Chapter Eighteen
Inna Grace
Dmitri dismantled every plan I made without breaking a sweat.
He didn’t even need to try. He just existed with all that power sitting in his hands and watched my ideas run into walls.
The cleaner plan was a good one. I needed savings to walk away with after all this fake marriage was over.
But no. We were moving to the mansion. I would lose access to the building, and the plan died before the embarrassment of pitching it did.
He told me to enjoy the wife’s power while it lasted. But he forgot to mention that he would plan every hour of my life so well that the power would have nowhere to land.
Cole’s tutor arrived in the morning, which meant the move wasn’t happening until later. I decided to look around the DK Holdings building. Dmitri owned it, and I was his ‘wife’, meaning walking through the floors wouldn’t raise any attention.
I opened the door and nearly jerked away when I found Caitlin standing outside. “You startled me.”
She was wearing dark sunglasses. The smile on her face looked forced. I spent one day with her, and that was enough to learn the difference.
“Hi.” She adjusted the glasses. “I wasn’t sure if I’d find you here.”
I pulled the door shut behind me. “I’m glad you came. We might leave today. I asked about you, and nobody told me anything. Are you okay?”
“That’s actually why I’m here.” Something in her voice sat more carefully and measured than the woman who laughed at our jokes yesterday.
“About yesterday. I’m sorry. I should have kept a closer eye on you.
We shouldn’t have gone to that boutique, and I need you to know I had nothing to do with what happened. ”
She folded her hands in front of her, looking like she spent the night preparing this apology and was now afraid it wouldn’t be enough.
“Caitlin, I remember you screaming before they knocked me out. We were attacked together.”
“I put you in danger,” she said. “I’m sorry.”
“You didn’t put me in danger.” I shook my head. “We were in danger together. You have nothing to apologize for. I was worried about you.” I tried to find her eyes behind the dark glasses, but couldn’t. “Did you get hurt?”
She adjusted them and wiped her hands on her dress. She wasn’t herself. This one looked like she was told to be careful about something and took that instruction seriously.
“I’m fine. Please don’t worry about me. And if you could tell the boss, I’m sorry—”
“Caitlin, I’m glad you’re okay. I’m okay. Let’s leave it there.” I nodded toward the corridor. “I was about to look around. Can you come with me?”
“Yes. Of course. Anything.”
She fell into step beside me and led us toward the elevator.
I glanced at her while we were walking. She always looked put-together, like she woke up already coordinated.
The purple dress sat perfectly on her, the scarf around her neck picking up the same tone as her heels, nothing accidental about any of it.
She pressed the button, and we waited.
“We had a family dinner last night,” I said, keeping my voice light, hoping to pull back some version of Caitlin who sang loudly to music in the car and didn’t care who heard it.
“You made it? Good, I’m glad.”
“Dmitri’s grandmother was there. We’re moving to the mansion.” I sighed. “Tell me more about her.”
Caitlin laughed lightly as the elevator opened.
“I don’t know much. But she loves her family, and she doesn’t do anything halfway.
When she decides something matters, it matters.
” We stepped in. “She’s sweet, though, once you get past the part where she makes you feel like she can see straight through you.
As long as you get along with her, she talks a lot.
” She turned to me. “Last time I saw her, she asked me why I hadn’t gotten a child yet, so,” she lifted her shoulder, “she loves children. She’ll love Cole. ”
That sat in my chest. If she loved children, believed Cole was Dmitri’s son, and then the truth unraveled, that would hurt more people than just me.
“I hope so,” I said.
The doors opened, and we stepped out. Employees moved past us in both directions, purposeful.
“What about his parents? Brothers? Do they live in Russia?”
Caitlin dropped her voice as we walked. “His parents are both gone.” She paused. “He has two brothers. One runs the family business in New York. The oldest is in California. That’s where the headquarters sit, and he’s the one at the top.”
I slowed. “Dmitri isn’t the firstborn? He carries himself like he is.”
Caitlin laughed, the first real one since she arrived. “Trust me, all three of them give exactly the same vibe.”
I let that sit with me as we walked past an open office where the floor hummed with quiet productivity. People moved between desks with ease.
We stopped at a distance, and I watched them. The women, especially, dressed well, carrying themselves with a confidence born of belonging. I wondered, not for the first time, what version of my life would have landed me in a room like that.
“Sales department,” Caitlin said beside me. “You should see the design floor. I’ve been there once. They don’t let people from other departments in. The work is exclusive.”
“They’re lucky,” I said.
“Not luck. Papers. Very educated people.” Caitlin folded her arms. “People like me just peek and keep walking.”
I laughed quietly. “And there was me who didn’t finish school.”
Caitlin turned to look at me. “You too? I quit in the second year.” She gestured at herself. “Look at my life.”
“Why did you quit?”
She shrugged as we turned and started back. “I wanted to get married. Can’t say it was the worst decision I ever made, but,” she hesitated, “I think about going back sometimes. I just want to do something I actually love.”
I nodded and didn’t push further. Everyone was carrying their own version of the story. Mine just involved more overnight shifts and a nine-year-old who needed new school shoes every four months.
We took the stairs to the second floor. It was quieter up here, more contained. A conference room sat behind a full glass wall, and the people inside were in the middle of a meeting.
“Market analytics,” Caitlin said, and then her phone pulled her attention. She looked at the screen and lowered her voice. “Give me a minute.”
