Chapter 16
CHAPTER 16
Lily
T he weight of the past few days hung over me like a storm cloud that refused to clear. The tension between Nikita and me had shifted—it was no longer just about anger or betrayal. Something deeper was pulling us together, but just as quickly, the shadows of our pasts were pulling us apart again.
We hadn't spoken much since the ambush. Every time we locked eyes, I could feel the heat of his gaze, but there was a wariness there too, an unspoken tension simmering beneath the surface. It was like we were waiting for something to break, for the fragile peace we'd built to shatter all over again.
I didn't know what to do. How could I, when I wasn't even sure where I stood? Part of me wanted to cling to the closeness we'd shared, the raw passion that had flared between us, but the guilt never left. The betrayal still hung in the air like a knife waiting to fall.
I was standing by the window of the estate's sitting room, staring out at the darkened forest, lost in my thoughts, when I heard footsteps behind me. Heavy, deliberate. I didn't need to turn to know who it was.
"Mikhail," Nikita's voice came from across the room, tense and sharp. "You have news?"
I turned to see Mikhail standing in the doorway, his expression grim. He wasn't a man who showed much emotion, but the look on his face sent a chill down my spine. Something was wrong.
"Yeah," Mikhail said, his eyes flicking between Nikita and me, his lips pressed into a thin line. "I found something. Something you're both going to want to hear."
Nikita's jaw tightened, and I felt my heart start to race. The air in the room seemed to thicken as Mikhail stepped forward, his usual calm replaced by something darker, more urgent.
"What is it?" Nikita asked, his voice low.
Mikhail glanced at me, then back at Nikita. "I've been digging into Alexei's death. Trying to figure out why everything happened the way it did. And I found something… unexpected."
My throat tightened, and I took a step closer, the tension in the room suffocating. Mikhail had been loyal to Nikita for years. He was a man who never wavered, never hesitated. If he was unsettled, then whatever he had found was big.
"Go on," Nikita demanded, his eyes narrowing.
Mikhail took a deep breath, his gaze shifting to me. "It wasn't Alexei," he said slowly, carefully. "Not the way you think. He wasn't acting on his own."
I blinked, confusion clouding my thoughts. "What do you mean?" I asked, my voice shaky.
Mikhail's eyes locked onto mine, and for the first time, I saw something close to sympathy in his gaze. "Your father, Lily," he said, his voice heavy with the weight of the truth. "He's the one who orchestrated everything."
The room went silent.
I stared at him, the words not fully sinking in. My father? My father had been behind it all?
"That's impossible," I whispered, shaking my head. "He was a businessman. He had nothing to do with Alexei's death."
Mikhail's expression hardened, and he stepped closer, his gaze steady. "Your father wasn't just a businessman, Lily. He has deep ties to the criminal world, far deeper than anyone knows. He was the one who called the hit on Nikita. He used Alexei as a pawn."
My stomach churned, the ground beneath me seeming to tilt. I felt like I couldn't breathe, like the walls were closing in on me. My father—my father, who I'd barely known, who I'd thought of as distant and cold but never dangerous—had orchestrated this?
"How… how do you know this?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Mikhail glanced at Nikita, who was standing rigid, his fists clenched at his sides. "I started looking into the financials," Mikhail explained, his voice steady but grim. "Your father was moving large sums of money in the months leading up to Alexei's death. Some of it went to an arms deal that was directly tied to Nikita's operations. I didn't think much of it at first, but then I started following the money. It led me to some of your father's old contacts, people who knew more than they should have."
He paused, his gaze hardening. "That's when I realized your father had been manipulating things from behind the scenes for years. He had ties to several criminal families, and he wasn't just protecting his business—he was protecting his empire. Alexei wasn't an opportunistic traitor. He was following orders. From your father."
My legs felt weak, and I stumbled back, gripping the edge of the window ledge to steady myself. The room felt like it was spinning, and I couldn't catch my breath.
Nikita's voice cut through the haze of my thoughts, sharp and dangerous. "You're telling me her father was the one who started all of this? That he's the reason Alexei turned against me?"
Mikhail nodded grimly. "Yes. Her father lied to Alexei about your business. He convinced him that you were a threat, that you were involved in deals that would destroy them both. And Alexei—he believed him. He thought he was protecting Lily. That's why he turned."
My heart raced, the pieces of the puzzle slowly falling into place, each one more devastating than the last. Alexei had never betrayed anyone—he had been manipulated, just like I had been. All these years, I had blamed Nikita for Alexei's death, when it had been my own father pulling the strings from the shadows.
"I don't… I don't understand," I stammered, my voice cracking. "Why would my father do this? Why would he?—"
"He was protecting himself," Mikhail interrupted, his voice cold. "Your father was running operations that would've crumbled if Nikita's business expanded the way he planned. He needed to get rid of Nikita, but he couldn't do it directly. So he used Alexei. And when Alexei failed, he let him take the fall."
