Chapter 26 Anna
ANNA
The twins’ fifth birthday is just a little over a month away.
I’m in the kitchen with Elena, making a list of everything we need. Decorations, cake flavors, party favors. Mila wants purple everything. Alexei wants trains. We’re trying to figure out how to combine both themes without it looking chaotic.
“What about purple trains?” Elena suggests.
“Do purple trains exist?”
“We can make them exist. Paint, glitter, imagination.”
I’m writing that down when I hear Luca’s voice from down the hallway. His study door must be open. Pavel’s voice responds. I can’t make out words, just the low rumble of conversation.
“I’ll check the supply closet for paint,” Elena says, heading toward the back of the house.
I keep writing. Purple trains. Glitter. Cake with both themes somehow.
“The acquisition timeline is solid.” Pavel’s voice carries clearer now. “Everything is in place for the final phase.”
I stop writing.
“Good. I want this executed perfectly. No mistakes.”
“The asset transfer documents are ready. Just need your signature to finalize.”
“I’ll review them again before I sign. This needs to be seamless.”
My pen hovers over the paper. Acquisition timeline. Final phase. Asset transfer.
What are they talking about?
“Viktor won’t know until you’re ready to tell him?” Pavel asks.
“Correct. I want everything finalized before he has the opportunity to refuse.”
Viktor. My father. They’re talking about something involving my father, and he doesn’t know about it.
The study door closes. The conversation cuts off.
I stare at my party planning list. Purple trains and glitter suddenly feel very far away.
What acquisition? What asset transfer? I thought everything with my father’s company was settled. The marriage resolved the debt. What else is there?
Elena returns with paint supplies. “Found some purple. We can make this work.”
“Great. I’ll be back in a minute.”
I leave the kitchen and walk toward Luca’s study. Stand outside the closed door. I can still hear voices, but they’re muffled now.
I should trust that whatever business Luca is conducting doesn’t concern me, instead of eavesdropping. But those words won’t leave my head. Final phase. Asset transfer. Viktor won’t know until you’re ready.
What won’t my father know?
The study door opens. I step back quickly. Pavel walks out carrying his tablet and briefcase. He nods at me as he passes. “Mrs. Volkov.”
“Pavel.”
He disappears down the hallway. I hear the front door close.
Luca appears in the study doorway. “Were you looking for me?”
“No. I was just passing by. Planning the birthday party with Elena.”
“How’s it going?”
“Good. Purple trains, apparently.”
He smiles. “That sounds perfect.”
“Are you leaving soon? I thought we were having lunch together.”
“I have a meeting in an hour. I’ll be back by dinner.”
“What kind of meeting?”
“Business. Nothing you need to worry about.” He kisses my forehead. “I’ll see you tonight.”
He walks past me toward the stairs. I watch him go. Wait until I hear his footsteps overhead. Then I look back at his study.
The door is still open, and I walk into the study and close the door behind me.
His desk is neat. Organized. A few files are stacked on one side. His laptop closed. Nothing obviously suspicious.
I open the top drawer. Pens, business cards, and a leather-bound notebook. I flip through the notebook. Meeting notes. Names and numbers. Nothing alarming.
The second drawer has files. I pull them out one by one. Shipping manifests. Client contracts. Financial reports for operations I don’t understand.
The third drawer is locked. Why is one drawer locked?
I try the handle again. Definitely locked.
I search the desk for a key. Check the pencil holder. Under the desk pad. Inside the notebook. Nothing.
I’m about to give up when I notice the bottom drawer isn’t fully closed. I pull it open. More files. These are older. The tabs are faded. I flip through them. Kestrel Maritime. My father’s company. Multiple folders all labeled with dates going back years.
I pull out the one labeled three years ago.
Inside is a memo. Typed. Professional.
Kestrel Maritime Acquisition Strategy Phase One: Debt Engineering
I read the first paragraph. Then the second. Then I have to sit down because my legs won’t hold me.
The document outlines a three-year plan. Year one: purchase Viktor Kestrel’s outstanding debts from smaller creditors. Consolidate. Create dependency.
Year two: encourage additional borrowing through favorable terms. Then withdraw support. Force Viktor deeper into debt.
Year three: offer marriage as a debt resolution. Acquire controlling interest in Kestrel Maritime through family merger.
Every step is detailed. Calculated. Cold.
I flip to the next page. Timeline projections. Target dates for each phase. Contingency plans if Viktor refused the marriage arrangement. There’s a notation in the margin. Handwritten. Luca’s handwriting. Wedding complete. Phase three successful. Begin integration.
The wedding. Our wedding. Marked as a successful business phase.
