Chapter 15 #2
faltered, dropping back to Amaliya. Maternal instinct…
Was I even still capable of that? “Sasha…, I need to tell you something,” I began, straightening but a knock interrupted me as Roman slipped quietly into the room.
He rubbed his hands over his thighs, his gaze immediately drawn to his niece.
“I… I wanted to see how she was,” he said, stepping closer.
I smiled, ignoring Sasha’s insistent look, “come closer,” I encouraged Roman, angling the baby so he could see her face, “look, Amaliya, this is Uncle Roman, the funniest of them all.”
He knelt in front of me, studying his niece, “she’s…
tiny. Even smaller than Dimitri was when he was born,” he murmured, brushing her cheek with his knuckles.
“Yes, boys tend to be born a bit bigger,” I smiled as he nodded, fascinated, “do you want to hold her?” I asked, rising slowly with Sasha’s help and the terrified look Roman shot me made me laugh.
“Me?” he asked and I nodded, motioning for him to hold out his arms. He did so hesitantly and I gently placed Amaliya in his arms while Sasha hovered close, hands ready.
We looked like three idiots, but it worked.
“Support her neck,” Sasha growled, and Roman complied instantly, “it feels like I’m holding nothing…
it’s weird,” he breathed, eyes never leaving the baby.
“Well, two kilos four isn’t exactly heavy,” I commented, adjusting the little bonnet slipping down her forehead, Roman began rocking her gently, talking to her, giving her ridiculous nicknames even though she slept.
My heart filled with joy knowing she would be loved and protected, no matter what happened.
She would never know the loneliness I’d been trapped in for so many years.
She would never have to imagine the suffering a woman could endure thanks to her father, her uncles, her brothers, and of course her mother and her aunts.
Sasha’s warm fingers intertwined with mine and I looked up at him.
“You wanted to tell me something?” he asked, curiosity lighting his eyes and I swallowed, “Sienna…” “I’m back.
I’ll show you how to do,” the nurse said, entering with a small bottle and I nodded, retaking my seat in the armchair under Sasha’s watchful gaze.
The next day, Nikolai entered the observation room with his daughter in his arms to introduce
her to my sister, who had woken an hour earlier, thank God.
The doctors said her life was no longer in danger, but they would keep her under observation for several days.
I exhaled softly, relieved that Amaliya wouldn’t be stuck with someone as incompetent as me for the rest of her life. She had the mother she deserved.
I headed toward the ward where Elif was, where Sasha likely was too.
I went down a floor and was about to take another corridor when something caught my attention.
Not something, someone. Two figures. Roman and a woman.
Roman was holding her tightly, his face against her shoulder but I didn’t recognize her.
She stood with her back to me, wearing a cap, her wavy hair tied in a ponytail slipping out beneath it.
I looked away when I realized Roman was crying against her, understanding this was an intimate moment I shouldn’t intrude upon.
So I walked away silently, hoping that woman would help him heal.
I hated seeing him suffer, him, who was one of the greatest sources of joy in the house.
I reached the corridor where Elif’s room was located quickly and immediately spotted Sasha on the phone, he didn’t look happy.
I moved closer to the glass and exhaled softly when I saw Grigori inside, dressed in a blue hospital gown and a surgical cap.
Seated at his wife’s bedside, still on respiratory support, he was holding her hand, talking to her, keeping her alive.
“The doctors said her condition is improving,” Sasha’s voice echoed as he approached after hanging up.
“Thank God,” I whispered, closing my eyes.
Yes. Everything was going to be all right.
“Where’s Kenji? Did he leave?” I asked, having not seen my Shadow for over an hour.
Ever since he had brought Nina, Nikolai’s former sister-in-law, so she could donate blood to my sister, he’d seemed distracted.
“Outside with Nina, I think. She wanted some air,” he replied.
“With Nina?” I repeated, surprised and he nodded, but I noticed the concern etched on his face, and it worried me.