“Go ahead.”
She moved down the hallway, and I drifted inside the department.
The offices were sectioned off, but the open area in the center had screens covering most of one wall, charts, and data bars running across them.
Two men stood in front of them, one flipping through papers and looking up at the display, the other tapping something on an iPad and comparing it to the screen.
I stood there and just looked. One of them noticed me. He stared for a moment, said something to his colleague, and they both turned. I lifted my hand to wave, and they dipped their heads in a low, respectful bow.
“What the hell? Am I the Queen of England or something?”
“Something like that.” The voice came from behind me, and I turned fast. Dmitri stood there, hands in his pockets.
No wonder they bowed.
I stepped back to create some distance as he moved closer. He had a habit of invading space without announcing it. And his shirt was unbuttoned again, which was starting to feel like a personal choice made specifically to be annoying.
“I was looking around,” I said, “since apparently I have nothing else to do.”
“Need a tour?”
I thought about it for half a second. The closer I stayed to him, the easier it would be to convince him. He had refused to find my father. The least he could offer was a job. “Why not. If it’s coming from you.”
He walked past me into the room. The two men cleared out immediately, the way people did around Dmitri, with no need to be told. He stopped in front of the screens, and I moved beside him, close enough to look at them too.
I wished I had studied something. Anything. Because, standing in front of all these lines, charts, and bars, I felt like someone had handed me a book in a foreign language.
Dmitri jerked his chin at the first two screens. “That’s the UK and Hong Kong. The bars represent quarterly revenue, stacked three months at a time. The line tracks monthly movements. When it jumps, buyers are unstable. See that clock?”
He was speaking in tongues.
“Yeah.”
“Live data. Red means underperforming.” He turned to face me. “They have the same product but different behavior. Tell me the difference.”
A laugh slipped out before I could stop it, but he was serious. I cleared my throat, turned back to the screens, and stepped closer. I studied the lines, determined to understand even without the right tools.
“What does this mean?” I pointed at a specific spike.
He glanced at it. “ There was an auction. That’s a rise.”
I nodded and kept looking. After a long moment, I stepped back.
“I don’t know the technical terms,” I said, eyes still moving across the display.
“But it looks like you’re sending too much into a market that’s already comfortable.
” I pointed at the Hong Kong screen. “The rise came from the auction, you said so. Which means they spike when there’s noise, then go quiet. ”
I felt his eyes on me, and I kept going.
“Hong Kong isn’t weak. They sold after the auction, and after that, it just stopped. It means they’re not slow because people won’t buy. They’re slow because whoever’s managing it doesn’t know how to keep the momentum going once the spotlight moves on.”
I turned and found his eyes narrowed slightly, reading me like whatever I said was useful.
“Am I right?” I asked.
The corner of his mouth moved. He closed the space between us, and when I stepped back, his hand came to my lower waist and kept me where I was.
“Sharp eye,” he said. “I like it.”
He lifted his phone with his free hand and made a call while holding my gaze. It was doing things to me, considering the way he held me.
“Get rid of the Hong Kong manager.” He ordered someone, and my heart stalled. “Find a replacement in twenty-four hours.” He hung up.
I gulped. What just happened? “Wait, does ‘get rid of the manager’ mean you fired them?”
He smiled, and before he answered, someone appeared at the entrance.
“Excuse me, sir.”
Caitlin walked in with her hands folded in front of her. The careful, respectful posture from earlier returned in full effect. But the man behind her pulled my attention. He looked familiar, and his hand sitting on her shoulder made my skin tighten. Caitlin looked scared.
“I wanted to apologize about yesterday,” she said when they stopped in front of us. “I didn’t know taking her to that boutique would put her in danger.”
“We were both in danger,” I said quickly, looking between her and Dmitri. “We already talked about it. And we are both okay.” The hand on her shoulder wasn’t loosening. “Can you let go of her? Dmitri, tell him to let her go. She already apologized.”
“What is this?” Dmitri asked.
“She had to apologize in person,” the man said, his grip not moving.
“She already did that. Can you stop hurting her?” I looked at Dmitri directly. “Tell him.”
Dmitri’s eyes moved to the man. “Your wife was also in danger. I thought I made that clear.”
His wife?
“Yes, boss.” He released Caitlin’s shoulder.
I stared. “He’s your husband?”
Caitlin forced the smile back onto her face. “Yes. This is Ivan.”
I looked at Ivan. Something about his face pulled at the back of my mind, trying to connect to where I saw him. “Have we met before? You look familiar.”
He ignored me completely and dipped his head toward Dmitri. “We’ll leave, sir.” He turned, and his hand went back to Caitlin’s shoulder, steering her.
“My wife asked you a question.” Dmitri’s voice stopped them.
Ivan came back, and I took a proper look at him. Everything clicked into place at once.
“You’re the lawyer,” I said. “You came to my door with an officer.” I looked at Dmitri, then back to Ivan, and the whole picture rearranged itself.
A lawyer who wasn’t a lawyer. Wow! “You know what,” I walked over to Caitlin and wrapped my arm through hers, “Cate and I have somewhere to be,” I said before we left.
“I almost forgot I hate them,” I muttered once we were clear.
“You’ve met my husband before?” Caitlin asked, matching my pace.
“Is he a lawyer?”
Caitlin laughed. “He’s not actually a lawyer. More like Dmitri’s personal bodyguard.”
“Why am I not surprised?”