Chapter 17 Constance
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CONSTANCE
“Line zhem up.” Mikhail’s voice is cold, in a scary, rich tone that makes the air feel heavier and freezes everyone, as if the temperature just dropped ten degrees.
While Pyper just stands there, arms crossed, tapping her designer boot, pissed.
Ten minutes later, every single staff member in this castle-sized mansion, along with all the family members of the house outside of Grandpa Viktor, are lined up in the west wing corridor.
The staff are all standing with their backs straight, eyes down, hands behind their backs, while the family is looking around, confused.
“Connie? Are you okay?!” Alik rushes over to me, almost instantly closing the gap between us.
“Yes,” I manage, my voice a little thin as I watch Pyper and Misha line up the staff but then drag my eyes to Alik and I see his eyes look red around the rim and area under his lower lids.
“Pyper said someone left somezhing in your room?” Alik frowns, looking me over as if checking for injuries, but I assure him I’m okay.
“They did but… I don’t see what’s the big deal. Why did Misha call the staff like that?” I wonder, wrapping my arms around myself.
“Because no one should have access to your room vitout permission. Zhis may seem overboard to you, but it’s ze right call.
It’s lax in security,” Alik sighs, disappointed, and I frown, shook.
“But don’t vorry. Vee vill get down to ze bottom of zhis.
” Alik reaches out, and, without thinking, I lean into his touch.
His hand rests on my back, and then he pulls me gently into a hug.
I melt into it, craving the familiar warmth, but as I press against him, a different sensation washes over me.
His body is cold. Not just cool, but a deep, pervasive coldness that seems to emanate from within him, a stark contrast to the usual warmth, almost heat, that radiates from Misha, Pyper, Nadya, and Dimitri.
It’s like embracing a marble statue, firm and unyielding, despite the soft fabric of his shirt.
What the hell? I rest my head against his chest, and flinch at the sound…
instead of the reassuring rhythm of a heartbeat, accompanied by the smooth, steady motion of lungs expanding and contracting, there’s a low, grinding vibration, like a chainsaw deep inside him, a powerful, grinding engine that never stops.
I pull back slightly, my eyes wide, trying to conceal the jolt of unease. He looks down at me, his gaze still gentle, but a flicker of something unreadable passes through his eyes.
“Connie?” he asks, his voice soft, almost too smooth. “You look scared…”
I force a smile, a shaky imitation of composure and step out of his arms, crossing mine along my chest, trying to keep my nerves about me.
“I’m fine,” I tell him as the last members of the staff and family show up.
“Heir, vhat is zhis about?” Uncle Vlad questions while holding a bottle and I chuckle at him, wanting to go over and snatch the bottle from him like I’ve had to do a few times and force him to drink water.
“Someone sent my voman cheap gift!” he growls, and my heart literally stops as everyone looks over to me, including Veronica…
his whole ass fiancé! No one even looks at her once, immediately knowing it’s me, making my cheeks hot.
“Zhey dare send her measly zhirty zhousand US dollar bracelet,” he finishes and the house erupts in chaos, the loudest being Uncle Vlad.
“Vho vould dare do such vile act to ze Spade Queen?!” he grits out. I hold back a chuckle even though this is a serious situation, but I’m the only laughing through the trauma because Nadya and Dimitri sneer down at the staff.
“You are ze maid assigned to Pechenye, da?” Misha growls, cutting into the silence like a damn guillotine.
The girl, Anna, I think? nods fast, her hands shaking.
“Da, Heir. I… I make sure her bazh is drawn, her clozhing pressed, and her room is—”
“Explain how zhis box…” He throws it at her head, making me gasp when it knocks her on the forehead and she starts bleeding, but no one makes a single move to help her.
“Explain hov it got inside my voman’s room?
” he asks. When she says nothing, Nadya struts over to her, lifting her face to meet her burning gaze.
“Heir asked you a question,” she purrs, tone deadly and serious.
