Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Lilith
I sat in the car, gunfire crackling behind me, my body shaking—from my shoulders down to my fingertips. I couldn't stop. I was so scared I almost passed out in Dmitri's backseat.
I'd just survived a shootout. The fact hit me like ice in my gut, cold enough to make my whole body convulse.
Tears broke through and streamed down my face. The danger was getting farther away, but I was only getting more terrified.
Andrei...
I covered my face and sobbed. I knew I shouldn't worry about him, but he was still back there.
Dmitri sat up front, driving in silence. After a long while, he finally spoke in that same gruff tone. "Ma'am, don't be afraid. You're safe now. The boss won't let anything happen to you."
His clumsy attempt at comfort made my throat tighten. I raised my voice. "I just escaped a goddamn shootout!"
Dmitri went quiet for a moment. "If there hadn't been a traitor inside, the boss wouldn't have had to flush him out at the wedding. He was worried about you getting hurt. Otherwise... he would never have let you see any of this."
"Never let me see?" I repeated with bitter emphasis. Anger and grief surged up, my voice trembling. "What, you were planning to hide it from me forever? Did you think I wouldn't figure out you're all trigger-happy mobsters?"
Silence filled the car for a few seconds. Then Dmitri spoke again, but this time there was hurt in his voice. "Ma'am, at least the boss has never hurt you."
"We're bratva, yeah. But the boss made it clear—no women, no children. We're not monsters. We kill people who deserve it."
He paused, like he was choosing his words carefully.
"I know you think we're all bad people right now. But the boss—what he feels for you, that's real. Even this escape tunnel, the boss personally—"
"Enough." I cut him off.
Of course Dmitri would defend Andrei.
I couldn't deny it—his words shook me. But the more they did, the worse I felt.
I'd fallen for a mobster. But once, another mobster had raped my sister and destroyed her life.
I couldn't ignore Elena's pain and keep rubbing salt in her wounds. I couldn't betray her like that.
I took a deep breath. "Take me to my sister."
"Miss Elena's already at the hospital. She's fine, you don't need to worry."
"Take me to the hospital. I need to see my sister first."
"But... the boss said to take you back to the manor."
"I'm not going to the manor. Dmitri, now. Take me to the hospital."
Silence from the front seat. Then he sighed, and the steering wheel turned left. "Alright. I'll take you to the hospital."
I leaned back and closed my eyes.
Mobsters. Shootouts. Secret tunnels.
I remembered that night during our cold war, when he suddenly showed up near my place. His arm was injured, his jacket reeked of gunpowder. He'd said it was a business dispute. And I'd believed him—or forced myself to. Because I didn't want to face it.
How stupid I was.
What lay behind all that covering up and dodging—I'd known, vaguely. I just didn't want to admit it, didn't want to face it. So I kept pushing it back, putting it off, until today, until gunfire at the wedding ripped that paper-thin denial apart.
I closed my eyes. More tears fell. I didn't know if they were for me and Elena's cursed inability to escape our nightmare, or for the sheer absurdity and chaos of it all.
At the hospital, I rushed through Elena's door.
She sat in bed reading, looking confused when I came in.
"Lily... you're back already? The wedding's over that fast?"
Seeing Elena so clueless made my racing heart finally slow. I forced a smile. "Yeah, it's over. The wedding was boring, so I came back to keep you company."
"But today's your big day. You don't need to keep me company. Still, I'm happy—I got to see my baby sister's happiest moment. You looked beautiful today, Lily—" She stopped suddenly, turning my face toward her. "Lily, you've been crying?"
"No." I shook my head. I was about to change the subject when several doctors walked in.
They gathered around Elena, asking questions, then turned to me. "Elena's numbers are excellent today. Very rare. It's the perfect window for surgery."
"Really?" I asked, almost excited. After the doctor nodded, I looked at Elena.
Elena agreed, but she looked at me seriously. "But when I come out, you tell me what really happened. Don't hide it from me."
"Okay." I nodded.
The surgery didn't start until the early morning hours.
I sat anxiously in the hallway outside the operating room, my mind in knots. Even though Andrei had arranged everything, the risks still terrified me.
"Elena..." I stared at the red light above the OR doors, my voice breaking. "You have to be strong."
"We made a promise, remember? When you get out, we're opening our own restaurant. Don't you dare go back on that..."
And then there was Andrei.
My heart stayed clenched. Even now, I still didn't know if he was safe.
I hated that, even knowing the truth, I still loved him, and that right now, I wished he could be here with me.
"Elena, you have to wake up. And then tell me what the hell I'm supposed to do."
"Lilith." Suddenly, a familiar voice. I looked up to see Andrei standing in front of me.
He'd changed out of his suit into a dark jacket. There was a cut on his face, untreated, and his hair was messier than usual. He bent down and pulled me into a gentle embrace.
"Lilith, don't be scared." Andrei's voice was rough, like sandpaper. He patted my back softly, soothing me. "Elena's going to be fine. I've arranged for the best cardiac surgeon in the world to be here. Trust me, I won't let anything happen to her."
