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I almost go with her.

Every part of me wants to sit beside her on that sofa until the doctor arrives, to keep her tucked against me and make sure she doesn’t have to look outside again. But Galina sent us here. She knew Evan was waiting. She knew what he would do if he found us alone.

I stay because I need to know the truth too.

Galina comes through the rear doors between two men. Her wrists are secured in front of her. There is mud along the hem of her skirt, and a few strands of hair have slipped free from her bun, but she looks composed until her eyes land on Evan.

Her mouth curls. Not surprise. Disgust.

“You know him,” I say.

Galina looks at me. “I know who he is.”

“That wasn’t my question,” I say.

Evan laughs once from where he sits on the ground. It turns into a pained breath when he shifts his injured hand. “Tell them,” he says to her. “Go on. Tell them I just showed up.”

Galina’s eyes flick toward him, then away.

Nikolai walks closer. “You told Elara to go to the garden. You told Anya I had a gift waiting for her.”

“I told them where I thought they would find each other,” Galina says. “I had no idea that man was on the property.”

“That’s a lie,” Nikolai says. His voice is low.

Galina looks at him as though she can still talk her way through this. “Nikolai, I’ve been in this house since before you were born. I would never put Anya in danger.”

The rear door opens again.

Viktor comes out first, with Irina behind him. She looks shaken when she sees Evan, then Galina between the guards.

“What is happening?” Irina asks.

Nikolai doesn’t look at either of them. “Galina is going to explain why she sent my daughter and Elara into the garden with a man holding a gun.”

Galina lets out a slow breath. “You’re letting that girl fill your head with nonsense.”

“I saw you look at him,” I say.

“You saw what you wanted to see.”

Nikolai’s jaw tightens. “You knew he was here.”

“I didn’t,” Galina says. For the first time, I see in the perfect prim woman that I met. She’s always been very good at pretending what she isn’t. The person I met the first day was the real her, and then she simply slipped on her mask and pretended to my friend so I would put my guard down.

“You can keep lying,” Nikolai says. “But you are not leaving this property until I know exactly what you did.”

“I didn’t, I’m innocent,” Galina says. “How can you trust some strangers over me?”

“Sergei has already checked the cameras.”

“The cameras were tampered with,” she says quickly.

“By you.”

Her chin lifts. “You have no proof.”

Evan looks at her with open hatred. “She called me.”