Epilogue
Inna Grace
I stood behind Grandma with a comb in one hand, smoothing the front strands while watching her reflection in the mirror. She sat straight-backed in the chair, carrying herself with a posture that made you forget she was eighty-five until she reminded you herself.
“How do you like that?” I asked, lifting her chin lightly with two fingers.
Grandma laughed. “I told you. I’m fine with anything.”
I dropped my hands to my hips. “That is the least helpful thing you could say to me right now.” I turned to where Alessia sat on the sofa behind us with a plate of cupcakes balanced on her knee. “Alessia, I need your eyes here. Grandma refuses to give me an honest opinion.”
Alessia got to her feet, took a bite of her cupcake, and studied Grandma’s hair while she chewed. After swallowing, she nodded. “I love it. It’s beautiful. She never styles it.” Her gaze lingered another second before she nodded again. “Keep it exactly like that.”
“Great. Now, a touch of makeup.” I reached for the lip balm, but the smell of cigarettes drifted through the room and stopped me. I glanced around before my eyes landed on the open window. Walking over, I looked outside and found Rodion standing there with a man who was introduced to me as Matvet.
“Can’t they smoke somewhere else?” I muttered, shutting the window before returning to Grandma.
“What happened?” Alessia asked.
“For some reason, I can’t stand the smell of cigarettes anymore.” I bent toward Grandma again and focused on her lips.
“She had a quarrel with Dmitri about it the other day,” Grandma said, making me laugh.
She wasn’t wrong. Dmitri had stopped smoking around me entirely.
“Smoking isn’t healthy anyway,” I said.
Alessia stepped back, cradling her plate. “I’m going to get more cupcakes. These Russian cupcakes are something else. I need to find out who made them.”
“You said that about the cinnamon rolls this morning,” I called after her.
She paused in the doorway, looking over her shoulder. “Can you blame me?” Then she was gone before I could answer.
I turned back to Grandma and focused on moisturizing her lips. “When we met in New York, I didn’t even realize she was pregnant.”
“She was probably one month along. It doesn’t show at that stage.” Grandma went quiet for a moment. “I’m happy for her. I can finally have a great-grandchild.”
“You are blessed.” I stepped back, looked at her properly, and gave an approving nod. “Birthday girl is ready. You look incredible.”
Grandma patted her hair, smiling at her reflection. “The things you do to me.” She shook her head. “Don’t you see how old I am?”
“Eighty-five isn’t old. Let’s revisit that conversation at a hundred.”
She laughed under her breath. “As if I’ll make it that far. It’s already a surprise I got here.”
“Should we make a bet?” I offered my arm. “A hundred years. I’m serious.”
“I’m old enough, child. How much longer is one supposed to go on?” She took my arm anyway. “Besides, at this age, you become a burden to everyone around you.”
“Are you talking to me? I can’t hear you.” I tilted my head in mock innocence, and she laughed again as I guided her toward the door.
We stepped out into the hallway still laughing, the sound bouncing off walls that looked like they had long forgotten what laughter sounded like.
The corridor was lined with portraits, generations of Konstantinovs captured in heavy, dark-wood frames.
Dmitri had shown me around here yesterday, stopping in front of each one as if introducing me to a history that still carried weight.
He showed me his father first, positioned behind Rodion’s in the line of bosses. Rodion took over after his death.
Grandma’s portrait sat behind Dmitri’s father. I hadn’t known until we came here that she once led the Konstantinov Bratva. I was still trying to reconcile that image with the woman who now teased me about everything. No wonder she was unshakable.
This place was nothing like the Florida mansion or any of the other Konstantinov properties. It was older, seated beside a pond, the kind of estate that made time feel less like something passing and more like something stored. The family had held it long enough to stop counting the years.
We reached the main hall and found everyone outside in the backyard.
“Let’s join the others,” I said.
We stepped out with Grandma leading the way. A long table stretched across the terrace, dressed in white linen, flowers, and candles that would matter more once the sun dropped. Maids moved between the seats, setting plates while drinks already waited at each place.
Grandma took her seat at the far end of the table. The moment she settled, I slipped away toward Cole, who was running in a wide loop with a kite string clenched in both hands.
“Kiddo.” I fell into step beside him. “Have you seen Dmitri?”