I should have pushed him away. But the moment he held me, all my strength drained out. Tears spilled down my face.
I said nothing. I was afraid if I opened my mouth, I'd only break down sobbing.
Once my emotions steadied, Andrei sat down in the chair beside me. He handed me a paper bag—inside was a cup of still-warm hot chocolate, a muffin, and a bag of chips I'd mentioned liking once at the manor.
"Eat something. You can't fall apart. Elena will need you when she comes out."
"Thank you." My voice was hoarse.
My fingers touched the paper cup, warmth seeping into my palm. It was the only warmth I'd felt all day.
I spent the whole night sitting tensely outside the OR. Nurses came and went. Every time the door opened, I'd sit bolt upright, then watch them walk away as the door swung shut again.
After a few times, Andrei stood and went over to speak quietly with one of the nurses. I couldn't hear what he said, just saw him nod, then head down the hall to the nurses' station. About ten minutes later, he came back with a blanket.
He walked over but didn't force it on me. He just folded it neatly and set it on the empty chair beside me.
"The nurse said the surgery's going well. No need to worry. Dr. Sean's the best cardiac surgeon in this hospital. He's overseeing everything." His voice was soft.
Late in the night, I leaned back against the chair, my eyelids heavy as lead. Just as my eyes were about to close, the OR doors finally opened.
I shot to my feet. The blanket slid off my lap—I didn't know when it had gotten there.
"The surgery went well." The doctor's voice carried exhaustion but certainty. "Miss Elena's condition is excellent. As long as she rests properly and avoids strenuous activity, she'll be just like anyone else."
"Thank God! Thank you, thank you!"
I stood frozen, too overwhelmed to speak clearly.
Andrei had already stepped forward, shaking the surgeon's hand with a gentleness I'd never seen, asking quietly about post-op care and recovery precautions.
After the doctor left, he turned to give instructions to a nearby nurse.
As he spoke, she took notes on her clipboard, nodding frequently.
Soon, Elena was wheeled out and transferred to a room.
I hurried after her. Andrei followed. After confirming she was just sleeping, I finally stepped back out.
"Don't worry. She's fine now. The specialists I arranged will stay with her until she's fully recovered." Andrei said.
I looked at him, thinking of everything he'd done for me and Elena. I couldn't help being moved. But every time my heart softened, I remembered my sister's pain.
I knew I shouldn't blame him. Maybe he was different from the mobster who'd destroyed Elena.
But... I couldn't gamble with myself and my sister. Couldn't bet that he was different, only to get destroyed.
"Thank you for today. But... you should go."
"Lilith..." Andrei froze for a second, his lashes trembling violently. A flash of pain crossed his eyes. "I could never let you go."
"Then what are you going to do? Kidnap me? Kill me?"
"You know I would never do that."
"How can I trust you?" Tears fell silently onto my collar.
My voice went shrill. "You know what happened to my sister—it involved the mob.
Even now, she panics and shakes when anyone mentions it.
And you... you're a pakhan! What am I supposed to do?
How am I supposed to face waking up next to you every day? How am I supposed to face my sister?"
"And you knew all this, but you never told me who you really were. Was it fun, playing me like that?"
"I was looking for the right time, Lilith.
Every time I tried to tell you, something got in the way.
Then you told me what happened to Elena...
" He gave a self-deprecating laugh. "After that, I really didn't know how to say it.
I was afraid that if I told you, the way you looked at me... would be exactly like this."
Andrei lowered his head, defeat written across his features. I'd never seen him in such pain. It broke my heart, too.
"Lilith," he said, looking at me with crushing weight in every word. "I thought if I cast the net wide enough, I could keep you safe in my world. Let you be a princess who'd never have to touch the filth. I thought if I just kept it hidden, we could..."
"I'm sorry."
Deep emotion swirled in his eyes.
"I know you hate me now. Hate what I am. But don't hurt yourself over it. When Elena wakes up, you'll need your strength to take care of her. As for me..." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "You don't want to see me right now. I'll go."
"But I won't let you leave me. That would hurt worse than killing me."
With that, Andrei looked at me one last time, then turned and left.
Over the next few days, I stayed at the hospital with Elena.
Andrei never appeared, but every day a new gift showed up at the door.
Day one: red roses. The card read only—"Safe"
Day two: a Polaroid camera with a photo attached. From the wedding. Me in my dress, standing before stained glass windows, head tilted up, smiling. Colored light spilling across both our faces. Beautiful and still. On the back, in Andrei's handwriting: "Love of my life."
Day three: a dessert box with a whole lemon mousse cake—the flavor I'd mentioned liking at the manor.
Day four... day five... every day something I loved appeared at the door.
On day six, I sat in the chair beside Elena's bed, staring into space with a water cup in my hand.
"Lily, you're zoning out again," Elena said from the bed. "You need to tell me. What happened between you and Andrei?"
"Don't lie to me. I know what you look like when you're lying."
I took a deep breath, checked the monitor—Elena's heart rate was stable—and finally said it. "Elena... Andrei's in the mob."