38. Lacey
38
LACEY
I slip into Three Birds with my ring turned to hide the massive pink diamond. I scan the mostly empty café until I spot Megan in our usual corner booth. Her face lights up when she sees me, but worry creases her brow as I slide in across from her.
"You look different," Megan says, studying my face, as she passes me a cup of coffee.
"A lot has happened since you last saw me."
My hand instinctively rises to touch my necklace and Megan's eyes narrow when she sees it, her coffee cup freezing halfway to her lips.
"Is that Mom's necklace?" She leans forward, squinting. "The one Freddy pawned months ago?"
I curl my fingers around the delicate chain. "Yes."
"How?" Her eyes widen. "Where did you get that?"
"Vadim got it back for me." The words tumble out before I can stop myself.
"Vadim? Vadim Stravinsky? The fucking billionaire whose suit you took by accident from Mrs. Klossner's?" Megan's voice rises. "What the hell is going on?"
I take a deep breath. "I married him. In Paris. About a week ago."
"You what!? " Megan grabs my left hand, forces it open, and gasps when she spots the massive pink diamond and my wedding band. "Lacey, what the fuck?"
"It's complicated?—"
"Then uncomplicate it for me. Because I thought you were in Paris to take some time to yourself by blowing up your honeymoon budget." Megan's voice rises, drawing looks from nearby tables. She lowers it to a fierce whisper. "Instead, you tell me that you married a billionaire fashion mogul who can afford diamonds the size of fucking golf balls? What the fuck is going on?"
"Nothing is going on!" I yank my hand back. "You have to trust me."
"Lacey, I want to trust you." Megan's voice drops lower as more eyes start looking at us. "But you can't be serious if you think that I believe you when you say that nothing is going on. The police are treating Nathan's death as a homicide. And you're being named as a person of interest."
My stomach plummets. "What? Why?"
"Caroline put out a missing person's report two and a half weeks ago. When the body washed up last week, they called her in to identify it." Megan sighs. "And she did, despite the advanced state of decomposition."
Ice spreads through my veins. "How did she do that?"
"She recognized him by a cluster of moles on his inner thigh. And then brought in a toothbrush he left at her place for a DNA match."
My stomach lurches. I know exactly which moles she means. A little triangle formation high up on his leg that used to make me laugh because it looked like a tiny face.
But it's the mention of the toothbrush that hurts me the most, and my hands start to shake.
Megan notices the way my hands are shaking and slowly reach forward to take my fingers into hers, trying to calm me.
But it's no use.
Anger and shock courses through me, and even though I should focus on the fact that I'm being named a person of interest in Nathan's death, all I can think about is how long he'd been cheating on me with Caroline .
How many nights had he spent with her for him to have a fucking toothbrush at her place? That asshole. That fucking asshole!
I'm fucking glad he's dead.
The savage thought tears through me, and it shames me as soon as it materializes in my head.
"What else did the police tell you?" I force myself to speak as evenly as I can. "Why am I being treated as a person of interest?"
"Caroline told the police that you trespassed into Nathan's office right before he disappeared." Megan's fingers tighten around mine. "She said you were screaming at him and threatening him."
That lying bitch!
The room spins, and I'm having a hard time drawing another breath. "I didn't—I found them together, Meg! She was the one?—"
"I know, Lacey. But she got to the police first." Megan nods. "And let's be real, you were fucking pissed that night."
"I was just?—"
"Angry? Hurt? Contemplating setting his car on fire?" Megan's eyes drill into mine. "Those were your exact words, Lace. You told me yourself that night."
"I didn't mean it literally!"
"I know you didn't." Megan cuts me off. "But Caroline is painting this picture of you as an obsessed and unstable ex-fiancée. She told them that Nathan tried to end the engagement two weeks before he disappeared. But you refused to take no for an answer. And then you started harassing him."
The world around me spins at the audacity of Caroline's lies.
How dare she! How fucking dare she!
"Also." she leans closer. "The police told me that one of your neighbors heard the sound of someone screaming for help in Nathan's apartment right around the night of his disappearance."
The memory of Vadim's hand over my mouth, and the way I tried to scream for help in Nathan's apartment flash through my mind.
"You know something, don't you?" She asks softly, eyes fraught with worry.
Slowly, despite myself, I nod.
"Lacey, what's really going on?" Megan squeezes my hand. "Please. Just tell me."
