13. Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Thirteen
Lana
“You can’t be the lead, Lana,” Camille says to me. Her office smells like incense and ballerina tears. It’s small at the back of the dance studio. Cramped. And in this moment, it feels like a vise wrapping around my throat.
“What do you mean?” I ask her. My legs feel cramped seated in the chair across her desk.
She sits in her seat, staring at me like I’m insane for not having just heard her. “You can’t be the lead in Swan Lake. Ana had to get stitches in the back of her head because you pushed her. She was crying.”
Over the bold spot she’s going to have because of it. I don’t voice that out loud though.
“You can’t do this to me,” I gasp out, feeling my heart restrict. Is this what it’s like to have a heart attack?
“I’m the director of this company. I can do whatever I want.”
“And what about my husband? I thought you gave me this role because you’re afraid of him.”
She hesitates. “I told you before. I didn’t give you this role because of him. You impressed me in your audition. But your actions have consequences, Lana. You pushed Ana. You can’t belong to this company anymore.”
“No!” I shout, jumping to my feet. Camille flinches… like she’s afraid of me. Like she’s afraid I’ll hurt her the way I hurt Ana. “You cannot do this to me, Camille. I have fought too hard for all of this for too long. You cannot do this.”
“You cannot push people, Lana.”
“You don’t even know why I pushed her.”
“I know she’s been bullying you. I’ve seen it. But that doesn’t give you the right to physically hurt her.”
I scoff. “So you’re all right with bullying but not this?”
“Not assault. Which this was. Ana might even press charges. I don’t know. But you can’t be a part of this company. Not with the way you’ve been acting.”
“You’re not even worried that my husband will hurt you for this?”
She goes very, very still. “Do I need to be worried? Are you… are you ok with him? Is he hurting you? I know what you told the girls. That he was the reason your wrist was cut.”
“And you never thought to ask me if I was ok before this? Ana is a menace. She was best friends with Claudia. Oh and by the way, Claudia was the one who hired that man who attacked me the night of Giselle. Claudia wanted me dead. Ana probably knew all about it.”
Camille holds up her hands. “Hold on. Hold on. What are you saying?”
“You heard me.”
“You can’t throw these accusations around.”
“I know. Trust me. My husband looked into it. He has connections. You’ve probably figured that out by now.”
She flinches again and doesn’t say a word.
“I have been bullied every day here,” I continue. “Specifically by Ana. And you don’t know the full story. You don’t know about my –,” I stop.
“About what? What don’t I know, Lana?”
“About Maria and how she died,” I whisper.
“How did she die? Do you know something?”
“I was kidnapped, Camille. Maria with me. A bad man hurt her. I was saved… by my husband. That’s all you need to know.
To know more could get you into trouble.
Do not go to the police with this. If you do, it won’t end well for you.
My husband will not want the police snooping around in his business.
Besides, he has contacts, like I said. But you need to know what I’ve been going through.
It’s why I pushed Ana. She was talking about Maria and I…
All I could see was the surprise on her face when she was killed. ”
Camille stares at me for a long, hard moment before she lets out a harsh breath. “I always suspected who your father was. And now I take it your husband is in the same… business.”
“Yes.”
“And there’s no way I can get you out? No way I can help you?”
“No. There isn’t so don’t try. I don’t want you to be hurt either, Camille. Even if I ask my husband to not do anything, he still might do something. Do not fire me from this company. I can’t risk seeing you get hurt. Please.”
Her eyes widen as she sits back in her chair. “I… I don’t know what to say to any of this.”
“I am trusting you. Do not talk about this with anyone else. Keep me on. I need this lead role. I’ve worked so hard for it. I might die without it.”
“Lana…”
“Please, Camille. I didn’t tell you all of this for sympathy. I told you all of this to protect you. I know it’s not fair but please. Please.” The desperation in my voice is palpable.
She sighs. “I have to think about it. I can’t give you an answer today. But I will think on it. For right now, don’t come back to practice.”
“Who will take over if not for me? Maria is dead and Ana’s hurt.
There’s no other understudy for this part.
No other girl here is good enough for this part.
You saw it in me once. Still believe in me.
Do you really want to throw away this production over what happened?
Do you want the scandal this will bring to your company? ”
That hits her where it hurts. I can tell from the way her eye twitches. “You sound exactly like your husband when he came to me and convinced me to hold another audition for Swan Lake. Are you threatening me, Lana?”
