Chapter 11 Anna
ANNA
Three Weeks Later
My phone rings while I’m reading to the twins.
I don’t recognize the number. Almost let it go to voicemail. But something makes me answer. “Hello?”
“Anna! Oh my god, I finally got through to you!”
I freeze. That voice. I know that voice.
“Lina?”
“Yes! I’ve been trying to reach you for weeks. Your old number doesn’t work anymore, and I had to do some serious detective work to track down this one.”
I stand up from the bed where Mila and Alexei are curled against me. “Hold on a second.” I walk into the hallway and close the door behind me. My heart is pounding for reasons I can’t name. “Sorry, I’m back. How did you get this number?”
“Your mom gave it to me. I called your parents’ house and begged. Svetlana finally broke down and gave me your new contact info.” Lina’s laugh sounds the same as always. Bright. Easy. “So, married life. Tell me everything. How are you? How are the twins?”
I haven’t spoken to Lina since before the wedding.
“I’m fine,” I say carefully. “We’re all fine.”
“Just fine? Anna, you married a billionaire and disappeared off the face of the earth. I need more than fine.”
“It’s complicated.”
“Everything with you is complicated. Look, I miss you. I know you’re busy with your new life and everything, but can we meet? Just for coffee? Catch up properly?”
I want to say no. Meeting Lina means leaving the estate, going back into the world outside these walls. It means questions I don’t want to answer and conversations I’m not ready to have.
But I’m so lonely. Six weeks of living in this massive house with a man who barely speaks to me except when we’re fighting or fucking. Six weeks of keeping my children away from everyone. Six weeks of isolation punctuated by violence and fear and constant vigilance.
I want to see someone who knew me before all of this. Someone who remembers Anna Kestrel instead of Anna Volkov.
“Okay,” I hear myself say. “Coffee sounds good.”
“Really? That’s amazing! How about tomorrow? There’s that café we used to go to on Maple Street. Is it still there?”
“I think so.”
“Perfect. Two o’clock? I’ll be there.”
We say goodbye, and I stand in the hallway staring at my phone. What did I just agree to?
The next afternoon, I’m getting ready to leave when Luca appears in my bedroom doorway. “Where are you going?” he asks.
I don’t look at him. Just continue putting on my earrings. “Out.”
“I can see that. Where?”
“To meet a friend for coffee. Is that allowed, or do I need your permission?”
“You don’t need my permission. But security goes with you.”
“Fine.”
He leans against the doorframe, watching me. We haven’t spoken much since the last time we hate-fucked a few days ago. My hips still have bruises from his hands. My neck has a mark I’m covering with makeup right now.
“Who’s the friend?” he asks.
“No one you know.”
“Anna.”
I turn to face him. “Her name is Lina. We’ve been friends since university. She wants to catch up. That’s all.”
“Fine. Be back by five. The twins will want dinner.”
“I’m aware of when my children eat.”
He studies me for another moment, then leaves without another word.
I finish getting ready and head downstairs. One of Luca’s drivers is already waiting with the car. A security guard I don’t recognize sits in the front passenger seat.
The drive to the café takes twenty minutes. I watch the city pass outside the window and try to remember the last time I went somewhere that wasn’t a doctor’s appointment or a forced appearance at one of Luca’s business dealings.
Six weeks. It’s been six weeks since I’ve done anything normal.
The café looks exactly the same. Small, cozy, with mismatched furniture and local art on the walls. Lina is already there, sitting at our usual table by the window.
She sees me and jumps up, pulling me into a hug before I can even sit down. “Anna! You look amazing!”
I don’t feel amazing. I feel exhausted and paranoid and like I’m playing a role in someone else’s life.
“You look good too,” I say.
We sit. A waitress comes over, and we both order lattes. When she leaves, Lina leans forward with her elbows on the table. “Okay, spill. Married life. How is it really?”
“It’s fine.”
“You keep saying that. Fine. What does that mean?”
“It means we’re adjusting. The twins are settling in. It’s a big change.”
“I bet. That house is insane. I looked it up online. Your husband owns like half the city.”
“He’s successful.”
“He’s terrifying. Those photos of him online, he looks like he could kill someone with his bare hands.”
She has no idea how accurate that is.
“He’s not that bad,” I lie.
“Really? Because you disappeared right after the wedding, and no one heard from you. Your parents wouldn’t tell me anything except that you were fine. I was starting to worry.”
“There’s nothing to worry about. I’ve just been busy.”
“Too busy for your best friend?”
Guilt twists in my stomach. “I’m sorry. I should have called.”
