Chapter 21 - Avit #2
Five days later, the divorce papers were in my hands.
The same day, Lev messaged me about a charity auction taking place.
I called Wexler and asked him to find out who would be attending.
He confirmed that Oskar would be there, since he was trying to gain favor with the politicians attending for his business dealings.
I had kept my distance from the family after I stormed out of the conference room that day.
Outside of meetings, I kept to myself. Pyotr hadn’t spoken to me since I’d kicked him out of the hotel, not even in the meetings.
My sisters and sisters-in-law shot me messages, but I ignored them.
What happened had happened. I didn’t want to talk about it.
And I definitely didn’t want to sit through conversations about her.
Pyotr had said Sienna might be in danger. It nagged at me, but not enough to act. She had made her choice. She’d have to live with the consequences of not being under my protection.
I wanted to free her from her father, and with him dead, she finally was.
But the nightmares once haunted by my parents had shifted; now it was Sienna haunting me, and pulling every damn trigger was Oskar.
Twelve days without her meant twelve sleepless nights. I was on edge, and if I didn’t do something to cut that edge down, I knew I’d fucking shatter.
After tonight, I prayed the tension I’d carried since Sienna, Jasper, and Oskar had entered my life would finally break.
I could hand her the divorce papers and erase her from my mind forever.
No more Jasper. No more Oskar. No more Ms. Romonoff.
Pretend like the last few months never fucking happened.
I stood in front of the mirror and shrugged on the jacket of my tuxedo.
Tonight was about Oskar. The auction was the opportunity I needed to confront him since word among our men was that Lev was keeping tabs on him.
This made it difficult for me to seek him out.
Lev would have questions, and I wasn't ready to give him the answers he'd want.
The plan was simple: I’d let him know I knew his real identity, and if he didn’t pay for the shit he bought off Jasper, I’d leak that information straight to his enemies, putting a target on the sister he was protecting.
If Oskar didn’t care about her, he would’ve left her in Russia.
He’d take the bait. He’d pay what was due.
Then I’d call a meeting with my brothers and lay everything out. Show them I handled it. Fixed it. Without their help. Prove I wasn't irresponsible.
One hour later, I stepped into one of Philadelphia’s largest art galleries, transformed into an auction house for the night.
Soft classical music floated through the room while attendees clustered around tables with numbered paddles, laughing and chatting.
I spotted my siblings and in-laws in one corner and made my way over.
After a few quick pleasantries, I grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing server to keep my hands busy, my eyes glued to the door.
Then she walked in: hoodie, sweatpants, sneakers, backpack. My breath hitched. And then the hoodie slipped from her head. It wasn’t her. My hands tightened around the glass.
“If you squeeze that any tighter, it’ll shatter,” Marten said in a low voice beside me. “Walk with me.”
I followed, knowing it wasn’t a request.
He led me to a quieter corner, then turned to face me.
“After Jasper’s death, I did my own digging,” he said. “I know Sienna is his daughter. I don’t have the whole story, but I’m guessing Jasper is why the books were off.”
I nodded.
“Listen, it doesn’t matter how things started with Sienna. What matters is what you feel here.” Then he tapped my chest twice over my heart and walked away.
I didn’t know if it was seeing someone dressed like her, Marten’s words, or the tap on my chest that unlocked the memories; the last event at Ninel’s gallery, how stunning she’d looked in that dress.
How I caught her staring at me, and she ran.
The first time we made love. The nickname she gave me.
Holding her as she cried at her mother’s grave.
How she tricked me and won the damn canoe race.
The last twelve days had been hell. I didn’t want another without Sienna.
She’d burrowed into my soul, and she was the only thing that could pull me from this funk.
I didn’t care about what my siblings would think when they found out who she really was.
I didn’t want to spend nights staring at a glass and a vodka bottle, playing mind games. I wanted her. All of her. My wife.
If she didn’t want me, she’d have to say it to my face.
I was ready to risk it. Sienna did feel something for me.
I knew that. Maybe her pride didn't want to accept falling for a man who’d forced his way into her life.
But I wasn’t backing down. After this auction, I’d find out if we could salvage what we had.
When the auction began, I returned to my family and waited. I waited for Oskar to walk through the door.
An hour later, Oskar still hadn’t shown. Where the hell was he? I just wanted to get this over with.
I headed to the bathroom to wash my face and get a grip on myself, and when I stepped out, a man was waiting in the hall. He just handed me an envelope and walked off.
I tore it open and pulled out a photo and a note. The note barely registered; something about if I wanted to see my wife again, to go to the listed address, signed with Oskar’s initials.
My focus locked on the picture.
Sienna.
Her eyes were closed, and blood trailed down the side of her face. She was tied to a fucking chair.
My fingers tightened around the photo until it crumpled.
Oskar was going to pay with his fucking life for touching my wife.