Chapter 12 Luca
LUCA
I’m halfway down the stairs when Alexei crashes into my legs.
The impact is light but unexpected. He stumbles backward, loses his balance, and lands hard on the hallway floor. A toy dinosaur skitters across the marble.
I look down at him. He looks up at me with wide green eyes.
“Sorry,” he says quickly.
Mila appears from around the corner, breathless. She sees me and stops running.
“It’s fine,” I tell Alexei. “Watch where you’re going.”
He scrambles to his feet and grabs the dinosaur. Doesn’t run away this time. Just stands there watching me with the same careful assessment I’ve seen from Anna.
“What are you playing?” I ask.
“Dinosaurs. I’m chasing Mila.”
“I see. Did you catch her?”
“Not yet.”
Mila edges closer to her brother. Still wary of me, but not hiding behind furniture anymore like she did the first week.
“Maybe you should try a different strategy,” I say. “If chasing isn’t working.”
Alexei considers this seriously. “Like what?”
“Predict where she’s going instead of following where she’s been. Cut her off before she gets there.”
“That’s cheating,” Mila protests.
“That’s winning,” I correct.
“What are you doing?” Anna’s voice is sharp.
She’s standing in the doorway of her bedroom, already dressed. Hair pulled back, no makeup. She looks like she didn’t sleep.
“Talking,” I say.
“To my children.”
“They ran into me. I didn’t seek them out.”
“Mila. Alexei. Go get dressed.” Her tone leaves no room for argument.
The twins look at each other. Some silent communication passes between them. Then they run to their rooms without protest.
Anna walks toward me. “I’ve told you—”
“Multiple times. Yes. I’m aware of your position.”
“Then why do you keep ignoring it?”
“Because your position is unreasonable. We live in the same house. Contact is inevitable.”
“Contact doesn’t require conversation.”
“So I should just ignore them when they’re directly in front of me? That seems cruel.”
“Cruel is what you did to that man at the warehouse.”
“Different situations require different responses. A business rival threatening my operations gets one treatment. Children playing in a hallway get another.”
“How reassuring.”
“It should be. It means I’m capable of distinguishing between threats and non-threats. Your children aren’t threats.”
“Not yet.”
I step closer. She doesn’t back away. “What does that mean?”
“It means I don’t know what you’ll do if they inconvenience you. If they get in your way or cause problems. I saw how quickly you eliminated someone who annoyed you.”
“Mikhailov tried to cheat me out of millions and then reached for a weapon. That’s not the same as children existing in my house.”
“To you, maybe. To me, it shows what you’re capable of when someone crosses you.”
“Then don’t cross me. Simple.”
“I cross you every day by keeping the twins away from you.”
I smile. Cold. Calculated. “And yet here we both are. You’re still alive. They’re still safe. Maybe your theory about my violent impulses doesn’t hold up.”
Her jaw tightens. “This isn’t a game.”
“No. It’s a war you’re fighting alone. I’ve been very clear about my position. The twins are part of this household. I will interact with them when circumstances require it. You can accept that reality or keep exhausting yourself fighting it. Either way, the outcome doesn’t change.”
“You don’t get to have them.”
“I don’t want to have them. I want you to stop treating every interaction like I’m planning to hurt them.”
“Give me one good reason to trust you.”
“I don’t need to give you reasons. Trust isn’t required. Compliance is.”
“Fuck you.”
“Already did. Twice this week. Still hasn’t improved your disposition.”
She slaps me.
The sound echoes down the hallway. My head barely moves from the impact. I let the silence stretch.
Then I lean in close. “Feel better?”
“Not remotely.”
“Shame. Let me know when you’re ready to stop fighting battles you can’t win.”
I walk past her toward the stairs. She doesn’t follow. Doesn’t say anything else.
Pavel is waiting in the foyer with my briefcase and coat. “The car is ready. Also, there’s a situation at your office.”
“What situation?”
“A woman showed up an hour ago demanding to see you. Marina tried to schedule an appointment but she refused to leave. Says it’s urgent and about your wife.”
“Name?”
“Lina Petrov.”
I take the briefcase from Pavel. “Call ahead. Tell Marina to put her in my office. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
The drive downtown is routine. I review contracts on my tablet while Pavel handles phone calls in the front seat. Traffic is light. We make it to the tower in eighteen minutes.
Marina stands when I walk past her desk. “Ms. Petrov is waiting. She’s been here over an hour.”
“Has she said anything else?”
“Just that you’ll want to hear what she has to say. She seems nervous.”
“Good.”
I push open my office door.
A blonde woman in her late twenties sits in the chair facing my desk. Decent clothes but not expensive. The kind of outfit someone wears when they’re trying to look put-together but working with a limited budget.
She jumps to her feet when she sees me. “Mr. Volkov, thank you so much for—”
“Sit.”
She sits.
I walk around my desk and set down my briefcase. Remain standing. Let the height difference and the silence make her uncomfortable.
“You have information about my wife,” I say.
“Yes. My name is Lina Petrov. Anna and I have been best friends since university. We’re very close.” She’s talking too fast. Nervous energy radiating off her. “I know things about her. Things you should know.”
