Chapter 8
Kira
Maksim's words loop in my head on repeat.
I'm going to break you the way I was broken.
The scars covering his torso. The dead look in his eyes when he described what they did to him. The cold certainty that I was responsible for all of it.
I barely make it inside my apartment before the sobs tear free.
Six years. Six years I've held myself together with ice and willpower and the absolute conviction that I had to be strong. Strong enough to survive in a world designed to destroy women like me.
But seeing what they did to him shatters me. My heart feels like splinters stabbing me in the chest.
I slide down the door and let myself break.
I sob like I did the day I found he was dead. I cry for the loss of the man I love all over again. Nothing I say will convince him otherwise because he needs me to be guilty. Needs the revenge he planned for six years to have a target.
How do I fight that? How do I prove innocence to someone who's decided I'm guilty?
The worst part is that I still love him.
Even knowing he wants to destroy me. Even seeing the hatred in his eyes. Even after he systematically detailed how he's going to dismantle everything I've built.
I still love him so much it feels like dying.
When he was dead, I grieved. I don’t know how I’ll survive him being alive and dead to me.
I cry until there are no tears left. Until my throat is raw and my eyes are swollen and I'm empty of everything except exhaustion.
Then I force myself to stand.
The Ice Queen doesn't stay down. She adapts. Strategizes. Survives.
I wash my face in cold water, studying my reflection. Red eyes. Blotchy skin. The physical evidence of weakness I can't afford.
But underneath it, I see something else: determination.
Maksim wants to destroy me? Fine. Let him try.
I'll marry Roman like planned. Secure Anya's safety. Get her to Paris where she'll be protected from all of this.
And then I'll kill my husband.
The thought should horrify me. Should make me recoil from what I'm planning.
Instead, it feels like the only clear thing in a world gone mad.
Roman Belsky is a monster. Three dead wives. A reputation for cruelty that makes even hardened criminals nervous.
He deserves what's coming.
The original plan was always to kill him eventually. Take over the combined empires. Rule in my own right instead of as someone's wife.
But now Maksim is back, and everything is more complicated.
If Roman dies, who takes over the Barinov bratva? In the normal line of succession, it would be Maksim—the rightful heir returned from the dead. But what happens to my organization? Does it get absorbed into his control? Do I become subordinate to the man who hates me?
Do I inherit as Roman’s wife?
I pace my apartment, thinking through scenarios.
If Maksim takes over and I'm his enemy, he'll push me out completely. Strip me of power. Leave me with nothing including no ability to protect myself or Anya.
But if I stay married to Roman, I'm trapped in a cage with a predator.
The choice is impossible: be destroyed by the man I love or be destroyed by the man I'm forced to marry.
Unless I can find a third option.
I need to keep the organizations separated. Need to maintain my independence even after Roman's death. That means securing loyalty now, before Maksim can steal it all.
I grab my phone and start making calls.
The first number rings six times before going to voicemail. Pavel—my most trusted lieutenant. The man I pulled out of a bad situation in Petersburg three years ago.
"Pavel, it's Kira. Call me back. We need to discuss the new arrangements."
I try to keep my voice steady. Professional. No hint of the desperation clawing at my throat.
The second call connects, but Mikhail's voice is guarded. "Kira."
"I need to meet. Tomorrow. Usual place."
Silence on the other end. Long enough that I know.
"I don't think that's a good idea," he says finally. His tone is apologetic but firm. "I've got a family to feed, Kira. I can't afford to back the wrong horse."
He disconnects.
I stare at the phone, fury and fear warring in my chest.
I try three more numbers. Two don't answer. The third—Ruslan, who's been with me since the beginning—at least has the decency to tell me to my face.
"I'm sorry, boss. But Maksim Barinov is back. The rightful heir." His voice is heavy. "You know how this works. Power flows to power. Right now, you're on the wrong side of it."
"I built this organization," I say. "Pulled you all up from nothing. Gave you opportunities you'd never have had otherwise. That counts for nothing?"
"It counts for a lot." He sounds genuinely sad. "But not enough to bet against the Barinov heir and Roman combined. I hope you understand."
He hangs up before I can respond.
I throw my phone across the room.
Maksim wasn't bluffing. He's systematically turning my organization against me, using his name and Roman's power to convince them I'm a sinking ship.