I pull my hand away from Megan's, and fidget with my coffee cup, avoiding Megan's concerned gaze across the table. The truth about Nathan burns in my throat more than my own need to clear my name from Caroline's accusations.
How do I even begin explaining that Nathan was involved in human trafficking? Where do I even start explaining that he was instrumental in helping monsters destroy so many lives?
The weight of knowledge crashes down on me.
All of it is entangled together in a web I can barely comprehend.
And I'm caught in the middle, with no good options no matter what I choose..
I look up at Megan's worried face and make my decision. I can't lie to her. Not about this.
"Meg," I whisper, leaning forward. "What I'm about to tell you... you can never repeat it to anyone. Do you understand?"
Concern deepens the lines around her eyes. "Wh?—"
"I mean it, Meg." I grab hold of her hand, squeezing them harder than I'd like. "Knowing what I'm about to tell you is fucking dangerous. And if the wrong people find out that you know..." I swallow hard, remembering Irina's blood on my hands. "I can't bear the thought of something happening to you."
"Lacey, you're scaring me."
"Good. You should be scared." My knuckles turn white. "Because what I'm about to tell you is the scariest fucking thing you've ever heard of."
"Wait." Megan pulls her hand from mine and stands up. "If this is as dangerous as you say, then we should talk somewhere else. Somewhere where nobody can hear us"
"Good idea." I nod and follow suit. "Where?"
"My car."
I slide into Megan's car and wait for her to start the engine and pull out of the parking lot. My hands tremble in my lap as I gather my thoughts.
"Nathan wasn't just cheating on me with Caroline," I begin, my voice barely above a whisper. "He was working for a man named Kirsan Kuular who trafficks women through the fashion industry. Those modeling contracts you see advertised everywhere? Most of them are fake. Kirsan uses them to lure girls in, promising them a chance to enter into the industry, and then sells them to the highest bidders."
"Holy shit." Megan's eyes widen. "How do you know all this?"
I touch Mom's necklace to steady myself before continuing. "Vadim told me."
"When?"
I twist my hands in my lap, staring at the diamond ring that now feels impossibly heavy. "I went back to Nathan's apartment morning after the Vorobyov event I was working at to get my things."
Megan shifts in her seat to face me, silent but attentive.
"Vadim was already there. He was looking through Nathan's files, trying to find more evidence linking Nathan to Kirsan's operation." My heart pounds as I remember that moment. "I didn't know it was him at first when I walked in and saw someone inside. I panicked and tried to scream for help."
"So the scream your neighbor heard." Megan's eyes widen. "That was you?"
I nod. "
"Remember Vadim's suit that I accidentally took from Mrs. Klossner's?" I ask and she nods. "There was a piece of paper in the pocket. At first, I thought they were just inventory numbers—SKUs and prices. Well, they were." My voice cracks. “Not for clothes. But for people."
"Are you sure? That's one hell of an accusation."
"I recognized one of the names on the list—Chrysalis Designs. Nathan had talked about doing a deal with them months ago."
"But how do you know Vadim isn't part of this?" Megan's eyes bore into mine. "I mean, he had a list of people and prices in his suit jacket. That sounds pretty damning to me."
"Because his company, Svoboda, frees those victims." I twist my ring, remembering Irina's fierce pride when she told me about the company's mission. "One half of Svoboda is the brand that gains him access to fashion shows, and the second half helps trafficking victims escape and build new lives."
"And you believe him?" Megan's voice carries an edge of skepticism that makes my chest tighten.
"I've met some of the women he's saved."
"Jesus." Megan slumps back in her seat. "But why marry you? Why drag you into all this?"
"He said it had to be me after we crossed paths at Nathan's apartment," I reply. "He said that I was the exact kind of person he needed. Because I'll fight and defend those who needs defending the most."
I recall what he said to me the moment he brought me to Pankration for the first time.
"He said that it's because I won't back down, even if I'm cornered. And because less than twelve hours after my engagement ended, I was arguing with him in an attempt to stop him from buying out Mrs. Klossner's dry cleaner."
Megan gawks at me. "Don't you think everything sounds just a little too convenient?"
I close my eyes, recalling how everything came together. Everything happened so fast.
But now, hearing Megan say it out loud...
"Think about it," she continues, her voice growing more intense. "He just happened to leave that list in his suit pocket? The same suit you accidentally took without him saying one goddamn word? And he just happened to be at Nathan's place right when you showed up?"
She's not wrong. The timing does seem perfect. Too perfect.
