Page 108 of Secret Heir

I’m so absorbed I don’t hear the knock at first. Then louder. “Sir? Alexander Morozov is here to see you.”

My blood runs cold. “Repeat yourself."

A guard opens the door. “He said he was in the area and thought he’d drop by. Should I⁠—?”

“Show him in.” I close all the files on my laptop.

Alexander walks in a moment later, perfectly groomed as always. His burn-scarred hand is covered by a leather glove.

“Maksim.” His smile is cold. “Hope I’m not interrupting.”

“Not at all.” I gesture to the chair across from my desk, staying standing myself. “What brings you by?”

“I was meeting with some contacts in Southampton, and thought I’d stop in on my way back to the city.” He sits, crosses one leg over the other. “I haven’t seen much of you lately. Everything alright?”

Oh yes, just trying to figure out how to fucking end you. “Fine. Just busy with family matters.”

Alexander nods. “Of course. You’re still bonding with your son.” Alexander’s smile widens slightly. “He’s settling in well, I hope?”

I incline my head. “Very well.”

“And Aria?” The way he says her name makes my skin crawl. “How is she adjusting to life here?”

Every instinct screams at me to grab him by the throat and demand he stay away from her. But I maintain my bored expression.

“She’s fine. The pregnancy is progressing normally.”

“Good. Good.” Alexander glances around the office, and I can feel him looking for something. “You know, Nikolai mentioned you’d been doing some financial review. Finding everything in order?”

The question is casual, but there’s something sharp underneath it. A probe. Testing to see if I know something.

“Everything’s fine,” I say. “Just routine auditing.”

“Of course.” He stands, and I tense, ready for anything but he just straightens his jacket. “Well, I should let you get back to work. I just wanted to check in and see how you were doing.”

“I appreciate that.”

He heads toward the door then pauses. “Oh, and Maksim? If you ever need anything—advice, assistance, anything at all—you know I’m here. We’re family, after all.”

The word family from his mouth makes my stomach turn.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

He leaves, and I stand there for a long moment, trying to figure out what that visit was really about. Alexander never just “drops by.” He never makes social calls.

He was fishing and trying to gauge whether Aria talked.

I’m reaching for my phone to text my head guard to make sure Alexander actually left the grounds when the door bursts open.

Aria rushes in, her face white as paper, her whole body shaking.

“Maksim.” My name comes out choked. “He—Alexander was just⁠—”

My heart seizes and I’m around the desk in an instant, my hands on her shoulders. “What happened? What did he say?” I demand.

“He cornered me. In the hallway. After he left your office.” She’s breathing too fast, on the edge of hyperventilating. “He said—he said he hoped I’d been keeping our little talk to myself. That it would be unfortunate if I’d said something to you. That problems have a way of…resolving themselves when people can’t keep quiet.”

Fury unlike anything I’ve ever felt floods through me. “He threatened you. Again.”