The room went silent again, the weight of the truth pressing down on me like a lead weight. My father had orchestrated the murder of my husband, manipulated me into seeking revenge, and all for his own gain.
I had been blind. So blind.
Nikita's eyes burned into mine, his fury palpable. "So this whole time," he growled, his voice low and dangerous, "you've been coming after me because your father wanted me dead?"
I couldn't speak. I couldn't move. The truth was too much—too overwhelming, too devastating. I had spent years chasing revenge, consumed by grief and anger, and now it all felt like a lie.
Everything I thought I knew had been turned upside down in an instant.
Nikita's words hung in the air, each one slicing into me like a knife. I could feel his fury radiating from him, sharp and unforgiving, and I couldn't blame him. How could I? The truth was worse than any betrayal I could have imagined. The rage I'd carried for so long, the blame I'd placed on him, had been based on nothing but lies.
I had been a pawn in my father's twisted game, and I hadn't even known it.
"I… I didn't know," I whispered, my voice trembling. My legs felt weak, and I sank into the nearest chair, my heart pounding in my chest. "I swear to you, Nikita, I didn't know any of this."
His jaw tightened, his fists clenched at his sides. For a moment, I thought he was going to lash out, but he stayed rooted in place, his eyes locked onto mine.
"Didn't know?" he repeated, his voice low, cold. "You've been chasing me for years, Lily. You've lied to me, betrayed me—hell, you almost destroyed everything I've built. And now, after all that, you're telling me you didn't know?"
"I didn't!" I cried, the words spilling out of me before I could stop them. "I thought… I thought you were the one responsible for Alexei's death. I thought—" I swallowed hard, the guilt crashing down on me like a tidal wave. "I thought you were the one who destroyed everything."
"And now you find out it was your father," Nikita growled, his eyes narrowing. "The man who was supposed to protect you. The man who used you."
I flinched at his words, the truth of them hitting me like a punch to the gut. He was right. My father, the man who was supposed to love and protect me, had used me as a tool in his war. He had manipulated me, fed me lies, and turned me into a weapon against Nikita.
My stomach churned with nausea, my hands trembling as I buried my face in them. How could I have been so blind? How could I have not seen it?
Mikhail cleared his throat, cutting through the heavy silence. "It's all in the records," he said quietly. "The payments, the connections. Your father orchestrated everything—he was tied to Alexei's downfall from the beginning. He wanted Nikita out of the way, and when Alexei failed, he used Lily to finish the job."
"I was just a tool," I whispered, my voice barely audible. "He used me."
Nikita took a step closer, his gaze still locked onto mine, his fury simmering beneath the surface. "And now what?" he demanded, his voice harsh. "Now that you know the truth, what are you going to do, Lily?"
"I don't know," I admitted, my voice cracking. "I don't know what to do."
Nikita's jaw clenched, his eyes darkening. "I'll tell you what you're going to do," he said, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous growl. "You're going to confront your father. You're going to get answers. And then—" He broke off, his eyes flashing with something darker, more dangerous. "Then I'll decide what happens to him."
Confront my father? Could I even face him, knowing what he had done?
But I knew I didn't have a choice. I had to confront him. I had to hear the truth from his mouth. I had to understand what had happened and why, once and for all.
"I'll go," I whispered, my voice shaky but resolute. "I'll confront him."
Nikita's eyes softened for a brief moment, but then the hard edge returned. "I'm coming with you," he said, his tone leaving no room for argument.
My breath hitched in my throat. I wanted to refuse, to tell him that this was something I needed to do on my own, but I knew it would be pointless. Nikita wasn't going to let me face my father alone. Not after everything. Not when the betrayal ran so deep.
"Fine," I whispered, nodding. "We'll go together."
Mikhail, who had been standing silently by the door, stepped forward, his expression grim. "You need to be careful, Lily," he warned. "Your father isn't just any man. He's dangerous. He'll try to manipulate you again if he thinks he's losing control."
I swallowed hard, the weight of his words settling on my chest. "I know," I said quietly. "But I have to do this."
Mikhail nodded, his eyes flicking to Nikita before settling back on me. "I'll make the arrangements," he said. "But just remember—this isn't just about revenge anymore. It's about survival."
As Mikhail left the room, the silence between Nikita and me grew heavier, more charged. I could feel his anger, his need for control simmering beneath the surface. And I knew that confronting my father wasn't just about answers—it was about justice. For Nikita, for Alexei, and for me.
Nikita's eyes never left mine, his gaze hard and unrelenting.
"You realize," he said quietly, his voice thick with barely contained rage, "that I may not let your father live through this."
I shivered at his words, the cold truth of them settling deep in my bones. I had no illusions about what Nikita was capable of. If he wanted my father dead, nothing would stop him.
"I know," I whispered. "But I need to hear the truth from him. I need to hear it with my own ears."
Nikita's jaw clenched, but he didn't argue. Instead, he nodded, his gaze still burning into mine.
"Then we leave tomorrow."