Page 99 of Secret Heir

Nikolai’s gaze shifts to me and what I see in his eyes makes my blood run cold. He sees me as a problem. A threat to his organization.

“Sit,” he orders me, pointing to the chair beside Maksim’s desk.

I sit because my legs are shaking too badly to stand.

Nikolai leans back in his chair, his posture deceptively relaxed. But I can see the tension in his shoulders, the way his hands are perfectly still on the armrests. This is a man who’s completely in control.

“And what exactly did you see?” His voice is soft and almost pleasant which somehow makes it worse.

I glance at Maksim, who nods encouragingly.

“I saw—” My voice cracks. I clear my throat and try again, willing myself to be brave. “I saw Maksim and Alexander execute a man. The accountant who’d been stealing from the Cyprus accounts.”

“And?” Nikolai’s expression doesn’t change. Oh god, I’m going to be sick.

“And then Maksim left. To get the van, I think.” I lick my dry lips nervously. “And another man came in. I-I’ve never seen him before. He had a strange accent. He and Alexander talked for several minutes.”

“About?” Still that pleasant, terrifying softness.

“About the accountant being handled. The Cyprus accounts. About moving against—” I swallow hard, my breathing picking up. “About moving against you in three to four months. He said—he said your guard was down, and how you trusted Alexander completely.”

There’s a heavy, suffocating silence.

Then Nikolai laughs and I freeze. It’s not a pleasant sound.

“This is what you brought me here for?” He turns to Maksim, his eyes hard. “The word of a woman who ran from you for eight years, kept your son in poverty, and has every reason to manipulate you?” He shakes his head. “She accuses Alexander—my most trusted man for fifteen years—of treason based on an overheard conversation from eight years ago that she can’t prove?”

“She can describe Alexander in detail—” Maksim starts.

“She’s met him multiple times at this estate!” Nikolai’s voice rises slightly, the first crack in his composure. “Of course she can describe him! She’s had dinner with him and has probably studied him!” He stands abruptly. “You’re thinking with your dick, brother. This woman has you twisted around her finger.”

I flinch at the crude assessment, heat flooding my face.

Nikolai turns his cold gaze on me. “She tells you what you want to hear—that she ran because she was protecting your son from some grand conspiracy, not because she’s selfish or a coward or simply didn’t want to be tied to a man in our world. She paints herself as a victim, as a brave mother doing what she had to do, when in reality she’s a woman who destroyed your life and is now scrambling to justify it.”

The words hit like physical blows. Each one lands perfectly, cutting deep into every insecurity I have.

“That’s not—” I try to speak, but my voice is too small.

“That’s not what?” Nikolai leans down, putting his face level with mine. His eyes are like chips of ice. “Not true? You didn’t run? You didn’t keep Maksim’s son from him? You didn’t let that boy grow up in poverty when he could have had everything?” His voice drops even lower. “Or is it that you didn’t lie? Lying is all you’ve done since my brother found you.”

“Nikolai,” Maksim says sharply, half rising from his chair. “Enough.”

But Nikolai ignores him, keeping his focus on me. “Alexander is my right hand man and has never put a toe out of place. And you want me to investigate him because you—a woman who’s proven herself to be a liar and a runner—say you heard something suspicious eight years ago?”

I’m shaking now, tears streaming down my face, unable to speak. This is what I feared.

“I checked the security tapes. Everything she described happened.” Maksim says, his voice tight with controlled anger.

Nikolai straightens, and I see him pause and consider Maksim’s words. But the security tapes didn’t capture sound.

But then Nikolai shakes his head. “She could be lying about the conversation. The tapes only show who was there. She’s using it to make her story sound credible.” His expression hardens even more. “I’ve seen women manipulate good men before. They take small details, weave them into elaborate stories, and make themselves seem vulnerable and in need of protection. It’s a tale as old as time.”

“She’s fucking scared shitless of him,” Maksim snaps. “She has been since the first time he visited. Why would she react that way if she’d never seen him before?”

Nikolai shrugs. “Because she’s dramatic? Paranoid? Guilty about running and projecting her fears onto someone in our organization? Take your pick. Or maybe she researched us before you found her, learned who the key players were, and decided Alexander would make a convenient scapegoat for her lies.”

“I’m not lying,” I finally manage to say, my voice stronger. “I know what I heard. I know⁠—”