Chapter 57 – One Week Later
KIRILL
ONE WEEK LATER
As I enter the basement, each step brings me closer to death—but not mine, of course.
Eli is still there, hanging upside down from the ceiling, barely clinging to life. Blood stains the plastic floor beneath him in dark, sticky patches, some of it old and dried, some of it fresh enough to still glisten.
Keeping him alive has taken effort. Care. The kind of patience most men wouldn’t bother with.
When I make a promise, I mean it. So when I said I’d drag this out and make him suffer, I meant that.
When he hears me, his head lifts weakly. His face is swollen beyond recognition, but he still senses me, recoiling as I step closer.
“P-p-p-please…”
It would almost sound pitiful if I gave a damn.
“Just…kill me.” His one decent eye squeezes shut as another tremor tears through him. “You…you proved…your point.”
One of my men steps up behind me and places a knife in my hand, the blade long and heavy, made for tearing through flesh. The second Eli registers it, a broken sob leaves him.
I bend just enough so he can see my face clearly. “Today is your lucky day.”
His whole body stills.
“Because this ends now.”
For one brief second, relief flashes across what’s left of him. Until I continue.
“You will never hurt her again.”
His eyes flare, panic rushing back in.
“You will never touch those boys again. And when you’re rotting in hell, I want you to know one very important thing.” I edge closer, the knife resting against his stomach. “You never should have touched them.”
He hyperventilates just as the blade sinks into his stomach. I take my sweet time as I open him up the way a butcher opens an animal, the cut deep as the metal slides through tendon and muscle.
His scream tears through the basement, and it brings me immense pleasure. Blood pours over my hands, but I keep going, dragging his intestines out and leaving them hanging for him to see. He jerks violently, his breathing turning into a wet, choking sound.
I step back, admiring my work.
“Finish the cleanup,” I tell one of my men, tossing the knife onto the plastic.
He nods, already knowing what comes next. Every trace of this has to burn after Eli gets cut up and fed to Konstantin’s pigs. Just like Barrett was. Just like her sister.
There will be nothing left of Eli. Only the memory of what happens when someone is foolish enough to threaten my family.
THREE DAYS LATER
When I step into Lev’s room, the bed is covered in clothes. Tiny shirts. Swim trunks. A pair of Milo’s sneakers that somehow ended up in the middle of Lev’s floor.
The open suitcase sits on the mattress while Sloane sits beside it, folding things for our trip. Milo is sitting cross-legged nearby, holding a pair of goggles and staring through them while Lev stands beside the bed watching Sloane pack with intense focus.
They don’t notice me at first, so I take my time, leaning against the doorway and simply watching them, a quiet sense of contentment settling in.
“Are you three planning to bring the entire house with you?” I finally ask.
Milo’s head snaps up immediately. “Yes! I mean…no. But we need a lot of stuff.”
I step farther into the room. “I can see that.” My grin grows. “Are you boys excited?”
“Totally!” Milo practically bounces. “I can’t wait to swim in the pool. And the ocean. Mommy said there’s both!”
His excitement is contagious.
Lev peers up at me before heading to his bookcase to grab some books. Of course.
When I step up to Sloane and drop a kiss to the top of her head, she sighs.
“How are you feeling?” I ask, knowing how sick she has been the last few weeks, though she’s finally coming around.
“I’m fine. Just looking forward to getting away for a few days. I’ve never even been on a vacation before.”
I brush my thumb across her cheek. “This is only the beginning. And in two weeks, we leave for the Amalfi Coast.”
Her eyes widen. “Wait…what?”
“Our honeymoon.”
She stares at me in disbelief. “Kirill…oh my God.”
“That’s nothing. I plan to show you the world.”
The truth is, I enjoy giving her everything. Seeing her discover things she never thought she’d have: the travel, the clothes, the safety, the life she should have had all along.
Then Milo squints up at me. The look on his face is so serious, it makes me stop.
“What is it?” I ask.
He tilts his head, studying me like he’s trying to figure something out. “Are you my daddy now?”
Everything in me goes still while Sloane freezes too. Lev’s eyes move between us, taking it all in.
I lower myself in front of him. “I can be. If you want me to be. Would you like that?”
He doesn’t answer right away, his face concentrating before he shrugs. “I think so.”
His words hit me hard, but I nod casually.
“I like you,” he goes on. “And you’re nice to my mommy.”
A faint chuckle slips out. “I’ll always be nice to your mommy.”
“That’s good,” Milo says with a firm nod. “My mommy is the best.”
“I think so too.” I stare over at her, catching the mist in her eyes.
Lev keeps watching the exchange while Sloane reaches over and pulls him closer to us.
“There’s actually something we wanted to talk to you both about,” she tells them.
Milo’s forehead wrinkles. “What is it?”
“Well, Papa and I were thinking we’d both like to adopt you.”
He blinks. “What does that mean?”
“It means…” Sloane brushes his hair back. “Kirill would officially be your dad, and I would be Lev’s mom. Forever. Not just in our hearts, but legally too.”
“Forever?” Milo asks.
“Forever.”
Lev stares at us for a long moment, and then, without warning, he leans forward and throws his arms around Sloane. “Mama.”
His eyes squeeze shut, a smile pulling at his mouth, and it hits harder than I know how to explain. It’s so easy to see how badly he needed someone like her.
Sloane gathers him into her arms, kissing the top of his head while Milo scoots in from the other side. “My boys. I love you so much.”
They stay like that, wrapped up in her, before she eases back and smiles.
“There’s just one more little surprise.”
She peeks over at me, a grin tugging at her lips, and I already know what she’s about to tell them.
“What is it?” Milo’s eyes grow wide. “Are we getting a pet snake?”
“Uh…no.” Her lips press while she holds back a laugh. “But kind of close.”
“Tell us!”
“We’re going to have a baby. You’re going to have a little brother or sister.”
Milo’s mouth drops open. “A baby? Like a real one?”
“Yep.”
“That’s awesome.” His gaze wanders straight to her stomach. “Like…the baby is already there?”
“Sure is,” she says, her hand settling over it. “But it takes a while to grow.”
“Wow…cool.”
Lev takes it all in before gradually reaching out and resting his hand against her stomach. “Baby.”
Sloane grins as she nods. “Yeah. A new baby.”
Lev leans into her side, staying close, while Milo keeps staring at her stomach like he’s trying to figure out how something so small can already be there.
And I just stand there, watching them. Watching her. The sound of her laugh, the way the boys gather around her, the way it all fits together like it was always meant to be this way.
I know I could spend the rest of my life right here in moments like this and never want anything more.
I have her. I have them. My family, safe where they belong.
And there’s nothing like it in the world.