Chapter 17
CHAPTER 17
Lily
T he drive to my father's house felt like the longest of my life. The weight of what I was about to face pressed down on me with every passing mile, every turn of the wheel. Nikita sat beside me, silent and brooding, his eyes fixed ahead. His men were close behind, their vehicles forming a convoy that would surround the estate once we arrived. There was no turning back now.
I had spent years hating Nikita, consumed by the belief that he was responsible for Alexei's death. But now, the truth was far more twisted than anything I could have imagined. My father—Nicholas Donovan, the man I had looked up to, the man I had thought of as distant but fundamentally good—was the one who had orchestrated everything. He had betrayed Alexei, manipulated me, and set me on a path of destruction. And for what?
I stared out the window, my heart pounding in my chest as the estate came into view. It was just as I remembered—grand, sprawling, with perfectly manicured lawns and towering stone walls. But now, the place I had once thought of as home felt more like a prison, suffocating me with the weight of secrets.
The car slowed as we approached the gates, and I could feel Nikita's gaze on me.
"Are you ready for this?" he asked, his voice low, edged with the emotion he had been holding onto since we learned the truth.
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to nod. "I don't know if I'll ever be ready," I admitted, my voice shaky, "but I have to do this."
Nikita's jaw tightened, and for a moment, I saw the flicker of something softer in his eyes—concern, maybe, or even something like protectiveness. But then it was gone, replaced by the cold, calculating mask he always wore when preparing for battle.
"Stay close to me," he said, his voice hard. "This isn't just a confrontation. It's a power play. Your father won't go down easily."
I nodded, feeling the cold knot of dread twist tighter in my stomach. Nikita was right. My father wasn't the kind of man to fold under pressure, and I had no idea what to expect from him now that everything was out in the open.
As we stepped out of the car, Nikita's men fanned out around the estate, surrounding it with military precision. I could see the guards stationed at the entrance, their faces hardening as they realized what was happening. They were outnumbered, outmatched.
We moved toward the front door, and with each step, my heart pounded harder in my chest. This was it. The moment I had been dreading, the moment where the truth would finally be laid bare.
The door opened before we reached it, and there he stood—my father, Nicholas Donovan, in all his cold, calculating glory. He hadn't changed much since the last time I'd seen him. His silver hair was neatly combed, his tailored suit crisp and immaculate, and his sharp blue eyes regarded me with the same distant detachment he'd always had.
But there was something else in his gaze now. He knew why we were here.
"Lily," he said smoothly, as if we were simply meeting for dinner. "What a surprise."
I felt my stomach churn, and before I could speak, Nikita stepped forward, his voice a low growl. "This isn't a social call, Donovan."
My father's eyes flicked to Nikita, and for a brief moment, I saw a flash of something like fear in his gaze. But it disappeared just as quickly.
"Of course it isn't," he said, his voice still calm, but there was an edge to it now. "You've brought your army to my home. What do you want?"
I stepped forward, my hands trembling at my sides. "We know the truth," I said, my voice cracking. "About Alexei. About everything."
For the first time, I saw my father's composure slip. It was slight—a tightening of his jaw, a flicker of surprise in his eyes—but it was enough. He hadn't expected this.
"Lily," he said, his tone patronizing, as if I were still a child. "I don't know what lies you've been told, but Alexei's death was tragic. Nothing more."
"Stop lying!" I snapped, my voice rising with a fury I hadn't realized was building inside me. "We know you were behind it. We know you manipulated him, used him, and when he couldn't do what you wanted, you let him be killed."
My father's eyes darkened, but he didn't speak. Nikita stepped closer, his presence a looming threat beside me.
"Tell her the truth," Nikita growled, his voice filled with barely contained rage.
Nicholas's gaze flicked between us, and for the first time in my life, I saw something like panic in his eyes. He wasn't in control anymore. Not here. Not with Nikita standing beside me, his men surrounding the estate.
"I don't know what you think you know," my father said slowly, his voice colder now, "but you're mistaken."
Nikita's lips curled into a dangerous smile. "Am I? Because I have every document, every transaction, every piece of evidence that ties you to Alexei's death. And if you don't start talking, I'll make sure it all becomes public."
My father's face hardened, and for a long, tense moment, none of us spoke. The silence stretched between us, heavy and suffocating. And then, finally, Nicholas Donovan let out a bitter laugh.
"So, you found out," he said, his voice low, almost mocking. "I suppose it was only a matter of time."
I felt the ground shift beneath me, my breath catching in my throat as I stared at him. "You're admitting it?"
My father's gaze turned icy, his lips curling into a cruel smile. "What did you expect, Lily? That I would mourn Alexei's death like you? That I would care about his life when it was my empire on the line?"
I stared at him, my heart pounding in my chest. "He was my husband," I whispered, my voice trembling. "He was your son-in-law. How could you use him like that?"
Nicholas's smile widened, but there was no warmth in it. Only cold, calculated cruelty. "Because Alexei was a fool. He was weak, and I don't tolerate weakness in my business. He became a liability, and I dealt with him the way I deal with all liabilities."
