Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Basili
“They’ve been dealt with, boss.”
Omero’s voice is careful over the phone, but I know what he means by ‘dealt with’. The thugs who attacked Chloe in the park won’t be threatening anyone else. Ever.
“Good. Clean cut?”
“Clean as a whistle. Nothing to show.”
“Good.” I lean back in the office chair, satisfied with the outcome.
It’s only been three days since the incident, and Chloe is finally out of bed and moving again.
The three days in bed gave me plenty of time to plan exactly how to deal with the men who had dared to put their hands on her and threaten my child.
“There’s something else,” Omero continues. “You’ve been invited to a charity auction tomorrow night.”
“By whom?”
“It’s being hosted by the Volkov family.”
That makes me go absolutely still.
“Excuse me?”
“Apparently, it’s a major fundraiser. Very public, legit on the surface. All the major players were invited. As a show of goodwill.” I can hear the skepticism in his voice. “But here’s the interesting part. No bodyguards allowed inside. Each attendee is allowed a plus one, though.”
My mind starts working through scenarios and implications of attending or not attending. “They want us on edge and vulnerable.”
“That was my take on it as well. Give the illusion of transparency, act like there’s nothing to hide.”
“Which means they’re hiding something big.” I tap my fingers on the desk. “This could be just the opportunity we’ve been looking for. If all the families are there, guards outside, everyone playing nice…”
“Then we’ll have plenty of time to snoop around. See what information we can dig up.”
“Exactly,” I’m already planning. “Accept the invitation.”
“You got it. I’ll tell Raffaello to be ready–”
“No.”
“Boss?” His voice is questioning, uncertain.
“I’ll go alone.” This is my chance to send a message.
He’s quiet for a long moment before tentatively continuing. “If something goes wrong, you’ll be on your own.”
“It won’t, but we’ll post men outside just in case. Close enough to respond if needed but far enough not to violate their no-bodyguard rule.”
“You got it.”
We spend the next twenty-four hours coordinating the specifics. Omero and I map out the best vantage points for the men and assign teams to target each family’s home to search for answers.
The night of the auction, I slid into the back of the town car, straightening my cufflinks and mentally reviewing everything Omero and I had discussed — the venue layout, the number of men on standby, and everything else — when the passenger door opens.
When I look up, my breath catches. It’s Chloe, wearing a black velvet dress with green accents that make her skin glow.
The dress is off-the-shoulder, accentuating her petite shoulders and showing the elegant line of her neck and collarbones.
The full skirt pools around her, both modest and captivating.
Her hair twisted up into an intricate half-up do with a few strands framing her face.
She looks like she belongs on a magazine cover. Or in my bed. Preferably both.
“Where do you think you’re going?” I manage.
“With you of course,” she says, sliding into the seat beside me, smoothing her skirt. “You need a plus one that’s not a bodyguard, right?”
“Chloe, this is a Russian event. It’s quite literally walking into the lion’s den. It could be dangerous —”
“Which is exactly why you shouldn’t go alone.” She turns those huge eyes on me. “Besides, I’m fine. The doctor cleared me, and Omero helped me pick out the dress. He said it would be perfect for the event.”
Omero, of course. I’m going to kill him.
“This isn’t a game.”
“I am well aware of that, Basili.” A sad look flashes in her eyes. “Trust me. I grew up around men like this. I know how to play the part. I won’t embarrass you.”
I file away the way she says ‘men like this,’ which makes me wonder more about what she isn’t telling me. The past that she’d escaped from. “Chloe, is that what you think? Really? That I’d be embarrassed by you? That’s not it at all. This is —”
She puts a hand on my arm. “Let me do this. Let me help for once. Please.”
I should say no. Should send her back inside where it’s safe. But I don’t.
“Fine. But you stay by my side the entire time. You don’t go anywhere with anyone else, and if I say we leave, we leave without question. Understood?”
Her smile is radiant. “Understood.”
I signal for the driver to go, trying not to notice how the dress hugs her curves. How the green accents bring out the warmth in her brown eyes. How absolutely perfect she looks sitting next to me.
“Omero really helped you pick the dress?”
She smiles, her entire face lighting up. “He has surprisingly good taste, doesn’t he? He wanted me to look like I belonged. Like I was yours.”
Mine. The word makes my chest tighten.
“You look stunning.”
She blushes, and even that’s captivating. “Thank you. You look pretty good yourself.”
