Page 107

I look at him. “Tell me what happened overnight.”

The humor leaves his face.

“Belov’s rumor moved through the captains’ channels overnight,” he says. “Rudenko sent the first voice note last night, and the others passed it on before sunrise.”

“Who is Rudenko?”

“A Bratva captain. His daughter is the woman Gurin was seeing.”

“So Rudenko helped them enter the estate?”

“We can’t prove that yet. We know he has a link to the contractor, and we know he spread the news about Misha.”

“What did he say?”

Alexei turns his phone toward me.

Orlov has hidden an heir inside the estate.

I read the message once, then again, hoping I misunderstood it.

“Hidden heir?” I push the phone back at him. “Bastard. How dare he speak about a three-year-old this way?”

“Vera.”

“No. He has a name. He isn’t an heir in one of their messages.” The coffee tastes bitter.

“I know.” Alexei takes back the phone.

“That word means something to these men.”

“It does.” He sets the phone beside his coffee. “Three captains contacted me directly. Two asked whether Maksim recognizes Misha as my son. The third went to Leonid.”

“Why Leonid?”

“He handles the family’s legal affairs. The captain asked him whether a child born outside marriage could inherit property or territory.”

My fingers tighten around the arm of the chair. “Do you have a claim to the Volkov empire?”

“I don’t inherit Maksim’s position. That belongs to his family.”

“Then what is Misha supposed to inherit?”

“Everything that belongs to me. My companies, properties, and accounts.”

“He’s three.” I rise from the chair. The day suddenly feels unbearably hot.

“They aren’t discussing his age.” Alexei rises and comes toward me. He places one hand on my arm.

I look down at his fingers, then up at him. “He still needs help tying his shoes, and these men are already counting what territory he might control.”

“To them, he carries my name and blood.”

“He’s a child, Alexei. He isn’t part of the Bratva.”

“I’m Maksim’s strategist. I hold authority inside the organization. That gives me a stake.”

“But Misha doesn’t inherit your position.”