Page 25 of Princess's Pregnancy Secret
Now he was gone, and she was lost.
I didn’t know what I was going to do with her…for her. She couldn’t come back to the States with me. She was banned. But I couldn’t stay here. I was taking an enormous risk just being here for Papa’s funeral.
My entire being ached, exhaustion and sadness crawling through me.
My quiet tears mingled with hers.
After what felt like hours, she stopped crying enough for me to talk to her.
“What arrangements have you made?” I asked softly.
She shook her head, reaching behind her to the box of tissues that rested on the pillow that had once been my father’s. She sat up to blow her nose, and the blankets fell away, revealing skin and bones. She’d always been painfully thin, and now she seemed even frailer.
“I don’t know. Rurik said he would handle it.”
I frowned. “Why would Rurik make the arrangements? What about Malik?”
Her eyes closed as if it was too much to even talk about. “Rurik is your father’s best friend. He knew we were all struggling. He offered.”
I wanted to bite back that Malik didn’t seem to be struggling at all, but instead, I asked quietly, “Mamochka, what really happened?”
She stilled completely before her eyes popped open, pinning me with one of her most cognizant looks since I’d walked into the room. “He had a heart attack, Raechka.”
I shook my head. “You know his heart was fine.”
She grabbed my hands, pulled them to her chest, and said in barely a whisper, “Promise me you will not continue to ask this. I could not bear… I could not bear to lose you as well. It is done. Nothing we do will bring him back. He wouldn’t want us to risk ourselves for a truth that will not change anything. He would be furious at you for being here at all.”
Disappointment and fear mixed with anger.
“Mamochka?”
“No!” Her fingers tightened on mine, the grip harsh and cruel when she’d never been either with me growing up. “Stop. No more.”
I wanted to argue. I wanted to storm and cry, but I didn’t. I would find the truth on my own without her. I was determined that whoever was responsible for his death would pay. I only hoped, with all my heart, that it wasn’t Malik, because Mama would hate me if I exposed him. She’d lose one more piece of her soul if she lost him, too.
“How do I get ahold of Rurik to ask about the service? Georgie and Mac want to come and say their goodbyes. I need to know what to tell them.”
Mama pulled her phone out from under her pillow, swiped through the contacts, and then handed it to me. I added Rurik’s information to my phone. Special Agent Malone would flip out. As much as I tried not to know what went on in my father’s business world, even I knew that Rurik Volkov was someone you didn’t mess with.
Growing up, the Volkovs had been in and out of our home. Deals made behind closed doors that had led to meals and parties and vacations together as if we were all family. Malik had been friends with Rurik’s son, Damien. They’d gone to school, partied, and been exposed to their father’s worlds together until Damien had gone too far one day, and Father had exiled him from our home.
I wasn’t sure Malik had ever forgiven me for it.
I shivered at the memory. At the thought of having to face the Volkovs again…of being in their debt. Malik had said I was stupid for letting Gennady’s plane bring me back to Russia, but wasn’t he even dumber for letting Rurik handle our father’s funeral?
I pushed at the memories and the fear that curled through me.
I needed to shower and eat and find a way out of this mess while still uncovering the truth. I pulled my hand away from Mama’s, looking again at the bones showing through her skin in so many places. This wasn’t something that had occurred in the two days since Father had died. Something else had been sending her over the edge for much longer, because there was nothing left of her but angles and shadows. Just like Malik had been when I’d seen him in the car.
“How long has it been since you’ve eaten?” I asked.
She shrugged carelessly.
“I’m going to go shower, but when I come back, we’re going downstairs to get breakfast.”
“No.” She shook her head, the glazed look coming back to her eyes. “I can’t…”
“I’ll take you in your nightgown if I have to. You need to eat.”