“I-I don’t know!” Anna stammers. “I… I saw nozhing, I svear! No one came in!” she stammers and Pyper makes a disgusted noise. I flinch as she slaps the box back onto the table so hard it rattles.
“Nozhing? Vhat do you mean nozhing?! You are paid to knov every hair on her adorable leetle head, every breath she take, every time she fart in her sleep—”
“PYPER!” I gasp.
“I mean it!” She whirls on me. “Zhis is serious!”
“Pyper is right…” Mikhail steps forward, slow and dangerous, and Anna’s face drains of all color. “You saw nozhing?” His voice is quieter now, which somehow makes it worse. “So someone breached my house, touched vhat is mine, and you saw nozhing?”
Anna is full-on trembling now.
“I-I-I… she would sn-sneak out and I… I ch-chose to n-not serve her… ”
Mikhail just tilts his head the slightest bit, barely noticeable, while Dimitri’s hand moves, grabs her back of her neck, and slams her face into the marble hard. There’s a sickening crack followed by a low groan.
I stagger back into Alik and gasp, clapping my hand over my mouth, but no one else even flinches, not even Alik.
… wh-what the f— I try to step up, but Alik grabs me, his jaw tight, looking just as pissed… like he wants to kill her. God… not Alik too…
“In my house, you follow ze Bershov fucking rules… if ze Bershovs say serve, you fucking serve,” Mikhail grits and Dimitri drags her ass across the floor, throwing me off by his strength because he doesn’t look like he should be that damn strong.
“Take her downstairs. Nadya search her belongings.”
“Da.” Dimitri drags her away screaming and Nadya struts off to do his bidding and my heart is racing as I stare at the blood on the floor while she begs as she’s dragged away, and I stand frozen, my breath caught somewhere between my lungs and my throat but Alik holds me still.
“That’s enough!” I burst out. “She’s just a girl, Mikhail, what if she really doesn’t know?”
“Zhen she has nozhing to fear,” he answers coldly, like the bitch won’t need a nose job after this.
“W-well… a-and what if she does know… wh-what does she have to fear then?”
“Us.” He turns to me slowly and I look around at the resolute faces of Alik, Pyper and Misha. Their eyes lock onto mine and I see something flash in them. What the hell kind of family is this?
“I vill not have you sleeping alone anymore. Move her zhings to my room,” he demands and I blink repeatedly, shook.
“Yes, Heir,” the staff reply in unison, rushing off while the family converses about who could have left it.
Only Veronica stays rooted in place, shooting daggers at me, but no one pays attention to her.
“Wait, what?! Hold the phone! You want me to move to your room?” I lift a brow, looking at him, still in Alik’s arms, expecting Misha to say something but it’s Alik who turns me around.
“Connie, I hate to admit it but you’re probably safer vit him… vee don’t know vhat happened or hov zhat person got into your room, but,” Alik frowns with a pained expression on his face. “I vish it could be me…” He trails off. “J-just stay vit Misha,. I’ll come over often.”
“You guys are treating me like I’m a baby.”
“Da you are.” Misha comes over, cupping my chin, trapping me between him and Alik.
“You’re our baby,” he states, leaning in to kiss me, causing my stomach to do flips.
I hear a growl before Veronica stomps off down the hall and Pyper sneers.
My eyes pop open when I feel something poking my belly and Misha smirks, pulling away as I notice Alik is panting, his cheeks flushed.
“I vill go question security cameras and ze rest of ze staff, Misha… if Veronica had anything to do vit this...” Pyper glares.
“She vill have to answer to me,” she warns before she bows out and I’m stuck between Misha and Alik, both of them silently giving each other a look of concern.
I chew my lip, unsure what this feeling is bubbling up inside me.
“Go put our Pechenye to bed, now.” Misha smirks and Alik sighs, pulling me along towards Misha’s room.
I want to argue, but as we pass the box, a chill runs through me and all I can think about is that gift showed up when it shouldn’t have, how no one saw anything, and how I don’t feel safe in my safe heaven anymore.
And that to me is the most tragic feeling of all.