Page 201 of Merciless Daddy

“They were hers before Lev made them part of his structure. They are legitimate. Mostly. There are good people working there. Drivers. Warehouse staff. Office workers. Women my father never noticed because they did not wear diamonds.”

“And the men loyal to Lev?”

“Dismissed.” Her mouth tightened. “Not killed. Not ruined for sport. But dismissed. I want outside audits. Employee representation. Real votes on safety and wages.”

“You would give workers a seat at the table.”

“Yes.”

“Lev would hate that.”

“He hates many things. It’ll just be another thing he can add to the pile.”

I smiled.

She dipped bread into olive oil.

“And Kiryl gets shares,” she said. “Enough that he is safe. Enough that he has a future that does not depend on being useful to any of us. Some legitimate business.”

“Does he manage them?”

“No.” Her answer came fast. “Only if he wants to. He should study. Travel. Become a terrible professor who corrects everyone at dinner.”

“That is a very specific future.”

“I know my brother. He would be excellent at it.”

“He would.”

The harbor wind lifted the edge of her hat. I looked at the blue bowl wrapped beside us.

“Where would you live?” I asked. “If you could choose?”

Her hand stopped.

“I don’t know.”

“Have you thought about it? Not at all?”

“I never did.”

“Why not?”

“Because every house I lived in belonged to my father. Or was some arrangement. A business thing. Danger. I had no agency, no choice.” Her eyes dropped to the table. “I imagined escape. Not a destination.”

I waited. Slowly, she began.

“Near water,” she said. “Not isolated. I want to see it from the windows, but I want a city nearby. Somewhere I can work.”

“Yes.”

“A kitchen large enough for Tonio to invade, maybe.”

“That requires a reinforced pantry. And it would need to be roughly the size of a football stadium.”

“And a room for coloring.”

“A room?”