Chapter 3 - The Price of LoyaltyThe week that followed was a masterclass in deception. I played the role of the devoted lover, the woman so enamored by the dangerous Alexi Ivankov that I had forgotten my own identity. I spent my days attending lunches with the wives of oligarchs, gathering information on their husbands' dealings, and my nights whispering secrets into Alexi’s ear.
He was brilliant, calculated, and terrifyingly efficient. Together, we dismantled Akatarina’s network, piece by piece. We intercepted shipments, diverted funds, and leaked false intelligence to the Bratva.
But the closer I got to him, the further I drifted from my mission. My father was calling the burner phone every twelve hours, demanding results, demanding that I plant the surveillance device in Alexi’s office.
I hadn't done it.
I sat in the office one evening, watching Alexi work. He was focused, his brow furrowed in concentration. He looked like a man who carried the world on his shoulders, yet he looked at me with a tenderness that I didn't deserve.
"Why haven't you left?" he asked, not looking up from his papers. "Your father’s men have been spotted at the perimeter three times this week. You could have signaled them."
My heart stopped. "You know about my father?"
"I know that Giovanni Marchetti doesn't send his best agents to Moscow just to plan an engagement party," he said, finally looking up. His eyes were sad, resigned. "I knew from the second you walked through those doors, Esme. The way you looked at the security grid, the way you didn't flinch when the gun was fired... you were never an event planner."
The room went cold. I reached for the gun hidden beneath the desk, but Alexi was faster. He stood, his movements fluid and precise, pinning my hands to the wood before I could make a move.
"Why?" I asked, my voice cracking. "Why keep me?"
"Because," he whispered, pressing his forehead against mine, "for the first time in my life, I found someone who was sent to destroy me, and I couldn't bear the thought of them succeeding."
He kissed me then, and it felt like an ending. The door to the office burst open, and three of my father’s elite operatives rushed in, guns drawn.
"Mr. Ivankov!" the lead agent shouted. "Step away from the asset!"
Alexi didn't let go of me. He looked at the intruders, then back at me, his eyes dark with a mixture of pain and resolve.
"She’s not your asset anymore," he said.
I looked at my father’s men, then at Alexi. The choice was laid bare. I could return to the life I knew, the life of cold efficiency and familial duty—or I could choose the man who had seen the monster in me and chose to love it anyway.
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"I'm sorry, Father," I whispered to the empty air, and I turned to face the men.
The room erupted in gunfire.