“I am merely pointing out the obvious,” I say as I compose myself, letting my ice princess facade come back into place. “And you know it. You can’t afford the scandal. Let’s move on like nothing happened and no one has to get hurt.”
She stares at her desk, thinking hard. The line between her eyes is going to etch a permanent wrinkle. I haven’t done Botox since being married to Nikolai. My mother would be horrified.
“All right,” she says after a long beat. “You can stay on as the lead. Just don’t push any of my girls again.”
“That’s fair. Don’t let any of them get in my way.” I storm out of her office before she can take back her words. Before I leave the studio, I look into the main dance room to find Ana there, talking to the other girls.
The shaved spot at the back of her head is visible.
One of the girls points at me and they all look. With a sigh, I enter the room. “Ana. Nice to see you didn’t die.”
“I’m sure you’re so upset by that. Look at my hair. It’s because of you that it’s ruined. I could have had brain damage.”
“Clearly, you don’t.” I pause. “Or maybe you’ve always had brain damage. You’re not exactly the smartest person in the bunch. If you were, you would know not to mess with me.”
With a screech, Ana runs right for me and tackles me to the ground. She punches me in the cheek. The other girls crowd around and chant, “Fight, fight, fight.”
I shove Ana off me and get to my feet. “Stop it.”
“You’re a bitch. You caused Claudia to die. Maria to die. It’s all your fault! You did this to me!”
Camille comes running into the room. “Enough. Ana, my office. Now.”
Ana spits in my direction before she follows Camille out of the room.
“What did Camille say to you?” Ekaterina asks me.
“She just told me to never push any of you ever again.”
Ekaterina blinks. “Wait. You’re still the lead?”
“Yes,” I say, holding my head high. “I am.”
“What kind of bullshit is this?”
Before I can answer, Ana come storming back into the room and grabs her bag from the ground. “I hope you’re happy,” she hisses.
“Happy?”
“Camille just fired me. I am not allowed back in this company. All because of you, you bitch!” Before Ana can run at me again, Camille enters the room and motions for Ana to leave.
Ana shoots me one final glare as she walks out the front doors. Camille only shakes her head and gives me a look that’s a cross between disappointment and disgust.
I blink back my tears. I’m just doing what I had to do. I am being like my husband. Taking what I want, no matter the cost.
“Wait. So Ana gets fired and you get to stay on?” Ekaterina shakes her head. “That’s messed up.”
The other girls all agree.
“You all hated Ana,” I spit out. “And you know it.”
Most of them bow their heads in shame, knowing I’m right. I leave before anything bad can happen.
The second I walk into the parking lot, Ana corners me. “You’re going to pay for this, you bitch.”
“Are you going to send someone to kill me? Because if you do, you’ll wind up dead. I’d be careful what you wish for, Ana.”
“Or you’ll wind up dead.”
The memory of Maria hits me and I can’t help but double over, placing my hand over my heart.
“You’re a fucking weirdo on top of it all,” Ana mocks before walking away.
I drop to my knees and squeeze my eyes shut. Maria. Get out of my head.
The crunch of footsteps comes closer and I raise my head to see Boris hovering near me. “Lana?” He usually only calls me Mrs. Smirnoff.
“Just get me home,” I rasp out.
At least at home, I don’t have to face the sense of shame deep inside of me.
I stare at myself in the full length mirror in my deep cut red gown. The straps showcase my arms. Now that my wrist is healed, I don’t have to hide it away. The gown flows around my legs, making it look like I’m surrounded by fire. I’ll need that tonight.
Nikolai and I are going to a charity function. It’s something he’s hosting. A way to launder money and we both know it. He doesn’t care about children with cancer.
My parents will be at the event tonight. So will my sisters. So will Svetlana. I’m going to need all the strength I can muster to survive tonight. The only saving grace is that Lev won’t be there.
The problem with that though is Nikolai still can’t find him. My worry has increased every day he gets to just walk around in the world after what he did to me. What he did to Maria.
I shake my head. Keep it together. If I had to be an ice princess any night, it would be tonight.
I’m still shaken over what happened with Camille and Ana earlier today. I almost lost my job. I had to plead and then threaten Camille to keep me on. I really am a mafia daughter.
A mafia wife.
Nikolai steps out of the closet in his tailored suit, looking me over. In his black suit and my red gown, we look like a power couple. It should be a good feeling but I only feel a deep pit in my stomach.