“Is there a problem?” I asked, stepping in front of him, when he sighed and closed his eyes, I knew there was.
Half an hour later, I was gathered with the four Ivanov brothers in one of the hospital’s meeting rooms. Roman was pacing back and forth while Nikolai and Grigori sat deep in thought.
“You can’t just cancel?” I asked, sitting on the conference table as Sasha, standing beside me, shook his head.
“No. The councils can’t be canceled or postponed.
They’re fixed.” I pressed my lips together, unsure what to say, “I’m sure it’s that son of a bitch Vassili who made sure the date was set in two days!
” Roman snapped. I couldn’t help thinking the same.
In fact, I thought everything was connected, the attack outside the cinema, Maria’s death, the shooting in front of the restaurant.
Why Alia Rasili decided to take revenge after six months?
Why wait that long? Why did her revenge coincide so perfectly with Maria’s death?
No. I didn’t buy it. It was too convenient.
Something was happening and I would uncover it before anyone else I cared about got hurt.
“The shooter we caught, he didn’t talk?” I asked, turning to Nikolai, who had handled logistics after the attack while his brothers rushed Elif to the hospital.
“No. He’s trained. Torture doesn’t work,” he sighed, rubbing his eyes with thumb and forefinger.
“And we found nothing on his identity. No trace in any database. As if he doesn’t exist.” As if he didn’t exist?
“Let me try,” Roman growled. “We’ll see how long he keeps his mouth shut” his brothers refused immediately.
“You’ll kill him before he talks, and for now he’s our only lead,” Grigori said wearily as I lifted one leg onto the table, resting my elbow on my knee as my mind began racing.
I rubbed my lower lip with my thumb, searching for a way out of this mess.
The shooter was trained, trained enough to resist torture.
And the Ivanov men’s methods must have been brutal, considering Samy’s death.
And yet they found nothing on his identity.
How could the Bratva find nothing on someone?
Either he was a government operative or… I froze as a thought struck me.
Who else around me had no trace of identity in official records? Who else could withstand the worst torture imaginable? Who else had ties to Vassili and his family? “A Shadow,” I
whispered, staring at the wall as the pieces began to fall into place.
“What?” Sasha asked as I blinked, lifting my gaze to him, snapping out of my thoughts.
I swallowed, damn it. I’d spoken out loud.
“I… nothing. So what are you going to do about the council?” I asked quickly, hopping down from my perch.
I needed to talk to Kenji. I needed to show him the shooter’s face.
If anyone could recognize him or track him, it was him.
And if the man truly was a Shadow, Kenji would find him.
“Without Elif, who will attend the women’s council?
” I asked and a heavy silence settled over the room, “it’s ridiculous.
They know your situation. They know it’s impossible for an Ivanov to be present…
” “No,” Grigori interrupted, shaking his head.
“The Bratva continues to live and move forward, no matter what happens. If an Ivanov can’t attend, her replacement steps in.
” I nodded slowly. “Well, that’s perfect.
Who’s Elif’s replacement?” I asked, folding my arms as another silence settled.
I closed my eyes, understanding, “Maria,” I murmured, turning away and rubbing the back of my neck as Roman slammed his fist against the table in rage.
“And let me guess, without a replacement, the next most powerful family gets to lead?” I asked, turning back to them.
“The Yelsky. Vassili’s best friend now,” I finished as another piece clicked into place.
So Ksenia had orchestrated all this to rise to the head of the council by using Ekaterina?
But why? What did she gain from it? Deciding charity events couldn’t possibly be worth this, could it?
“What power does the women’s council actually hold?
” I asked, trying to understand her motivation.
“On the surface, they handle events, families of fallen men, diplomatic exchanges,” Grigori sighed.
“But it’s much bigger than that. They control the entire organization’s budget,” he finished and I stared at him, stunned.
“It’s Elif and the other women who decide how the budget is distributed, weapons, drugs, charity, prostitution, everything else,” Sasha explained.