Cole glanced at me without slowing his pace. “He went outside the gate earlier.” He didn’t react to the nickname, which meant either he had given up correcting me or the kite had become more important.
I faced the pond again. There was something about this place that made the noise in your head quiet down. No neighbors for miles, no traffic, no city pressing in from every direction. Just water, old trees, and a silence that felt like it belonged to this manor.
“Looks like he’s back,” Cole said. “Isn’t that Akim?”
I turned to Dmitri, who was walking toward me across the grass.
My eyes moved past him, searching for confirmation of what Cole had just said. Akim was supposed to be in Mexico. He had been there for two months.
Instead of seeing Akim, my eyes landed on my mother. My heart skipped. She was beside Grandma. My mother was actually here.
Dmitri stood beside me while I tried to accept what my eyes were seeing. A small smile broke through despite myself. Akim has been in Mexico for two months, keeping that woman safe. I trusted Dmitri with that. And now she was here. She was alive.
“You didn’t tell me she would be coming.”
“I wasn’t sure,” he replied. “I sent the invitation, and she never replied.”
My mother turned from Grandma, and her eyes found mine across the terrace. She looked exactly like herself. Seeing her again has been on my wish list, and Dmitri has been helping me check off each one without ever making it feel like he was doing it.
“Thank you,” I whispered to Dmitri.
He winked, a faint smile touching his lips, then turned to Cole. “Having fun, young boss?”
Cole tugged the kite string, adjusting its drift. “Not until we go fishing.”
I left them there and walked toward the table, where the party was settling into itself. Alessia was moving through the scattered groups, pulling people to the table.
My mother saw me approaching and rose. “Grace,” she called, opening her arms.
The hug still felt unfamiliar, but I held her anyway. We stayed like that for a few seconds before I pulled back.
“You came,” I said, and felt something warm settle in my chest as I looked at her.
“You invited me,” she replied.
I smiled without correcting her. Dmitri had sent that invitation and made it look like it came from me. I let it stay that way.
I gestured for her to sit and scanned the table.
Everyone was finding their place, settling into the rhythm of the evening.
Roman was here too, which was a surprise in itself, considering how easily he usually vanished.
I moved along the table toward Dmitri’s side and met Akim on the way.
He was with Matvet, and when I stopped, they both stopped.
“Hi. It’s been a while,” I said to Akim, and he gave a nod. “How is Mexico?”
“Favorable,” he replied.
“Do you hate me a little less after two months without seeing me?”
His mouth twitched, almost a smile. Matvet cleared his throat. “I’ll leave you two.” He stepped away without hesitation.
I turned back to Akim. “Well?”
He studied me for a moment. “Did you see your mother? You have something similar in your faces. So technically, I was still seeing you in her.”
“Ah. So you just admitted you hate me.”
He exhaled. “There is a difference between respect and hate, madam. You are my boss’s wife. I respect you.”
“Blah, blah, blah.” I waved a hand. “I wanted to thank you for keeping an eye on my mother.”
“It’s my job.”
“Can you just accept gratitude like a normal human being?”
“Madam,” he lowered his voice slightly. “With the way the boss is clenching his fist right now, I would prefer not to be punched for having this conversation.”
My brows knitted together, and I turned toward Dmitri. He was watching from his seat, his hand curled tightly into a fist on the table.
I looked back at Akim. “That man is seriously not well.”
“Love sickness is deadly,” Akim said, and I laughed, surprised that he had actually made a joke.
I left him and walked around the table, dropping into the seat beside Dmitri. “Can you be less obvious about being jealous?” I said, reaching for a glass of water.
“What did he say that made you laugh?” Dmitri asked.
I rolled my eyes and said nothing as Grandma’s voice drew our attention. She thanked everyone for coming, her eyes moving slowly across the table.
Dmitri’s hand settled on my knee under the table and began rubbing it gently.
Once Grandma finished speaking, the maids moved around the table with dishes. Conversation picked up again, spreading from one end to the other as everyone settled into their own discussions.
I looked around instead. Roman sat a seat away from Caitlin, which clearly wasn’t enough distance. She talked to him with animated hands, flipping her hair that she had dyed blue before we traveled here. Roman sipped his water, his gaze elsewhere, completely uninterested.
Across the table, Rodion leaned in close to Alessia as she pointed toward something by the pond. Rodion followed her gesture with exaggerated focus.