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No.

I can’t raise my child in this kind of environment. We have to leave. This time, I just have to be smarter about it.

But how?

By the time we finish breakfast, I’ve come up with a plan.

A simple one that neither Andrei nor his men will suspect. At least… that’s what I tell myself.

We head upstairs to get dressed. I choose something casual: jeans, sneakers, a loose top. Nothing that says I’m leaving.

“Are we going somewhere, Mommy?” she asks.

“Just for a walk,” I say lightly. “We’re going to look around the neighborhood.”

She grins.

“Okay!”

I take her hand, steadying my nerves, and we walk downstairs together, while I try to keep my face calm. The moment we step outside the front door, one of the guards straightens.

Dmitri.

He walks toward us immediately. “Good morning, ma’am,” he says politely. “Are you going out?”

“Yeah,” I reply, forcing a casual smile. “We just thought we’d take a walk. Get some fresh air.”

He nods once.

“I will have one of the cars ready.”

“No,” I say quickly, shaking my head. “That’s not necessary. I was hoping to walk. Have a look around the neighborhood.”

There’s a brief pause.

His expression doesn’t change.

“Okay,” he says. “I will come with you.”

“No,” I insist, keeping my tone light but firm. “It’s not necessary. We’re not going far.”

Dmitri doesn’t move.

“I cannot let you go out alone,” he says calmly.

I feel frustration bubbling up. “I’m not a child,” I reply.

Still, he doesn’t budge. And then his phone rings, and he takes a step back, murmuring into it.

And then my phone buzzes in my hand. I glance down.

A text message. From Andrei: Stop trying to run. Head back inside.

Chapter Fifteen

Andrei

I knew this was going to happen.