Chapter Thirty-five #2
“Hi.” I crossed the room, my steps hushed on the tile, and stood beside his bed. “What happened to you?”
“Hey,” he rasped.
I glanced around, noting the empty beds. It meant he was in an accident or a fight alone. If others were present, there would likely be soldiers on the other beds. “Was it an accident … or a fight?”
“Both.” He offered a wry half-smile.
“What kind of accident?” I pressed.
He stared at me for a beat, then tapped the side of his bandaged head. “Still trying to remember. I’ll let you know when it comes back.”
I couldn’t help but laugh, the sound breaking the tension. It wasn’t much, but he chuckled too.
“I didn’t know,” I murmured. “Everything changed so fast.” Matvet nodded like he understood more than I had said. “Did you hear about Renat?”
“He deserved it,” he whispered. “Don’t you think?”
“This life is a damn mess,” I said. “Everything keeps shifting, and no one tells you how to stand still. One day it’s calm, then the next, there are a lot of cracks.”
“You’ll find your footing.” He reached out and wrapped his fingers around mine. “Did you meet Dmitri?”
I didn’t want to talk about it, but the words slipped out. “I thought he was kind... but he’s not even close.”
Matvet didn’t press. His silence meant he already knew. I reached down to smooth the sheet over his legs, my fingers brushing the gauze. Of all the people in this place, Matvet was the only one who had ever been kind to me without asking for something in return.
“Do you need anything?” I asked, though I saw his eyelids drooping. He was fighting sleep and losing. A small laugh escaped me. “You got the powerful stuff, didn’t you?”
“Stronger than I imagined,” he mumbled.
“I’ll come back later,” I whispered. “Rest now.”
His lips curled into a faint smile as his eyes closed. I stepped away, quiet as a ghost, and slipped back into the hallway.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the phone.
The last call I made was to Carina, and she never answered.
Before that, I spoke to Mamma, who rushed through the conversation like I was an interruption.
She said she was busy and ended the call as if I didn’t matter.
Rodion had returned the phone to me, but holding it now felt pointless.
It would have been better if I hadn’t gotten it at all.
The silence swallowed my footsteps as I walked until I was in front of the girls’ quarters. I pushed the door open and almost bumped into Clara on her way out.
“Hey. I saw you earlier,” she said, eyes lighting up. “You’re back.”
“What did I miss?” I asked.
Clara’s smile dimmed. “We’re getting ready for Renat’s burial. I was cleaning up. The relatives started arriving.”
“Relatives?” I repeated, surprised.
Clara nodded. “Grandma Regina, the boss’s brothers, and some family from Russia might arrive.”
My heart skipped. Dmitri could show up?
“Can I help?”
Clara didn’t hesitate. She looped an arm around my shoulder, pulling me with her. “Come on. Let’s go clean the rooms.”
We moved through one room at a time, dusting and smoothing out bedsheets. The scent of cleaning spray lingered in the air, mingling with the uneasiness of my reality.
“So,” I started, bending to straighten the edge of a bed, “how are burials around here?”
Clara ran her cloth over the nightstand. “Usually quiet. Only the family and a few of the high-ranking men attend. But it depends on who died and how much noise they want to make about it.”
“Will it be something big? For Renat?”
Clara paused, then shrugged. “Maybe. He was part of this family, but his mother’s funeral was quiet. It might be the same.” I said nothing, and she added, “I heard he betrayed the boss. I don’t know the details, just whispers.”
I nodded and moved to the next dresser. “He did.”
Clara’s eyes lingered on me, but she didn’t ask. “Strange how fast things turn.”
“Yeah,” I kept my voice low. “They always do.”
I didn’t mention Dmitri. Clara didn’t seem to know, and that was telling. If no one had pieced together who Luigi really was, then Rodion was keeping it buried on purpose.
Clara smoothed out the corners of the blanket. “I feel bad for Matvet.”
“What happened?” I asked.
“Some men attacked him the same day he drove you out of the mansion. It was bad.”
“What?”
“Yeah. They found him unconscious near the south entrance. Someone left him there. Doc said he was lucky to survive.”
My stomach twisted. That timing wasn’t random. It had Renat’s name all over it, or Dmitri. Either way, it had something to do with me.
Clara didn’t notice the sharp breath I took. Before I could speak, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out, and my heart jolted when I saw Carina calling.
“I need to answer this,” I murmured, already stepping away.
Clara moved to the next room as I slipped out the back door onto the balcony, the wooden door thudding shut behind me.
I answered. “What took you so long? I was so worried.”
Carina’s voice came through light, yet edged with fatigue. “You have your phone back?”
“Yeah. Rodion gave it to me.” I smiled while glancing toward the main entrance, where the gates had opened. But I forced myself to stay focused. “Are you still with papa and mamma?”
Carina hesitated before asking, “You didn’t know?”
The shift in her voice made me clench my fingers around the railing. “Know what?”
“They left the apartment and returned home.”
“Oh.” That was unexpected. “No one told me, and I even spoke to Mamma. Is everything okay?”
My eyes caught the black car that had pulled in and parked at the front of the mansion.
The back door opened, and an aged woman stepped out, a walking stick in one hand and a cap pulled low over her head.
She wore a white suit skirt that spoke volumes.
Even from here, her posture radiated authority.
“Yes. At least they’re back home,” Carina said, though her voice lacked conviction. “How are you there? I miss you.”
“Me too. I have a lot to tell you.” My thoughts were tangled. “I can’t tell you over the phone.” A smile tugged at my lips. The memories of everything that had happened between Rodion and me warmed my heart.
“You should come home. We really need to catch up.”
“Right?” My eyes flicked downward, and I froze. Rodion had stepped out and fisted a man’s collar, slamming him against the side of the car. A jolt of heat shot through me, and the first name that crashed into my mind was Dmitri.
The woman stood nearby, speaking, her hands moving as if to break them apart. I couldn’t hear her, but she was trying to stop Rodion. The man didn’t fight back. Rodion finally stepped away, raking his fingers through his hair.
My grip on the phone tightened. “Carina, let me call you back.”
I hung up and leaned over the balcony for a better view. The man’s face stayed hidden from my view. But something in his stance and in the way Rodion had reacted sent a cold ripple through me. Was it Dmitri?
Rodion strode to his car, slid inside, and drove away, leaving behind a heavy tension clinging to the air.