Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Calina
I hear shouting from downstairs. Before I even reach them I hear Maxim’s voice, loud, furious, cutting through the air like a blade.
“How the fuck could you lose your phone of all things?!” he roars.
Dmitri’s reply is tense. “I didn’t lose it. I just… can’t find it right now. It’s somewhere around here.”
Victor’s voice cuts in, calmer but still sharp. “Somewhere around where? You haven’t seen it in hours.”
I freeze on the stairs, gripping the railing. Dmitri mutters something about the battery being dead and the phone being turned off, promising he’ll find it.
Maxim explodes. “If you tell me to calm down one more time, I’m going to knock your fucking teeth out!
We’re under attack, people are trying to kill us, and you’re out here losing your work phone like a goddamn amateur!
Do you have any idea what happens if that phone gets into the wrong hands?
The feds? Our enemies? Everything could lead back to us!
Our asses will be on fire, and you’re being so fucking calm about it! ”
His voice drops dangerously low. “You’ve been losing your touch lately, Dmitri. Acting strange. You’d better get your shit together and find that phone.”
Guilt crashes over me. I feel sick. This is my fault. I’m the reason they’re fighting. I quietly turn around and creep back upstairs to our bedroom, my hands shaking as I close the door behind me.
I feel terrible. I never expected things to escalate this badly. What if they check the security footage? What if they see Milana taking the phone?
Panic rises in my chest. I grab my phone and quickly text Milana: Any update?
She calls me almost immediately. The moment I answer, she whispers, “We need to meet ASAP.”
“Okay. Where?”
We quickly agree on a location. The moment I end the call, the bathroom door opens and Maxim walks in, still radiating anger, his jaw tight.
“Is everything alright?” I ask softly.
He grunts. “Yeah. Everything’s fine.”
I hesitate, then say, “I’m having a drink with my sister later.”
He turns to look at me, frowning. “Didn’t she just come over?”
“Yes,” I reply, lifting my chin. “But she had to leave sooner than expected. Are you trying to tell me that mean I can’t see her again? I can’t believe you would even imply that.”
He swears under his breath in Russian, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.” He exhales sharply. “Fine. Go with your sister. But you take your bodyguards.”
With that, he heads into the shower. The sound of running water fills the room.
I start pacing, my stomach in knots. I’m hoping with everything in me that the hacker found something useful on that phone. Anything that proves whether Dmitri is the mole.
And if he isn’t… I need to sneak that phone back before anyone traces it to my sister. If this goes wrong, Maxim will never forgive me for hiding this from him.
I meet Milana at a quiet but bustling café in the city. The place is filled with the afternoon rush, office workers grabbing quick lunches, others ordering to go, the air thick with the scent of coffee and fresh pastries.
Milana walks in carrying a noticeably larger purse than usual. After we greet each other with quick hugs, I raise an eyebrow.
“What’s with the big purse?” I ask lightly.
She gives me a meaningful look. “What do you think?”
We make small talk for the benefit of our bodyguards lingering a respectful distance away.
She mentions some new makeup products she wants to show me. I play along, saying, “Let’s go to the bathroom so you can show me properly.”
We stand up together. I take the heavy purse from her as we head to the restroom. The moment we lock the door behind us, Milana lets out a shaky breath.
“Did you find anything?” I whisper.
She nods, quickly opening the purse and pulling out Dmitri’s phone along with a laptop from her purse.
“Sergei spent all afternoon going through it. I got it back when you called.”
My stomach twists. “Do Artyom and Mikhail know?”
“Not yet,” she says.
She plugs a flash drive to the laptop and opens the messaging app, scrolling through the conversation thread between Dmitri and Adrian. My hands shake as I take the phone from her.
The messages reveal that Dmitri has been secretly working with Adrian, feeding him sensitive information about Maxim’s operations in exchange for a share of the profits.
More horrifyingly, Dmitri provided details about the wedding, including the location and security arrangements, and helped plan the attack on the private island.
