Chapter 76
CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX
Lily
I’m brushing my teeth to get rid of my bad breath. The vomiting has taken hold of me, and I’ve only just started to feel better. And actually manage to keep some water down.
Dad’s gone to get Mom from the back gates, so he won’t be long. I carry on, trying to make myself look somewhat presentable, even if I’m looking slightly grey.
By the time I do that, I have to sit on the edge of the bed to catch my breath.
I grab my phone, trying to distract myself. Secretly hoping there’s a text from Drago that it’s done.
Nothing.
Today has made me come to terms with why my father let me go. I can’t imagine being a kid and living through terrifying things like this.
Hallie is in lockdown with Steph, Charlotte, and Bella. I almost debate calling her, but she’s going to be a nervous wreck. And she has a baby to look after.
I hear the front door shut, then footsteps follow. There’s no shouting, so that's a start.
Shoving a new sweater on, I head to the stairs, but pause when I hear talking.
“Says the man who only just decided to want to be a father,” my mom says.
I hold my breath.
“Maria.” He snaps. “You know that wasn’t how it went. I let you both go to keep you safe, and you couldn’t even do that. Could you?”
I hear her gasp. Reluctantly, I head down the stairs to play peacemaker. As soon as I round the corner, they both smile at me, like they weren't about to start screaming at each other, just as I remember growing up.
“Hi, Lily. Oh, look at you,” my mom says as she rushes towards me.
She’s dressed to impress today in a smart black dress, deep red lips, and even curls in her blonde hair.
I stiffen as she cuddles me. It’s very over the top, probably to get a reaction out of my dad. When she pulls away, I fake a smile, glancing at Dad, who is just chewing on his lip.
“Your dad looks handsome,” Mom leans in and whispers.
I turn my nose up. “Ew. Don’t.”
She spins to face him. “Are you staying?” she asks him.
“Yes,” he grunts.
“He’s not a very good host,” Mom mutters.
“It’s not his house to host,” I say.
My mom frowns. “Well, whose is it?”
I open my mouth and snap it shut. I look at Dad for help, but he doesn’t give me any. He’s just glaring at her like he’s picturing fifty different ways to kill her and trying to decide which one would be quickest.
“My boyfriend’s.”
Her eyes light up. I can imagine the dollar sign flashing in her brain.
“Wow. He’s doing well for himself.”
I nod, keeping my lips tight.
“Now, who has a woman got to sleep with to get a coffee round here?” Mom jokes.
My eyes go wide, and a fresh wave of nausea comes over me. “I might be sick,” I whisper.
Dad waves a hand like he’s dismissing a mosquito and heads toward the dining table. “I can’t fucking deal with this,” he mutters in Russian as he passes me.
I hold back my laughter. “I can make you one,” I offer my mom.
She shakes her head. “No. No. I said I was coming here to take care of you, let me make one.”
I smile. “Okay, well, the kitchen is there,” I point behind her. “Everything is there.”
“You go sit with your miserable father.”
I roll my eyes. “Stop trying to make him angry.”
I head over to Dad and sit beside him, pulling my legs up on the chair and wrapping my arms around them.
“How are you feeling?” He asks, rubbing my head.
“Like death. I want to go back to bed.”
He gives me a soft smile. “Then send the witch home and go to bed. You aren’t leaving me alone with her.”
“I’ll have this coffee, and then I’ll send her home.”
Mom returns a couple of minutes later with two coffees, sets them down in front of us, then takes a seat opposite. Almost like she’s head of the table, and we’ve been summoned to a meeting.
“So you’re heading back to Ohio today?” I ask, trying to make conversation through the silence.
Her eyes darken, just for a second, before it flashes away, replaced with a smile. “Yes. I’ve had ten calls for work. So, that will keep me busy.”
My dad leans back, his eyes fixed on her. “What do you do for work now, Maria?” he asks.
“Cleaning. I run my own company.”
He nods.
“How long have you been in Ohio?”
She blinks. “What is this, twenty questions?”
My dad chuckles. “It’s called making small talk with your bitch of an ex-wife,” he says bluntly.
“Bitch? Coming from the man who cared more about killing people than his own family.”