“You have two minutes.”
“Anna has been lying to you. About her children. About their father.”
“Elaborate.”
“She told you he was dead, right? Some stranger from years ago?”
“Yes.”
“That’s not true.” Lina leans forward. “Their father is alive. He’s sitting right in front of me.”
I don’t move. Don’t react. “Continue.”
“Five years ago, Anna and I went out drinking. She’d had a bad week at work and needed to blow off steam. We ended up at the Metropolitan Hotel bar downtown. She was wearing this tight red dress, and she caught the attention of a man sitting alone at the bar.”
She pauses. Waiting for me to respond. I give her nothing.
“The man was older, well-dressed, with an expensive watch. Clearly wealthy. They talked for maybe an hour. Flirted. He bought her drinks. When he suggested they go upstairs to his room, she agreed. I told her it was a bad idea, but she was tipsy and reckless, and she went anyway.”
“And?”
“And they had sex. One night. In the morning, he was gone. Anna didn’t even know his name. She tried asking the hotel staff, but no one would tell her anything.”
“This is a fascinating story, but I don’t see how it concerns me.”
“Because that man was you.”
The words land in the space between us.
Lina continues quickly. “Six weeks later, Anna found out she was pregnant. With twins. She tried to find you. Went back to the hotel, asked questions, followed leads. When she finally learned your name and who you are, what you do, she panicked. She knew if she told you, you’d take control.
Force her into your world. So she kept the twins a secret. ”
“You’re claiming I’m the father of Anna’s children based on a story about a hotel bar five years ago.”
“It’s not just a story. It’s the truth. Anna recognized you the moment she walked into that wedding. She knew you were the twins’ father and said nothing. She’s been lying to you since the beginning.”
I walk to the window. Look out over the city spread below. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because you deserve to know. You’re their father.”
“That doesn’t answer my question. What do you want?”
Silence. Then, “I thought you might appreciate the information.”
“Appreciate it enough to pay you for it.”
“I didn’t say that—”
“You didn’t have to.” I turn to face her. “You came here expecting compensation. How much?”
Her face flushes. “That’s not why I came.”
“Everyone wants something. Money. Favor. Revenge. Which is it?”
“I came because it’s the right thing to do. You’re their father. You should know.”
“Or you’re jealous. Anna married into wealth while you’re still scraping by. This is revenge dressed as righteousness.”
“That’s not—”
“Look at your clothes. Your shoes. The purse you’re clutching like it costs three months’ salary. You came here because you want what Anna has. This is about money, not morality.”
She stands. “Fine. Yes, I could use money. Is that a crime? I’m telling you the truth. The least you could do is compensate me for the information.”
“I don’t pay for unverified stories.”
“It’s not a story! Look at them! Really look at Alexei. He has your eyes, your face. The resemblance is there if you’re not blind.”
“I’ve barely seen the children. Anna prevents contact.”
“Because she knows! She’s known from the beginning that they’re yours!”
“If that’s true, I’ll discover it without your help.”
“Mr. Volkov, please—”
“You wasted your time coming here. If you’re lying, you get nothing. If you’re telling the truth, I’ll find out on my own. Either way, you leave empty-handed.”
“You’re making a mistake.”
I walk to the door and open it. “That’s my concern, not yours. And if I find out you’ve discussed this with anyone else, there will be consequences. Are we clear?”
She grabs her purse and hurries toward the door. Stops in front of me. “For what it’s worth, I am telling the truth. Those children are yours. Anna has been lying to your face for weeks.”
“Then the truth will reveal itself.”
She leaves. I close the door and return to my desk. Pull out my phone.
Pavel answers immediately. “Yes?”
“I need a DNA test. Priority.”
“Who?”
“Anna’s twins. Mila and Alexei. Compare their DNA against mine.”
Pause. “What happened?”
“Lina Petrov just left my office, claiming I’m their biological father. I need verification.”
“The friend from university?”
“Yes. Run a full background on her. Income, employment, debts, connections. I want to know why she brought this to me.”
“Understood. For the DNA, I’ll need samples from the children.”
“Get them from their belongings. Toothbrush, hairbrush, whatever you can access quietly. Don’t alert Anna.”
“The hospital?”
“Yes. They still have my samples on file from the last paternity claim.”
This is the fourth time in ten years someone has claimed I fathered a child. The previous three were all lies. Extortion attempts that fell apart under DNA testing.
But this feels different.
The timeline matches. Five years ago, I did frequent hotel bars after bad deals. I did have that one-night stand that led to my celibacy vow. And Anna’s behavior makes more sense if she’s been hiding this.
“How fast can we get results?” I ask.
“Twenty-four hours if I expedite.”
“Do it. Also, pull security footage from the Metropolitan Hotel. Five years ago, in March or April. I want to see if there’s evidence I was there with someone matching Anna’s description.”
“That’s a long time. The footage might be deleted.”
“Find out. If it exists, I want it.”
“On it. Anything else?”
“No. Just get me those results.”