Chapter 23
THEA
Ifind them in the kitchen.
Gabriel stands against the counter, his arms folded across his broad chest. His expression is hard, cold. Liza stands across from him, dressed in her maid’s outfit, an agitated expression on her face.
She looks like she hasn’t slept.
“You can’t do this,” she says. “You’re going to get her killed.”
“I’m going to keep her alive,” Gabriel retorts. “And this is the only way to do it.”
Liza opens her mouth to speak, her finger raised. But she stops before a single word comes out when she realizes I’m there.
“Thea,” she says, surprised.
“What the hell is going on?” I ask. “I could hear you arguing from all the way upstairs.”
She looks at Gabriel, and he looks at me. Neither of them says a word.
“I want to know what’s going on,” I demand. “Now.”
“Mrs. Andrin has concerns,” Gabriel says. “And she felt the need to express them first thing in the morning.”
“When the hell else was I supposed to bring them up? This goddamn council… you can’t be serious! No, I can’t stand by and watch this happen.”
"Watch what happen?" I ask.
"This." She gestures around the kitchen. "You, here. With him. Playing house while Kolya Sokolov has men looking for you all over the city. And now he’s planning on taking you with him to this damn council. Thea, do you know what he has in mind for you tonight?”
"I have some idea, yes."
"No, you don't. You think Gabriel is going to fix this?
Kill Kolya and that's it, problem solved?
That's not how this works." She looks at me with desperate eyes.
"If word gets out that a Fetisov survived, more will come.
There will always be someone who sees your name as a threat.
A weapon. A target. If Kolya dies, do you think you'll be free?
You'll never be free, Thea. Not in this city.
Not in this country. Not while your real name exists in anyone's memory. "
I don’t know what to say. I wish I could write off her words as panic or jealousy, but I can’t.
"That's enough," Gabriel says.
“No, it’s not enough. This is her life you’re playing with. And if you think I’m going to just stand here and—"
“Basta.” His tone drops. “You don’t get to make this decision.”
Liza snorts, then puts her hands on her hips. “Oh, and you think you do?” Her tone is fierce, surprisingly so, and in that moment, I see the tough woman who raised me, the one who ran with mobsters. “You bought her and brought her into this world. She could’ve stayed hidden. You could’ve—"
“No, it was only a matter of time before Kolya found out who she is.”
“Speculation,” she fires back. “But what isn’t a guess is that by bringing her here, you’ve made her a bigger target than she was before. I heard about what happened at her apartment, how she was nearly taken, how you killed two men right in front of her.”
My stomach shifts at the memory.
“He knows. I feel it in my gut. And he knows because of you. What’s even worse is that Kolya’s not the only one who wants her out of the picture.
Even if you get him banished or killed, there are still a dozen leaders in the Bratva who want to make sure the Fetisov name stays dead.
She’ll never be safe as long as her identity is known. ”
"Liza—" I start.
"Leave, Thea." She turns to me, and for the first time in my life, I see genuine terror in her eyes. "Run. Don't pack, don't plan, just go. Leave America. Go somewhere no one knows your face or your name. Change everything. Start over."
"That's not reasonable."
"I should have done it years ago," she continues, her voice breaking.
"When you were eighteen. Instead of leaving you, I should have taken you with me. Taken you somewhere safe. I was a coward. I should’ve told you the truth, given you the chance to escape.
But I was scared. I was scared for myself and for Sissy. "
Silence hangs heavy for a full minute.
"Are you finished?" I say quietly.
She blinks. "What?"
"Look, I appreciate that you're scared. I appreciate that you're trying now. A few years late, but it’s still trying. However, I need you to understand something."
I narrow my eyes at her.
"You don't get to make decisions about my life anymore. You gave that up when you left me with nothing, so be quiet and let me handle this."
Her mouth falls open.
Gabriel watches me, an unreadable expression on his face.
I turn to him.
"Is she right?" I ask directly. "That others would come after Kolya?"