“My mother put that system in place to ease my father’s burden” I nodded slowly understanding. The budget.
If the Bratva’s budget fell into Ksenia’s hands, I didn’t even want to imagine what she could do with it.
What if she used it to regain her husband’s favor?
What if she funneled money to him? Or worse, what if she secretly redirected funds to the Halo, to create more Stars and Shadows?
My vision narrowed at the thought. We couldn’t let that happen.
For everyone’s sake. “We can’t let her run the council.
We have to do something,” I told them, but their silence made it painfully clear, there was no solution.
“And… what if I went?” I suggested uneasily, though I knew I had to.
For my sister. For my niece. For all the girls who trusted me.
“I know I’m not an Ivanov, but Elif explained how everything works, how decisions are made…
” Grigori raised his hand, stopping me. “First of all, you are an Ivanov, Sienna. Never say otherwise again,” he corrected firmly and I didn’t argue, merely pressed my lips together.
“But unfortunately,” he continued more gently, “even if I allowed it, the other women on the council would never take you seriously as long as you don’t carry our name.
” A faint smile tugged at his lips, “I appreciate the offer, but we’ll have to find another solution.
” I nodded and lifted my gaze to Sasha, who had stepped closer, thanking me softly for the proposal, I smiled back, then turned away only to freeze.
Slowly, I lifted my eyes back to him and his brows furrowed, his head tilting slightly.
“What if we didn’t need another solution?
” I murmured as the most insane idea I’d had in the last ten years flashed through my mind, and God knew I’d had plenty of twisted ones.
“What?” Nikolai’s voice echoed behind me as I watched understanding dawn in Sasha’s eyes, piece by piece.
“You want us to get married?” he asked, perplexed and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nikolai stand abruptly.
“Married?!” he repeated and I nodded, turning toward him.
“Yes. I’d carry your name and lead the council until Elif is back on her feet,” I exclaimed.
And in doing so, protect the Stars and the Shadows.
It was perfect, this way, I could get closer to Ksenia, dig deeper, uncover everything behind this mess- “I refuse” Sasha’s voice cut through the room and I froze.
He refused? Slowly, I turned my gaze toward him, wounded, though I buried it instantly.
That was what I did best. I buried the pain before I even allowed myself to feel it.
I didn’t know what hurt more, how quickly and easily he’d refused, or the fact that he’d refused despite his family’s future being at stake.
Either way, my chest tightened. I saw in his eyes that he noticed, despite my efforts to hide it.
He took a step toward me, reaching out but I was already turning toward Roman, ready to do anything to protect the people I loved.
“I need your last name,” I told him, lifting my chin and his eyes widened before he grimaced, lifting them toward the ceiling.
Sasha’s hand wrapped around my arm, spinning me back toward him.
“You are not marrying my brother, damn it!” he shouted, furious and anger surged inside me too, the pain now buried so deeply I forgot it existed.
“I’ll do whatever needs to be done to protect my family!
” I shot back, rising onto my toes until our faces nearly touched.
“But clearly, you’re not ready to make sacrifices to do the same!
” I continued and his jaw clenched, his blazing gaze locked onto mine.
“Sienna,” Nikolai called softly but I shook my head at him, Sasha’s grip still tight around my arm.
“It’s the only option, and you know it,” I said, my gaze sliding to Grigori, who watched me thoughtfully.
“You know it,” I insisted. He rubbed his beard slowly, and I saw the moment the head of the Bratva accepted reality, “Roman,” he said darkly and Roman straightened instantly, back rigid, hands clasped behind him like a soldier.
“I would do anything for the Bratva. For the family,” he answered the unspoken question and Grigori nodded, convinced.
He accepted my proposal and when the head of the Bratva decided, everyone bowed to his will even the most stubborn among them. I lifted my triumphant gaze back to Sasha, who had never once looked away, his eyes as dark as a starless night.
A victorious smile curved my lips, it seemed I was going to get married.