I flinch at her harsh words. It’s as if she’s trying to paint my dad as the villain. Like she has always tried to do. Similar to how she forgot to mention that because she couldn’t keep her legs shut, I was dragged away from my father.
I rub at the back of my neck, trying to calm myself. It’s not fear this time. It’s anger. At her. For how she continues to treat me and my father.
She thinks she can just walk in here and try to play the perfect mother card.
“You knew who you were marrying, Maria. I did what I had to do to keep you both alive,” he growls.
I place my hand on his arm, trying to calm him down.
“Don’t raise your blood pressure too much, Lev. You might have a heart attack at your age,” she spits back.
Dad mutters under his breath. I think it translates roughly to fuck off.
“Can we just play nice? I have a headache, and this isn’t helping,” I chime in.
I just want her gone.
“Of course,” Dad whispers immediately, softening for me. Always for me. “Sorry, Lily.”
Then he looks back at her, and the softness drains out of him like it never existed.
“Let me guess. Your cleaning company is called Sparkles?” Dad jokes.
My mom huffs, “No. It’s called Sanctuary Cleaning Services.”
Dad doesn’t react at first. Not properly.
He just blinks once, slow, like he’s absorbing the words. Like they’ve landed somewhere deep.
And then I see it. That tell. The one I haven’t seen in years. His jaw locks, a muscle ticking near his temple… and his hand lifts, casual, almost lazy. He rubs his earlobe. Just once.
Like he’s thinking. Like he’s bored. Like this is nothing but an awkward conversation between exes.
But I know that move. I know it the same way I know my own heartbeat.
That’s what he does when he’s deciding. When he’s measuring a threat. When he’s about to act.
His eyes don’t harden. They go empty. It lasts only a second. But it’s enough to make my stomach roll again for an entirely different reason.
Dad blows out a breath as I reach for my coffee, and Dad subtly stops me by squeezing my thigh.
The vibe is so weird that it’s making my heart race. And then memories slam into me like a sledgehammer.
That was my dad's secret code with me. When shit was going down, he’d always discreetly squeeze me. Whether it’s my hand, foot, or thigh.
“That’s a shit name,” He says, his tone deadly calm.
I stare at him, my pulse thudding in my ears. Because it isn’t what he said. It’s how he said it, like the name means something. Like it isn’t just a business.
It’s a threat.
Suddenly, the coffee in front of me doesn’t feel like coffee anymore. It feels like a test.
“I-I just need to go throw up,” I blurt out.
It’s my mom. What could possibly be going on that’s that bad?
I run into my room and slam it shut behind me. My hands are shaking so badly that I can barely twist the handle. I stumble into the middle of the room and press my palm to my stomach, trying to breathe through it.
My ears strain for sound downstairs. For shouting. For anything. But all I can hear is my own heartbeat.
Not long after, I hear heavy footsteps.
“Lily,” Dad says.
I slowly open the door.
He’s right there. Close enough that I can see the vein in his neck. The tension in his jaw. The way his shoulders are set like armor.
“You remembered?” he whispers.
I nod. Now I really want to be sick.
“Safe room. Now. Do not come out until Drago unlocks it. No matter what you hear or see.”
My throat tightens. “W-what? Dad?”
He presses his finger to his lips. “Keep calm, Lily. Please,” he whispers.
I blink hard, and my eyes burn. Because he’s asking me like I’m grown. Like I’m strong enough.
But I’m not. Not today. Not after everything.
He steps closer, and his hand cups the side of my face. The touch is gentle. Too gentle for the man he is.
His eyes flick over me like he’s taking one last look, just in case. “Be brave for me, solnyshko,” he whispers.
My breath catches. The nickname hits me right in the chest, dragging me back to being little, tucked into his side, thinking he could fix anything.
I have to be brave. It isn’t just about me. And my dad proves this, you have to put your children first, even if it breaks you.
“I love you, Lily,” he whispers.
He heads into my en-suite and flushes the toilet, covering the fact that he just told me to hide. Covering up the fact that something is wrong. Covering me.
“I love you too, Dad. I always have,” I tell him quietly, trying not to fall apart.
He leads me out, keeping close behind me as I walk down the hallway to the safe room, my heart in my throat.
My arms wrapped protectively in front of my stomach.