The messages make it clear that the wedding ambush was orchestrated by Dmitri, and that he even approved targeting the bride.
“He’s the mole,” I whisper, voice breaking. “He told Adrian everything. The wedding location… he gave it to them. He tried to have me killed.”
Milana pats my shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Calina.”
I stare at the screen, my mind reeling. Maxim trusts Dmitri with his life. He pulled him off the streets, gave him a family, a purpose.
How is he supposed to handle this betrayal? The heartbreak it will cause him… I can already feel it like a knife in my own chest.
A part of me had still hoped I was wrong. That my gut feeling was just paranoia. But this is undeniable. I can’t keep this from Maxim any longer.
Maxim
It’s been a long, exhausting day.
Meetings, organizing shipments, dealing with the fallout from the wedding attack, and on top of everything, I’m still furious about Dmitri losing his work phone.
The headache that’s been plaguing me these past few days is back in full force, pounding behind my eyes like a hammer.
I walk into the bedroom, when I hear the sound of the hair dryer blowing in the bathroom. Calina must be finishing up.
I head to her bedside drawer to grab the medication she gave me last time. I’m not even sure if the pills helped or if it was her massage, but at this point I’ll try anything. Maybe I can convince her to give me a massage later.
I open the drawer and pop two tablets into my mouth, swallowing them dry. As I’m putting the bottle back, something catches my eye.
A flash drive.
And right beside it… a phone.
It looks eerily similar to the encrypted work phones my men and I use. Sleek, black, unbranded.
My blood runs cold.
What the hell is my wife doing with a burner phone and a flash drive hidden in her drawer?
I pick both items up, turning them over in my hands, my mind racing with possibilities. None of them are good.
Just then, the bathroom door opens. Calina steps out in a silk robe, her hair still slightly damp. She smiles at first when she sees me.
“You’re back—”
Her eyes land on the phone and flash drive in my hand. Her face goes pale instantly.
“Maxim…” she breathes, voice shaky.
I stare at her, my jaw tight. The headache suddenly feels ten times worse.
“Explain,” I say, my voice low and dangerous. “Right now. Because I would very much like to know what the fuck my wife is doing with a hidden phone and a flash drive.”
She looks like a deer caught in headlights, mouth opening and closing without sound. The guilt on her face is unmistakable.
I take a step closer, holding the phone up between us. “Start talking, Calina.”
I watch my wife stand there, fingers twisting nervously in front of her, her face pale.
“Calina,” I say, my voice low and dangerous. “Start. Talking. Now.”
She swallows hard, eyes darting to the phone and flash drive in my hand before meeting my gaze again.
“I’m so sorry, Maxim,” she begins, voice trembling. “I know I promised I wouldn’t keep secrets from you anymore. I was planning to tell you… maybe this evening.”
I let out a bitter laugh. “Really? So if I hadn’t found this, you would have just come to me and confessed everything on your own?”
She opens her mouth, but I cut her off, stepping closer.
“What the hell are you doing with this phone? And what’s on the flash drive? Are you spying on me? Are you leaking information to your brothers? Are you working against me with them? Have you been behind all of this?”
The moment the words leave my mouth, I see the hurt flash across her face. She looks like I just slapped her.
“No,” she whispers, shaking her head frantically. “No, Maxim. I would never do that to you. I would never work against you. How could you even think that?”
“Then what the fuck is this phone doing here?” I demand, holding it up. “What’s on the flash drive? Tell me!”
She takes a shaky breath, eyes glistening with unshed tears.
“The phone… it belongs to Dmitri.”
The words hit me like a punch to the gut. I stare at her, momentarily speechless.
“What?”
“It’s Dmitri’s phone,” she repeats, voice barely above a whisper. “The one you’ve all been looking for.”
“You stole Dmitri’s phone? Why the hell would you do that? What kind of game are you playing?”
She steps closer, eyes pleading. “Dmitri is the mole.”