Chapter 47
Titus is waiting in his den with a glass of vodka and a stern expression on his face.
As I drop into the seat opposite him, my fingers close around the glass and I toss the liquid back in one.
“That bad?” He asks, shaking his head and I huff.
“Did you get my message?”
“Of course.” He drums his fingers on the desk and says with a bitter smile. “Ana has been briefed and is watching mama for any reaction.”
I reach inside my pocket and remove the envelope, pushing it toward him without saying a word.
He opens it and I watch his expression darken as he reads the words on the page and then he sets it down and shakes his head.
“Do you think it’s genuine?”
“I have no reason to believe it’s not.”
“It’s a ticking bomb in the wrong hands.” He adds and I nod, reaching for the bottle and splashing a shot into each of our glasses.
“There are two mysteries that appear unconnected but rested in the same locked box.” I say gruffly, and he nods, reaching for the glass with a thoughtful gleam in his eye.
“Marsha Steele.” He says abruptly. “I organized a search of her offices when she was in London?”
“Did you discover anything of interest?”
He laughs darkly. “I discovered a great deal of interest. The list of her members should be published in Who’s Who. There are some surprising names on that list and it’s no wonder she guards it with her life.”
“Anyone of interest?”
“A few, but seeing pa’s name on it didn’t make for a pleasant experience.”
He sighs heavily and resumes drumming his fingers on the desk.
“His association dates back to the beginning. He is listed as attending many gatherings, always with the same Iris Mahoney. It’s the code name she gives to all her girls, but there is one particular document that lists the girls by their real names.”
He pauses before saying bitterly, “He is the only member who always accompanied the same woman. Veronica Scott-Stanley. There are no other names associated with him and from her records they met four times a year.”
He says with distaste, “Four times every year for the past thirty-five years.”
I’m shocked and hiss, “Before we were even born, before he was even married. What the hell?”
Titus nods, an angry gleam in his eye.
“It appears that Veronica was in his life from the beginning, which raises the question, where does mama fit into his life?”
He glances at the door and says in a low voice, “I cross-referenced the names on the lists with the events he attended. The majority of those deals aligned with subsequent business agreements he made after meeting the men at one of them. I’m guessing he used this Burning Roses organization to connect with powerful men, which would explain why he attended them and grew the business so fast.”
“So, you’re saying his intention was always business, not pleasure, which is why he used the same escort every time?”
He nods. “Mikhail told me he would never swap partners and always left before the night turned to debauchery rather than join in on that.”
If anything, that makes me feel a little better and I say with curiosity.
“What else did you discover?”
His lips twist into bitter lines of anger.
“That our father wasn’t the only Russian on Marsha’s member’s list”
I lean forward and he fixes me with his usual dark glare and hisses, “Boris Fedorov.”
I say nothing, but the anger swirls inside me like acid burning away any trace of humanity left in my soul. Boris Fedorov. The head of the KGB and the person many believe really runs this great country of ours.
Titus snarls, “Marsha has an entire file on him. Dates, pictures, and letters between them. She appears to be the mistress of her own protection because it’s obvious she is securing some impressive insurance.”
“Although careless to leave it in a fucking filing cabinet in her office.”
I raise my eyes as Titus grins wickedly. “I never said where we found it. Let’s just say her security measures are shit and it took less than twenty-four hours to discover the true hiding place where her most volatile secrets are kept.”
“And Nikolai? What about him?”
Titus laughs, and it takes me by surprise.
“I kind of think that Marsha is in a lot deeper than is good for her health. Her daughter–”
I listen intently as he lowers his voice. “I traced her birth records, and the father is not listed. I researched the hospital and hacked into their records. She was born approximately eight months after a meeting Marsha attended at the Russian Embassy.”
“Who did she meet?”
Titus lifts the envelope and says with a growl, “The man referenced in this letter. The man who may have been responsible for our father’s death and the man somebody is very impatient to destroy.”
He turns his attention to the door as it opens and Ana heads inside, a blank expression on her face.
“Nothing.” She huffs as she drops into the chair beside me.
“Not a hint of guilt, secrets, or lies. Just sadness for the woman who met a sudden death.”
She shakes her head with an impatience that reminds me of Polly and groans. “If I had to call it, I’d say she’s not involved. Whatever happened after their time at Two Points happened without her knowledge.”
If anything, that makes me feel a lot better and I breathe a sigh of relief.
Titus nods as if satisfied and leans back in his seat.
“So, we stick with the plan. Arman will remove Gabrielle Adams from the picture, and we remove Nikolai from life. It will be interesting to see who comes looking for them.”
He drums his fingers on the edge of his chair and says smoothly, “I will continue to research Burning Roses and the men on Marsha’s list and Ana will investigate The Rose Foundation. If any of them are connected, we should discover our father’s involvement and it will hopefully lead us to the killer’s identity.”
We fall silent as we absorb the information and as Titus’s phone rings, we take the opportunity to wrap things up.
As I walk out with Ana, she links her arm in mine and says with a cheeky grin. “I love what you did Valentin. Polly is a darling and marrying her was a stroke of genius, and I envy you.”
“Why?”
“Because you have married for love, not for business. I’m so proud of you for that.”
She leaves me with her words ringing in my ears.
I married for love.
Did I? Is this what this feeling is inside me? She could be right, which raises another question.
If my father loved Veronica so much, why the hell did he marry my mother?