He breathes in deeply, then exhales slowly, a sign that he’s going to tell me the truth, and he’s not going to sugarcoat it.
"Partially. Killing Kolya removes the most immediate threat.
But others could be threatened when they find out your true identity.
That's why the council matters. It's not just about killing one man; it's about reshaping the power structure.
Making it clear that the Fetisov name is under Moretti protection.
That anyone who threatens you answers to me. "
"And that'll work?"
"For the people who matter? Yes."
"And for the others?"
His jaw tightens. "I'll deal with them as they come."
I press my fingers to my temples.
Liza's solution is running away. Disappearing and changing my name, everything. Spending the rest of my life looking over my shoulder, never going to college or building anything real.
Gabriel's solution is war. But a war that could—if it works—actually end this.
Neither option is good.
But one of them lets me stay and allows me to fight. Allows me to look Kolya Sokolov in the eyes and make him answer for what he did to my family.
"Tell me about tonight," I say.
Gabriel goes still. "What?"
“The Bratva meeting. It’s tonight, right?”
He crosses his arms, nods. “That’s correct.”
“Then I want to know all about it and what you need from me.”
Gabriel studies me for a long moment. I can sense he’s doing some internal calculus about what he’s willing to share, so I decide to help him out.
“Everything,” I say. “If I’m going to do this, I’m going to do it informed, not as some helpless girl you need a sob story from.”
He nods and begins.
“Twice a year, the Bratva council convenes. All of the most powerful Russian syndicates meet at an undisclosed location. But it’s not just the Russians—Camorra families will be there too, as many of them have investments and alliances with the Russians.
So it’s more a meeting of who’s who in the New York underworld. ”
He goes on.
“I have an invite. It’s frowned upon for non-Russians to speak at these events but not unheard of. If I can present evidence of what Kolya did and do it in front of the rest of the Bratva heads, I can fracture his support in front of everyone who matters.
"Having you present would be—" he pauses, "powerful. If you walk into that room as Teodora Fetisov, as Lev's daughter, alive and breathing, it sends a message no document or testimony can match."
"You want to use me."
"I want to give you the chance to fight back," he corrects. "But I won't force you. This is completely your own choice."
My choice.
When was the last time anyone gave me a choice?
“This is a bad idea, Thea,” Liza says. “That room will be the most dangerous place for you to be in this entire city. There’s a good chance you won’t walk out of it.”
“There’s no way we’re getting through this without risk,” Gabriel admits. “But I will be with you to make sure that nothing happens.”
“No,” Liza says. “Once you reveal her identity, you’ll be putting a massive bull’s-eye on her. You’ll be signing her goddamn death warrant.”
Gabriel says nothing. Silence hangs in the air.
My choice.
“Liza, I’m going. And I don’t want to hear another word about it.”
“Thea,” she says, “you can’t be serious.”
“I am. And that’s the end of it.”
There’s a long pause, then she says, “Fine. Do whatever you want. It’s your life. I put in my time.”
She stomps out of the room, her angry footsteps fading into the distance. A beat of silence passes as I collect my thoughts.
I turn back to Gabriel. "How dangerous is it?"
"I won't lie. It does carry risk. But you'll be with me. My men will surround the building. And Kolya won't be expecting you."
"That's an advantage?"
“It is. His lack of knowledge about you being there means he won’t have a plan to prevent it. He’ll be too shocked to marshal a defense. And most importantly, the council is neutral ground—bloodshed is taboo.”
“And what if something goes wrong?”
“In that event, I’ll get you out of there as quickly as possible, I swear.”
My mother’s voice from the dream plays in my mind. You are loved. You are wanted. You are mine.
Kolya took everything from her. From me.
And I've been hiding long enough.
"Okay," I say.
"Okay?"
“Yes, tonight they will meet Teodora Fetisova.”
Pride flashes in his eyes. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
For the first time since this whole nightmare began, I don't feel like a victim.
I feel like the last surviving daughter of Lev Fetisov.
And God help the man who underestimates me.