I couldn't breathe. My father's words cut through me like a blade, each one more devastating than the last. Alexei hadn't been a traitor. He hadn't been a villain. He had been a pawn—just like me.
"You used me," I whispered, my voice breaking. "You used me to get revenge on Nikita. You let me hate him, let me believe he was the one responsible."
Nicholas's eyes flicked to Nikita, and I could see the cold calculation in his gaze. "You were useful to me, Lily," he said, his tone matter-of-fact. "You did exactly what I needed you to do. You became obsessed with your revenge, and it kept you out of my way."
I felt sick. The man standing in front of me wasn't just a distant father who hadn't cared about me. He was a monster. A man who had manipulated me, destroyed my life, and turned me into a weapon for his own gain.
"You let me tear myself apart for years," I whispered, my voice shaking. "You let me believe that Alexei's death was my fault, that I didn't protect him, that I wasn't there for him when he needed me most. All the while, you were the one who destroyed everything."
Nicholas's cold smile never wavered. "Alexei was weak, Lily. He thought he could outplay me. He thought he could take over my empire, undermine my position, all while keeping you in the dark. He was a liability."
My heart clenched. The Alexei I had known—the man I had loved—had never been a schemer, never been interested in power. But what if I had been wrong? What if I never truly knew him? Or had my father twisted everything, manipulated the situation so perfectly that I couldn't see the truth even now?
"He didn't betray you," I murmured, shaking my head, not quite believing the story my father was spinning. "He would never have tried to take over your empire."
Nicholas's eyes gleamed with something cruel, something calculating. "Alexei was never as noble as you like to think, Lily. He knew what he was getting into when he married into this family. He made his choice, and when that choice didn't align with my plans, he had to be dealt with."
Nikita stepped forward then, his presence a storm of barely contained rage, his fists clenched at his sides. The anger radiating off him was palpable, a force unto itself.
"You manipulated her," he growled, his voice low and deadly. "You set her on a path of revenge, knowing she would come after me. You used your own daughter to cover your tracks."
My father's expression didn't change. If anything, his gaze hardened, and the smile on his lips twisted into something more sinister. "And it worked, didn't it?" he said, his tone almost mocking. "She came after you, just like I planned. Kept you distracted. Kept you occupied. She did her part."
I felt the ground fall out from under me. The realization that my entire life, my entire mission, had been orchestrated by my own father hit me like a physical blow. All those years of planning, the hatred I had nursed toward Nikita, the drive for revenge that had consumed me—it had all been for nothing. Worse than nothing. It had been part of my father's twisted game.
"Why?" I choked out, my voice breaking. "Why did you hate me so much? Why did you do this to me?"
Nicholas's cold eyes flicked over me, his lips curling into a sneer. "You were always so naive, Lily. Always so weak. You were never part of the plan. You were just a... complication. Something I had to manage." His gaze darkened, and I saw something cold and brutal in his eyes, something that made my blood run cold. "Your mother was supposed to be my heir, my partner in this empire. But she failed me. And when she died, I thought maybe you could take her place. But you were always too soft. Too attached to people like Alexei. Too blind to see the real game."
I staggered back, my breath catching in my throat. He had never seen me as his daughter. I was nothing but a replacement for my mother—a replacement that had failed him. I wasn't even worth considering beyond that.
Tears stung my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. Not in front of him. I would not break down here. Not now.
"You never cared about me," I whispered, my voice thick with disbelief and hurt. "You never even cared about Alexei. This was all just… a game to you."
"Of course it was," Nicholas said, his voice dismissive. "Everything is a game, Lily. And I play to win."
I glanced at Nikita, his expression a mask of fury and disgust as he watched my father, his fists clenching and unclenching as if he was barely restraining himself from launching forward and ending this once and for all.
"What now?" Nikita asked, his voice dangerously quiet. "You've confessed to everything. What's your next move?"
My father smirked, his gaze flicking dismissively to Nikita. "I'll continue doing what I've always done, Volkov," he said coldly. "Survive. Adapt. Thrive."
I could feel Nikita's anger radiating off him like heat, but I could also see the calculation in his eyes. He wasn't going to let this slide. Not after everything.
He stepped forward, closing the distance between him and my father, his voice low and dangerous. "You won't survive this time, Donovan. I'm going to make sure of it."
Nicholas's smile faltered for the first time, a flicker of unease crossing his features as Nikita's words sank in. He opened his mouth to respond, but before he could speak, Nikita grabbed him by the collar, yanking him forward until they were face to face.
"You think you're untouchable?" Nikita hissed, his voice a low growl. "You think you can just walk away from this?"
I froze, my breath catching in my throat as I watched the violence that rippled through him. This wasn't just about revenge anymore. This was personal. Deeply, darkly personal.
Nicholas tried to pull back, but Nikita held him firmly in place, his knuckles turning white as he gripped my father's shirt.
"You made a mistake," Nikita said, his voice cold, brutal. "You messed with the wrong people. And now, you're going to pay for it."
My father's eyes widened, a flicker of fear crossing his features. For the first time, he looked genuinely afraid.
I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move. The world had come crashing down around me, and I was caught in the middle of it, torn between the man who had betrayed me and the man who had protected me—even when I didn't deserve it.