The ballroom is already overflowing with people when we arrive. Crystal chandeliers sparkle overhead, ice sculptures adorn the refreshment tables, and waiters circulate with champagne and hors d’oeuvres. All the major players are accounted for.
Across the room, I see Delan Tao with his daughter, Shufen.
Chloe’s hand tightens on my arm as we enter, relaxing after a few minutes, slipping into a role I’ve never seen from her before.
She laughs at something I say— loud, bright, and noticeable. Touches my arm constantly. Leans into me like she can’t bear to be separated by even an inch. The perfectly infatuated companion who can’t take her eyes off her man.
And to my surprise, she is very, very good at it. Almost too good.
“Basili Cierro.” Sergei Malenkov, the Russian patriarch himself, approaches. Tall, with sharp features and ice-blue eyes, he is memorable. “I must admit, I was happily surprised that you accepted my invitation.”
“Thank you for the invitation.” I keep my voice neutral. This is the man whose organization I suspect took my son, but showing my hand now won’t benefit the long game. “May I introduce my companion, Chloe Tao?”
I use her full name purposefully, watching for any sort of reaction. Her nails are digging into my arm as I do.
Sergei’s eyes flicker to her briefly, then back to me. “Charming, I’m sure. Please, enjoy the evening. The auction will begin in approximately one hour.”
As he walks away, Chloe leans closer, smile never wavering.
“Why did you tell him my last name?” She whispers.
“I wanted to see his reaction.”
We circulate the room. I introduce Chloe to various allies, rivals, and neutral parties alike.
She’s perfectly composed every time, but I can feel her nerves becoming increasingly rattled each time I mention her last name.
Her act never falters — sweet, a little silly, a little shy, clearly smitten with me, but not interesting enough to warrant being memorable.
It’s a masterful performance.
Then I spotted Delan Tao heading our way with Shufen at his side. Chloe’s entire body goes rigid when she spots them.
“I need to use the restroom,” she says suddenly, her voice tight. “I’ll be back.”
“Chloe —”
She slips her arm from mine and b-lines for the hallway where the restrooms are before I can stop her. I watch her go, frowning. That was abrupt and unexpected. As if she were running away.
“Basili.” Delan’s voice pulls my attention back. He’s reached me with Shufen in tow, both looking in the direction that Chloe went. “I didn’t expect to see you here. Especially not with… company.”
“Delan. Shufen.” I nod to them both, hyper-aware of Chloe’s absence. “She just needed to step away for a moment.”
“How convenient.” Delan’s false smile doesn’t reach his eyes. “I had hoped we might continue our discussion from the other night before you so rudely left without a word of explanation.”
“Family emergency,” I say smoothly. “I’m sure you can understand.”
“Of course. I hope all is well now.” But his tone suggests otherwise, and his eyes keep drifting toward the hallway where Chloe disappeared. “Your companion. She looked… familiar. Do I know her?”
The hairs on the back of my neck stand up, instincts screaming. “I doubt it. She’s not one of us.”
“Hmmm.” But he’s still watching the hallway with an intensity that makes me uneasy.
Shufen speaks for the first time, batting her eyelashes. “Perhaps we could arrange another meeting? To discuss the proposal?”
“Perhaps.” But I’m already looking for an exit, eager to get Chloe and get out of here. “If you’ll excuse me, I should check on my guest.”
I turn away before they can press further, moving toward the hallway, but I feel Delan’s eyes on my back as I go.
Something about that entire interaction felt wrong. The way he’d locked onto Chloe— or the hallway she’d fled to at least. His comment about her seeming ‘familiar’. The way Chloe had bolted the second she saw him approaching.
The timing. The panic. The sudden need to escape. I take it all in, calculating the probabilities and possible connections.
But I can’t get distracted by that right now. The auction is about to start, which means my window is about to open.
I move casually toward the edge of the ballroom, nodding to people as I go, then I slip into the service hallway when I’m sure no one’s looking.
The layout Omero provided shows offices on this floor. If the Russians are using the venue, they’re likely using one of those offices as a temporary base of operations.
I try three doors before I find one that’s locked with a security keypad.
Bingo.
The code Omero got from his inside source works, and I slip inside, closing the door quietly behind me.
It’s set up like a mobile command center. Laptops, files stacked neatly in piles, a wall of monitors showing various camera angles throughout the ballroom, entrance, and parking areas.