I keep reading. Asset transfer plans. How to remove Viktor from operational control while maintaining the appearance of partnership. How to systematically take over every aspect of the company. Financial projections showing what Luca stands to gain. Millions. Tens of millions over time.
And there, at the bottom of the last page: Subject: Anna Kestrel. Status: Compliant. Marriage consummated. Legal control established.
I’m not his wife in these documents. I’m a subject. A mechanism. A means to an end.
My hands are shaking so badly that I can barely hold the papers.
Three years. He spent three years destroying my father’s business on purpose. Engineering the debt. Creating the crisis. All so he could force this marriage and take the company. I wasn’t a solution to the problem. I was the final stage of the acquisition strategy.
Everything was calculated. The wedding. The consummation clause. Every detail planned years before I ever walked into that venue.
I think about the past few months. Was any of it real? Or have I been playing into his plan this entire time?
The study door opens. I look up.
Luca stands in the doorway. He’s changed into a suit. Ready for his meeting. He sees the file open on my lap. The papers in my hands. His expression shifts. “Anna.”
I stand. The papers fall to the floor. “You planned this. All of it. For three years.”
“Let me explain.”
“You destroyed my father’s business on purpose. You engineered the debt. You forced this marriage. Everything was calculated.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“It’s exactly that simple!” My voice cracks. “I’m a subject in your acquisition strategy! Status: compliant!”
“That document is three years old. Things have changed.”
“Have they? Or are you just better at making me believe they have?”
He steps into the study.
I step back. “Don’t come near me.”
“Anna, listen to me. Yes, I engineered the situation that led to the marriage. That’s true. But that was before I knew you. Before the twins. Before any of this became real.”
“Real? This was never real. I was in phase three of your business plan.”
“It started as a business. It became something else.”
“How do I know that? How do I know anything you’ve said is true?” I’m shaking. My whole body, trembling with rage and betrayal. “You spent three years destroying my family so you could take what you wanted. And I fell for it. I actually started to believe you cared.”
“I do care.”
“You care about controlling Kestrel Maritime. That’s what you care about!”
“Four months ago, yes. That’s what I cared about. But things change. People change. I changed.”
“People like you don’t change. My mother warned me. She said men like you don’t change easily. But I didn’t listen. I let myself believe the pancakes and the bedtime stories meant something.”
“They do mean something.”
“Stop lying to me!” I’m screaming now. Don’t care who hears. “Stop pretending this is anything other than what it is. A business transaction you’ve been executing for three years.”
“It was a business transaction. Now it’s a marriage. Now it’s a family.”
“No. It’s a lie. All of it. Every moment I thought was real was just you following your acquisition strategy.” I push past him toward the door. He catches my arm. “Let go of me.”
“Not until you listen.”
“I’ve heard enough. I’ve seen enough. There’s nothing you can say that changes what’s in those documents.”
“Those documents are old. Outdated. I’ve been working on something different. Something that changes everything.”
“I don’t care what you’ve been working on. I care that you spent three years planning to destroy my family, and I was stupid enough to fall for you anyway.”
His grip loosens. “You fell for me?”
“That’s what you heard? Out of everything I just said?”
“You said you fell for me.”
“And you destroyed my family to force a marriage you’d been planning for years. Which part do you think matters more?” I wrench my arm free and walk out of the study.
He follows me into the hallway. “Anna, wait.”
“No. I’m done waiting. I’m done believing. I’m done pretending this is anything other than what it is.”
“What are you going to do?”
I stop at the base of the stairs and turn to look at him. “I’m going to pack. I’m taking the twins. And I’m leaving.”
“You can’t.”
“Watch me.”
“Where will you go? You have no money. No resources. Your parents can’t help you.”
“I don’t care. I’ll figure it out. Anything is better than staying here and playing my role in your acquisition strategy.”
“If you leave, the debt becomes enforceable. Your father loses everything.”
“Then he loses everything! At least we’ll be free of you!”
I run upstairs before he can respond. Lock myself in my room. Lean against the door and slide to the floor.
He planned everything for three years. Every moment of this marriage was calculated. I believed him. I fell for him. I let myself think maybe this could work. And it was all a lie.
I pull out my phone with shaking hands and call my mother.
“Anna? Is everything alright?”
“No. Nothing is alright. I need you and Papa to come get me. Now. Today.”
“What happened?”
“I found documents in Luca’s study. He’s been planning this for three years. The debt, the marriage, all of it. He engineered everything to take Papa’s company.”
Silence on the other end.
“Mama?”
“I’ll call your father. We’ll be there in an hour.” She hangs up.
I sit on the floor of my locked bedroom in my husband’s house and finally let myself cry.