And they're all jumping overboard.
The only way to stop this is to find out the truth. I know I was not involved, but I’ve always wondered if my father was. The evidence brought against us wasn’t real.
At least, I didn’t think it was.
But what if there is a way to prove to Maksim it wasn’t me. I have no loyalty to my father. Not anymore. I will absolutely expose him if he had anything to do with what happened to Maksim.
It's after midnight when I break into my father's house.
Break in is generous—I still have keys. But he doesn't know I'm coming. I need to search his study without interruption.
The house is dark and quiet. He's asleep upstairs, probably drunk on expensive vodka he can't afford but buys anyway.
I walk to the study that he pretends is a place he actually handles business. I lock the door behind me and get to work.
I start digging through the filing cabinet that I’ve been in before, but it’s old stuff. When I took over running things, I went digital. But my dad is old school. He’s too stupid not to leave paper trails.
Another reason I succeeded where he failed.
I find a ledger. At first, I ignore it, but then I take a closer look.
Payments. Large sums written in my father’s horrible handwriting. They start three months before Maksim's disappearance and continue for six months after.
I photograph each page with my phone.
My father gambled a lot back then. This could all be bets and money he owed to people.
Or it could be more.
"What are you doing?"
I spin around. My father stands in the doorway in his bathrobe, his face red with fury.
"Getting answers."
“Get out.”
“Where is all this money?” I ask and hold up the ledger. “You took money from someone—who?”
"Those were business investments!" He moves into the room, trying to grab the thing.
"Bullshit!" I dodge his reach, keeping the desk between us. "You were in debt. Desperate. But according to this, someone was giving you money. A lot of it!”
"Get out." His voice is low. Dangerous. “You are not the head of this family. I let you play long enough. Get out of my house. I am taking back my power.”
I smirk. “You never had any power.”
I drop the ledger and walk to the door. “If you had something to do with Maksim’s abduction, I will find out. I will tell him. And he will kill you.”
I walk out of the house knowing there’s a very good chance I’ll never return to my childhood home. My relationship with my father is over. He’s not the man I remember from my childhood. He changed. I changed.
If I discover he took away the man I loved, I will not hesitate to exact revenge. I don’t need Maksim to do that for me.
I’ll do it myself.
Maksim
The private dining room at Oblomov's reeks of expensive cigars and whiskey.
I watch the three men across the table. They’re all former lieutenants in Kira's organization, now potential assets in mine. I’m building my own army.
Not Roman’s. Mine. I calculate exactly how much pressure to apply.
Too little and they'll stay loyal to her.
Too much and they'll panic and warn her.
It's a delicate balance.
"Gentlemen." I lean back in my chair, projecting confidence I don't entirely feel. "I appreciate you meeting with me."
"With respect, Maksim, we're loyal to Kira Markov. She's been good to us."
I pour vodka for all of us—a good vintage, expensive enough to show respect. "Because from where I'm sitting, she's about to become Roman Belsky's wife. Which means her organization becomes his. Which means you all become his. Have you thought about what that transition looks like for you?"
"We assumed—" Dmitri starts.
"That you'd keep your positions? Your territories?
Your cut of the profits?" I shake my head.
"Roman doesn't work that way. He consolidates.
Streamlines. Eliminates redundancy. Three weeks after that wedding, half of you will be out.
The other half will be working for a fraction of what you make now. "
I can see the calculation happening behind their eyes. Fear and greed warring with loyalty.
"But here's the thing," I continue, leaning forward. "I'm back. And I'm offering a better deal. Work with me now, help smooth this transition, and when the dust settles, you'll have better territories, better arrangements, and the backing of the Barinov name."
"What kind of help are you looking for?" one asks, and I know I've got him.
"Information. Loyalty. When the time comes, I need to know you'll follow the power instead of sentiment.
" I meet each of their eyes in turn. "Kira built something impressive.
I respect that. But she's about to lose it all anyway.
The question is whether you lose it with her or gain something better by making the smart choice now. "
"She won't go down easy," Dmitri warns. "The Ice Queen doesn't break."
"The Ice Queen is already cracking." I inject just enough certainty into my voice. "I've seen it. She’ll be married soon. Pregnant. A mother. A wife. She will not be the leader you once knew.”
Silence as they process this.