Page 264 of Maddening Fixation

But the threat behind it was unmistakable.

His eyes lifted immediately.

He nodded frantically. “Yes.”

His voice cracked. “Yes, please.”

Tears rolled down his face. “I’ll tell you everything.”

He swallowed painfully. “No lies.”

I leaned closer. “Then tell me the truth. Juliet or Yarina?”

The silence stretched. “Who betrayed me?”

Sokolov closed his eyes briefly.

When he opened them again, there was nothing left except exhaustion.

“I have no reason to lie.” His voice was rough. “I have already lost everything.”

He took a shaky breath.

“There’s a complete CCTV surveillance system installed throughout my private study.”

I listened carefully.

“Every camera records in high definition, with synchronized audio. The footage is archived, not overwritten immediately. Go back four months in the system and pull the recording from my study at approximately four in the afternoon that day.”

His expression remained ruined.

“You’ll find footage of Yarina and me in the room. The audio is recorded as well. Listen to the entire conversation before I disappeared. It will give you the answers you’re looking for.”

My stomach tightened.

“I love both of my daughters more than I love my own life. I don’t care that one of them is adopted. They are both my children.”

His voice broke.

“So whatever punishment you believe they deserve, spare them and put it on me instead.”

He swallowed hard.

“Especially when it comes to Yarina. In time, you’ll learn the truth about her betrayal. But whatever she has done, punish me for it. Just don’t hurt my daughters.”

I stared at him.

Searching.

Looking for the lie.

The manipulation.

The weakness.

But all I saw was a broken man begging for mercy for his daughters.

And suddenly I wasn’t sure who I had been fighting anymore.