Chapter 17 Luca
LUCA
Mila cried that first evening, then climbed into Anna’s lap and stayed there. Alexei went quiet for a day and a half, the thinking kind of quiet, and this morning he came downstairs and asked me to help him with his train track like nothing had happened.
I’ll take it.
Pavel walks into my office without knocking. “We have a problem,” he says.
I look up from the contracts I’m reviewing. “What kind of problem?”
“Lina Petrov. She’s been talking.”
My hand tightens on the pen I’m holding. “Talking to who?”
“Everyone. Your social circles, Anna’s old friends, and business associates. She’s spreading the story about the twins’ paternity.”
“How widely?”
“Wide enough. I’ve heard it from three different sources in the past twenty-four hours. The story is getting traction.”
I set down the pen carefully. “What exactly is she saying?”
“That you didn’t know your own children. That Anna hid them from you for five years. That you married her without knowing she was already the mother of your twins.” Pavel’s expression is grim. “She’s making you look weak.”
“I am aware of the optics.”
“This isn’t just gossip, Luca. Your competitors will use this. They’ll see it as a vulnerability. A Bratva leader who can’t even identify his own children? Who was manipulated by his wife? That’s blood in the water.”
He’s right. In this world, perception is everything. Looking foolish or weak invites challenges. And right now, I look like a man who was played by a woman half his age.
“Where is Lina now?” I ask.
“At her apartment. She’s been making calls and meeting people for coffee. She thinks she’s safe because you didn’t pay her for the information.”
“She thinks wrong.”
“What do you want me to do?”
I consider this. Lina came to my office expecting compensation. I sent her away empty-handed. Now she’s spreading the story out of spite or desperation or both. Either way, she’s creating a problem that threatens my position.
“Handle her,” I say.
“How permanently?”
“Use your judgment. But make sure she stops talking. And make sure everyone who heard the story understands that repeating it would be unwise.”
Pavel nods. “I’ll take care of it today.”
“Do it quietly. I don’t need more attention on this situation.”
“Understood.”
He leaves. I return to the contracts but can’t focus. The words blur together on the page.
Lina talked. The story is out there. My enemies now know that I didn’t recognize my own children. That I’m married to a woman who played me for a fool.
The anger is cold and controlled, but it’s there. Building.
My office door opens again, and I look up, ready to tell Pavel I don’t need updates every five minutes.
It’s not Pavel.
Maxim walks in. He’s wearing a suit, hair still damp from a recent shower. His expression is hard. “We need to talk,” he says.
“About?”
“Don’t play stupid. You know what about.” He closes the door behind him and crosses to my desk. “Is it true?”
“Is what true?”
“The twins. Are they yours?”
I lean back in my chair. “Who told you?”
“Does it matter? Half the city is talking about it. I want to hear it from you. Are Mila and Alexei your biological children?”
“Yes.”
He goes very still. “You’re serious.”
“DNA test confirmed it. 99.97% probability.”
“And you didn’t know? Before the test?”
“No.”
“How is that possible?”
“Anna and I had a one-night encounter five years ago. I didn’t know her name. She got pregnant. She kept it secret. We ended up married through her father’s debt. She recognized me and said nothing.”
Maxim stares at me. “That’s insane.”
“That’s reality.”
“So I have two half-siblings living in this house.”
“Yes.”
“Four-year-old half-siblings who you’ve been trying to connect with while their mother blocked you at every turn.”
“Yes.”
“And now everyone knows. Everyone is talking about how Luca Volkov got played by his wife. How he didn’t even recognize his own children.”
“I’m handling it.”
“Are you? Because from where I’m standing, this is a disaster.” Maxim starts pacing. “Do you understand what this does to our position? Your competitors are laughing. They’re seeing weakness. They’re going to push.”
“Let them push. I’ll push back harder.”
“That’s not the point! The point is, you look foolish. And when you look foolish, it reflects on me. On the entire organization.”
“Then we contain it. Pavel is already handling the source.”
“The source? You mean Lina? The woman who brought you this information in the first place?”
“The woman who’s now spreading it publicly to damage my reputation. Yes.”
Maxim stops pacing. “And the twins? What happens with them?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, are they part of the family now? Are they in line for inheritance? Do they threaten my position?”
“We discussed this already. Your position hasn’t changed.”