“Yes, you should have. But you’re here now, so I’ll forgive you.” She grins. “Tell me about him. Luca. What’s he actually like?”
“Cold. Calculating. Focused on business.”
“But he’s good to you? And the twins?”
I hesitate. “He provides for us.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
The waitress returns with our lattes. I take a sip, buying time.
“He’s not cruel,” I say finally. “Just distant.”
“Distant how?”
“He has his world. I have mine. We exist in the same space but not really together.”
Lina frowns. “That sounds lonely.”
“It is what it is.”
“And the twins? How are they handling having a new stepfather?”
My hands tighten around the coffee cup. “They’re adjusting.”
“Does he spend time with them?”
“Some. When I allow it.”
“When you allow it? Why wouldn’t you allow it?”
“Because I don’t trust him.”
“Anna.” Lina reaches across the table and takes my hand. “What’s really going on? You sound miserable.”
“I’m not miserable. I’m just adapting to a new life I didn’t choose.”
“Your parents forced this marriage.”
“They were desperate. The debt was crushing them.”
“Still. Being sold to pay off debts feels medieval.”
I pull my hand back. “It’s done. There’s no point dwelling on it.”
Lina watches me for a long moment. Then she asks, “Have you told him?”
My blood goes cold. “Told him what?”
“About the twins’ father. About that night.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s none of his business.”
“Anna, he’s your husband. He’s raising your children. Don’t you think he should know?”
“Know what? That their father was a one-night stand I met in a hotel bar? That I got pregnant from someone whose name I didn’t even ask for?”
“That their father is—”
“Dead,” I interrupt. “Their father is dead. That’s what I told Luca, and that’s the truth as far as he needs to know.”
Lina sits back in her chair. “Does he ask about it?”
“Once. Right after the wedding. I told him their father died years ago, and he accepted it.”
“Just like that? He didn’t push for details?”
“No. Why would he? The twins aren’t his concern beyond providing for them.”
“That seems cold.”
“Everything about Luca is cold.”
“But he doesn’t suspect anything? About who their father really is?”
The question feels pointed. Too specific.
“Why would he suspect anything?” I ask carefully.
“I don’t know. I just thought maybe if he saw them, if he noticed how much Alexei looks like—”
“Alexei looks like me,” I interrupt again. “Dark hair, similar features. People see what they expect to see.”
“And Luca expects to see your children from a dead stranger.”
“Yes.”
Lina takes a sip of her latte. “Do you ever worry he’ll find out?”
“There’s nothing to find out. I told him the truth. Their father is dead. That’s all he needs to know.”
“But, Anna, if he ever figured out that the twins are actually—”
“Stop.” I lean forward, lowering my voice. “Stop talking about this. Here, in public, where anyone could hear.”
“No one’s listening.”
“You don’t know that. Luca has people everywhere. Security, staff, connections all over the city. I can’t risk this conversation.”
“So you are worried he’ll find out.”
“I’m worried about a lot of things. But that’s not one of them because there’s nothing to find out.”
We sit in tense silence for a moment.
Then Lina reaches over and squeezes my hand again. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to push. I’m just worried about you.”
“I know.”
“You seem so isolated. So alone.”
“I am alone.”
“You have me. You can always call me if you need anything. If things get bad or if you need help or just someone to talk to.”
“Thank you.”
We finish our coffee and talk about safer things. Her job, mutual friends from university, and neighborhood gossip. Normal conversation that feels almost alien after weeks of living in Luca’s world.
When it’s time to leave, we hug goodbye on the sidewalk. Lina promises to call again soon. I promise to answer.
I get in the car, and the driver pulls away from the curb. I watch Lina disappear in the side mirror and try to shake the feeling that something was off about that entire conversation.
Why was she so interested in whether I’d told Luca about the twins’ father? Why did she keep pushing on that specific point?
Lina was there that night five years ago. She’s the only person who knows the whole truth. She helped me through the pregnancy when I was terrified and alone. She’s kept my secret for five years without question.
So why now? Why all these questions about Luca knowing?
The driver merges onto the highway heading back toward the estate. The security guard in the front seat is on his phone, speaking in Russian too quietly for me to hear.
I lean my head against the window and watch the city blur past.
Something about Lina’s questions felt wrong.
“Mrs. Volkov, we’ll be back at the estate in fifteen minutes,” the driver says.
I don’t respond.
My phone buzzes. A text from Lina.
So good to see you today! Let’s do it again soon. Miss you!
I stare at the message. Why does it feel like a threat?