runs it. Him giving up his future to become the heir of the Romanov family isn’t something I can let happen. My mother escaped them for a reason, and I, for one, don’t want to know why. What I already know is they’re known for their unscrupulous behavior, and I can’t let my softhearted brother fall into that.
A shard twists beneath my ribs as a familiar guilt washes over me. I’m not blameless in this. After all, had I not asked my mother for help, she never would have died, and we wouldn’t be in this position to begin with.
Now, we have the Salvatore organization breathing down our throats, threatening us with God knows what.
I glance at my brother. His gaze is hard on our grandmother as he stares her down. He knows as much as I do we need this money. He looks from her to me and back. His expression turns to one I’m entirely too familiar with. He’s spent a lifetime sacrificing himself for me.
I can’t let him do something stupid. I can’t give up like this. I have to at least try one last time.
“There has to be something else. Something we can do,” I rush out.
The glint in her eyes makes me feel like she’s lured me like an insect caught in her web.
“We’ll help you if you return what your mother stole from us.”
My head whips back, and I look at my brother to see if he knows what she’s talking about, but he seems just as much in the dark as I am.
“We have nothing of yours,” he replies.
“Of course you don’t. She didn’t steal it for you. How do you think a runaway was able to get protection from the Order of Saints? Do you think they just let your mother and your father in?”
I take a step forward, but Nikolai’s firm grip holds me in place. “What are you talking about? Our father inherited his place as a Saint.”
She tuts. “It sounds like they’ve spun a lifetime of lies for the both of you. Let me be clear. When your mother left us, your father was nothing but an Unsainted, waiting for judgment. They knew the only way to escape our family was to have the protection of the Order of Saints, so they had to buy their way in.”
“That’s impossible. The Order would never allow something like that.” Nikolai’s voice is unwavering in his belief.
A curve forms on her lips, which sickeningly resembles my mother’s. It makes me nauseous to see anything they hold in common.
She looks entirely too pleased when she delivers the next blow. “You have a lot of faith in them, but even the Order can be purchased at a price.”
My brother shakes his head. “The position of Saint is invaluable. No amount of money would be enough.”
“Agreed.” The matriarch lowers her head but never breaks eye contact. “Which is why they gave them something impossible to buy.” Her voice turns cold. “Something that belongs to me.”
I rack through my brain for any mention of an item from my parents, but whatever it is, they kept it a secret.
“The Kokoshnik Tiara has been passed down throughout the generations, originally owned by your very namesake. An item that’s coveted by all.”
Her sharp gaze turns on me. “We expected your mother to be the one who returned it, but with her death, it seemed lost to us. I heard you played a part in that.”
Acid crawls up my throat as my gut twists. Somehow, this woman knows exactly what I did. How I destroyed my once happy family, turning it into the mess it is now.
I take a deep breath, knowing what I’m about to say is crazy. “I’ll do it. I’ll return it.”
My grandmother’s head cants to the side, and her eyes roam over me as if assessing me for the first time.
“What are you saying?” Nikolai grabs my arm, worry written in deep lines on his face, imploring me to stop this.
I ignore him. I know if I look at him too long, I’ll lose my resolve. Getting caught stealing from the Order is nothing less than a death sentence, but I won’t let him give up anything else for me. “I’ll get it to you. No matter what.”
“Ana, don’t be ridiculous. If anyone is going to do it, it’ll be me,” Nikolai says, but I don’t look his way.
The full smile my estranged grandmother gives us makes the hair on my arms stand. “Nikolai, you will stay here. You’re the heir, after all. What better collateral?”
I feel a chill when her attention falls on me.
“It makes more sense for me to do it. I’m already a Saint.” There’s a sharpness to Nikolai’s voice I’ve never heard before.
My brother has taken care of me my entire life. He was the one who held me together when our mother passed away. Who checked my homework and made sure I ate when our father gave up on life.
It was my fault he became a shell of a human, no longer caring how his children survived. Nikolai sacrificed his childhood to be there for me. He should have been out with friends, causing trouble. Instead, he was forced to grow up too fast and raise me.
I won’t let him be the only one to protect our family. It’s time for me to hold my own. If this is what it takes, then so be it.
“I’ll do it.”
Nikolai sucks in a sharp breath, but Grandmother ignores him.
“Perfect. Do be careful. I wouldn’t want you to die too.”
Her tone gives away her lie. Whether I live or die, she’ll get what she wants.
I pull my shoulders back and meet her gaze. “Of course. I’d hate to disappoint you.” Sarcasm drips from every word, and I don’t miss the tightening of the old woman’s lips.
Whatever happens, I’m going to make her pay for this. “I promise.”