“That was before I knew they were actually your biological children. Before everyone else knew. Now it’s different.”
“How?”
“Because people will expect you to treat them as heirs. To give them a role in the business. To split your assets between all your children instead of just me.”
“They’re four years old, Maxim. They’re not a threat to you.”
“Not now. But in ten years? In twenty?”
I stand. “Your insecurity is showing.”
“This isn’t insecurity. This is a practical concern. I’ve spent ten years preparing to take over your operations. I’m not going to let two children derail that.”
“No one is derailing anything. You’re still my heir. That hasn’t changed and won’t change.”
“You say that now—”
“I say it always. You’re my son. You’re thirty years old with a decade of experience in this business. Mila and Alexei are four. Even if I wanted to bring them into the organization eventually, you’d still have seniority, experience, and position. Stop looking for threats that don’t exist.”
Maxim crosses his arms. “What about Anna? What’s she getting out of this?”
“What do you mean?”
“She hid your children from you for years. Now the truth is out. What are the consequences for her?”
“That’s between Anna and me.”
“Is it? Because she made you look weak. She embarrassed you. In our world, that usually has consequences.”
“She’s my wife.”
“She’s a liability.”
“Watch yourself.”
“I’m just stating facts. She lied to you. She kept your children secret. She’s caused a situation that threatens our organization’s reputation. If she were anyone else, you’d handle her.”
“She’s not anyone else. She’s the mother of my children.”
“So what? You give her a pass because she had your babies? That’s not how you’ve operated for thirty years.”
I move around the desk until I’m standing directly in front of Maxim. “You’re angry because you feel threatened. I understand that. But directing that anger at Anna is misplaced.”
“She’s the reason we’re in this mess!”
“She made choices that created problems. Yes. But she’s also the mother of Mila and Alexei. That matters.”
“Since when? Since when do you care about things like that?”
“Since I found out I have a four-year-old son and daughter living under my roof. Since I watched them cry when they learned I was their father. Since I realized they’re mine and I’m responsible for them.”
Maxim shakes his head. “You’re getting soft.”
“I’m being realistic. The twins exist. They’re mine. Fighting that reality helps no one.”
“And me? Where do I fit in this new reality?”
“Exactly where you’ve always fit. As my son and heir. Nothing has changed except you now have younger siblings.”
“Half-siblings.”
“Siblings. Stop making distinctions that don’t matter.”
“They matter to me.”
“Then that’s your problem to solve. Not mine.” I return to my desk. “Is there anything else?”
Maxim looks at me for a long moment. “You’re really going to do this? Bring them into the family? Treat them like legitimate heirs?”
“They are legitimate. Biologically and legally.”
“And what about their mother? The woman who lied to you for years?”
“Anna stays. The marriage continues. We move forward.”
“Just like that.”
“Just like that.”
“You’ve changed.”
“People do.”
“Not you. You don’t change. You’re Luca Volkov. You don’t forgive. You don’t forget. And you definitely don’t let people get away with making you look weak.”
“I’m not letting anyone get away with anything. I’m choosing my battles. There’s a difference.”
Maxim heads toward the door. Stops with his hand on the handle. “Pavel is handling Lina?”
“Yes.”
“Good. At least someone is dealing with this properly.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’re too close to this situation. You’re making emotional decisions instead of strategic ones. Someone needs to think clearly.”
“And that someone is you?”
“It has to be. Because you’re not.” He walks out before I can respond.
I sit back down and stare at the door he just closed.
My phone rings. Pavel. “It’s done,” he says.
“Already?”
“Lina won’t be talking anymore. I made the consequences very clear.”
“She’s alive?”
“For now. Depends on whether she listens. But the fear should keep her quiet.”
“And the people she already told?”
“I’m working through that list. By tomorrow, the story will stop spreading.”
“Good.” I hang up and return to the contracts on my desk. Try to focus on shipping routes, profit margins, and things I can control. But Maxim’s words keep circling in my head.
You’ve changed.
Maybe I have. Or maybe I’m just finally dealing with the reality I’ve been avoiding for six weeks. Either way, the situation is handled. Lina will stop talking. Maxim will adjust. The twins will accept me as their father. Everything is under control.
My office door bursts open. Anna stands there, face flushed, eyes wild. “What did you do to Lina?”