I move to the desk, pulling out my phone to photograph my findings. Transaction logs. Communication records. Financials.
My hands freeze on a folder titled Project Dragon— Emmanuel Cierro. I flip it open, my heart pounding in my chest. Dates, locations, personnel assigned. Then I find it, the smoking gun.
According to these logs, the Russians were in Moscow the week of the kidnapping. It’s all there, their entire alibi. Complete and airtight. Travel records. Hotel receipts. Security footage with timestamps.
They didn’t take Emmanuel. Someone else did. Someone set them up; someone wanted me to think they were the ones who took him.
Who else would benefit from me thinking the Russians took my son? Who would want to create a conflict of that level?
The Triad.
Delan Tao’s proposal had shown up right after Emmanuel was taken. He had ‘intelligence’ about the Russians’ plans. He’d pushed for this marriage alliance to ‘unite against the Russians’.
He set me up.
I hear the scratching of the doorhandle and I spin, ready to fight whoever it is. But to my utter surprise, it’s Chloe.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I demand in a harsh whisper.
“Same as you, apparently.” She moves to stand beside me, glancing down at the file on the desk. Her eyes scan the documents. “Find anything of use?”
I ignore her question. “How did you know I would be here?”
She looks at me then, amusement in her eyes. “Come no, Basili. I know you. You’re not the type to just attend a party and socialize just for fun.” She picks up the file. “You came here to look for answers.”
“Chloe —”
“The Russians didn’t take Emmanuel, did they?” She asks, reading the page I’d already looked over. Her face is pale. “They weren’t even near New York when it happened.”
“No. They weren’t.” I gather the documents, snapping pictures of each one before closing the file and setting it back where I’d found it. “Someone else took him and set the Russians up to take the fall.”
She’s quiet for a long moment. “The Triad.”
“That’s my suspicion as well.”
“We need to leave.” She grabs my arm and pulls me toward the door. “If they figure out you’re here, if they realize you know —”
I follow her out, making sure the door locks behind us. Back in the hallway, I take Chloe by the arm lightly and lead the way. We make it back to the ballroom just as the auction is starting. Instantly, I scan the room, spotting Delan Tao watching us with those calculating eyes.
“We’re leaving,” I tell Chloe quietly.
She follows my gaze, and her body goes rigid just as it had before. “Good idea.”
I take her hand, and we move toward the exit.
Delan catches my eye, and I see the moment he realizes we’re leaving.
See the suspicion flash across his face.
But we’re already halfway to the door. When we reach the door, I push it open for Chloe and glance back one last time.
Delan’s still watching us across the crowded ballroom.
Things are about to get very, very complicated.
“Get to the car. Now,” I order Chloe, my hand on her lower back, steering her toward the awaiting vehicle.
“What is it?”
“Just get in.”
We’re in the car and pulling away from the curb before Delan has a chance to follow. Before any of his men have time to stop us.
“Basili,” Chloe says quietly beside me, “tell me what you’re thinking.”
I run a hand through my hair, then wipe both hands down my face in frustration.
“I think the Triad orchestrated my son’s kidnapping.
They used his disappearance as leverage to create an opportunity for an alliance.
To get me to agree to marry Shufen.” I stare out the window at the city lights passing by.
“I think I was played. And that the woman I almost married has a father who tortured my son for pure political gain.”
Chloe falls quiet beside me, her hands wringing together in her lap.
“And what’s worse is I think,” I continue, turning to look at her, “that you knew that all along. Or at least suspected it. That’s why you bolted the moment you saw them tonight. You already knew who they were.”
“Basili —”
“For once, Chloe, tell me the truth,” I demand, anger seeping into my voice. “What do you know of the Tao family? Why do you and Shufen share the same eyes? How did you know who they were when you’re not from my world?”
“Everything,” she whispers. “I know everything about them. Delan Tao is my father.
The world stops. I’d suspected Shufen, and she was related, but not that, never that.
“What?”
“Delan Tao has two daughters. Shufen is my older sister. I’m the other daughter, the one he threw away. The one he never wanted.” Silent tears stream down her face. “The one he’s been looking for since the day I ran away.”
Suddenly, it all makes sense. Her last name, her fear, the combat training. Her base knowledge of my world. The way she’d reacted when I mentioned the Tao alliance. She’s been lying to me this entire time.
I’ve fallen in love with the daughter of the man responsible for traumatizing my son.