"And then he's telling you that you're exactly who he needed?" Megan shakes her head. "I mean, I'm not saying he's wrong about you. But you have to admit. It's too fucking convenient."
Olga's words echo in my mind: Sooner or later, Pyotr's bastard will put blood on your hands.
And in many ways, he did.
Irina's .
But the thought of Irina restores the spark of faith I have in Vadim. The way she lit up talking about Svoboda's mission. How she believed in Vadim's mission completely. The fierce pride in her voice when she told me about all the women they helped.
"No," I say firmly, cutting Megan off. "You don't understand. Vadim is doing real good in this world. He's saving people. I told you, I've met some of them. One of them died protecting me in Paris."
"Right, Paris…" Megan huffs. "You still haven't explained why he needed to marry you. In Paris of all places."
I take a deep breath, steeling myself for what I'm about to reveal.
"All of Kirsan's transactions was kept in the Archbishop's bible at the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Paris." I start twisting the ring on my finger. "But there was a catch. The only time anyone besides the Archbishop can touch the bible is during a wedding ceremony. That's why he needed to marry me."
"So it was all fake? The marriage?"
I hesitate, remembering Vadim's tender kisses, the way he held me after Irina died, how he makes me feel protected even in the midst of all the darkness looming in around us.
"It started that way," I admit softly. "But now... I don't know anymore, Meg. Everything's gotten so complicated."
"This is insane." Megan shakes her head. "People need to know about this, Lacey. The public deserves to know what's happening right under their noses."
"Weren't you listening to me?" My voice rises sharply. "You can't tell anyone about this!"
"But the Seattle Voice could?—"
"Kirsan is dangerous!" Panic seizes my throat. "You have no idea what he's capable of. What his people will do to anyone who threatens his operation. Especially someone who can threaten him so publicly like this! For all we know, he's the one who killed Nathan!"
"Which is exactly why we need to expose him!" Megan's eyes light up with that familiar determined gleam. "If we could get this story out there, bring attention to what's happening?—"
"Absolutely fucking not!" I grab her arm, squeezing harder than I mean to. "I watched someone die because of this, Megan. Someone who was trying to do the right thing! I will not let you put yourself in danger just to chase a fucking story."
"Lacey, you're hurting me?—"
"Listen to me!" My fingers dig deeper into her flesh as memories of Irina's blood flood back. "If anything happens to you because of this. Because of me! I won't be able to live with myself. Do you understand? I will not let you do this."
I've never spoken to her like this before, never grabbed her this roughly.
Megan stares at me, a panoply of emotions flickering in her eyes. But the one that overpowers all of them is an intense fear while she stares at me.
Like I'm someone she doesn't recognize.
Like I'm someone dangerous.
I release her arm immediately, horrified at myself. At how much I'm starting to sound like Vadim. Starting to act like him.
"I'm sorry." My voice shakes, but the edge refuses to leave. "But I need you to promise me that you'll stay away from this story."
"Okay! Okay!" Megan's stammers. "I promise."
"Thank you." Relief floods through me and I release her.
"Fuck." She rubs her arm where I grabbed her. "You landed yourself in one hell of a mess, didn't you?"
"Yeah." I let out a mirthless laugh. "I have."
"Lacey." She turns to face me fully. "You still need to go to the police. Caroline's accusations aren't going to go away on their own. The longer you stay silent, the more suspicious it looks."
"I can't?—"
"Yes, you can." Her voice softens. "You don't have to tell them everything. Just explain that you found Nathan with Caroline, and that her story is bullshit. Give your side of what happened that night. Just to get it on record."
I twist the ring again, considering her words.
"And if you're telling me the truth about Vadim's work. Having the police sniffing around him is the last thing either of you need."
She's right. If the police start investigating me as a suspect, they could uncover everything. It'll compromise Vadim's mission.
And by extension, everything that Irina died for.
I can't let that happen.
"Okay." I nod slowly. "Let's go to the station."
"Now?"
"We're already in your car, aren't we? Unless you have something else more important to do?"
"Fair enough." She starts her car, and pulls out of the lot. As we wait at a red light, movement in the side mirror catches my eye. A black sedan three cars behind us.
How long has that been there?
I look over at Megan, but she seems oblivious to it. I debate telling her about it. But if I do, then that might freak her out. And if she freaks out, she might do something unpredictable.
And if that sedan belongs to Kirsan, then we'll both be in trouble.
So, I stay silent for now, watching it from the side mirror.
The light changes. We turn left.
And the sedan follows.