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Yuri places our joined hands on his leg. “The bar is fully stocked, so let me know when you’re ready for a shot of whisky.”
Olga sets down her half-empty glass. “Your parents met at University. It was a whirlwind romance that consumed them both. At the time, your father was dead set against joining the family business and pursued a career as a journalist. He and your mother were part of the intelligentsia and wanted no part of the privileged bougie existence our family fortune provided.” She sips her champagne. “They eloped and pursued lives as far away from us as possible.”
“What changed?”
“My oldest son was killed in a car accident with my husband following a year later. Your parent’s life changed overnight. They went from a quiet life pursuing their passions to one filled with pressure and threats. One minute they were an anonymous couple, and the next, they were accompanied by a phalanx of guards and had their movements controlled. The family business required them to attend social events and befriend people who would happily put a knife in their backs if it would gain them an advantage.”
“No one else in the family was interested in taking on the responsibility?”
“There wasn’t anyone. Your great uncles had their own businesses so your father had no choice.”
“My parents didn’t have a chance, did they?”
Olga shakes her head. “My son didn’t care for the trappings of being a Tarasov, but he could handle them. He had been trained from a young age of what might be expected, so he wasn’t completely unprepared.”
“But my mother couldn’t have been less equipped,” I say quietly.
“She gave it a gallant effort, Lina. Make no mistake, she gave it everything she had.”
I watch her gaze out the window. “Did you two get along?”
“I like to think we did.” She empties her champagne glass, and it’s refilled instantly by Marta. “The challenges with her mood swings were exasperated after you were born. Looking back, I realize that it was likely due to postpartum depression. What had once been an occasional occurrence quickly became quite regular. Everyone tried to help. Your father most of all.”
Yuri slides his handkerchief into my hand, and I dab the corners of my eyes. “He loved her?”
“With every breath in his body.”
My husband shifts closer. “Mama’s demons couldn’t be the only reason things fell apart.”
“There were two attempted kidnappings. Inessa was taken and held captive for seventy-two hours before we could secure her release. Then you were taken and held for twenty-four.”
I close my eyes and feel as though a thousand questions have been answered. No wonder Mama never wanted me out of her sight. I lean against my husband and pray that I can absorb his strength. All those times, I railed against Mama for not letting me do the things other kids got to do.
If I had only known.
Opening my eyes slowly, I look into Grandmother’s eyes and see the echo of pain.
“No amount of doctor’s visits or medication would convince her it wouldn’t happen a third time. And I couldn’t blame her.”
“They went after your son’s weakness like any enemy would,” Yuri comments.
“Mama never mentioned it.” I twist the small signet ring.
“Needless to say, there was no return to normalcy after you were taken. We doubled the guards, got rid of half of the staff, and rarely left the grounds of the estate. My son chose to bury himself in the business and was rarely home.”
“Why would he abandon the woman he supposedly loved?” I twist my mouth together. “And a defenseless child?”
“At first, I thought it was because he felt guilty and couldn’t stand seeing how heartbroken your mother was.” She smoothes out an invisible wrinkle in her skirt. “I later discovered he was trying to prevent another kidnapping attempt. Doing business in Russia is complicated, and appeasing all the grabby hands is rarely possible, but Viktor tried.”
“That was a losing battle,” Yuri comments quietly. “The only way to stop a threat is to become a bigger one.”
“Or make the thing they want most disappear,” Olga replies quietly.
I look between my husband and grandmother and try to pick up the subtext. “Did he notice that Mama was fading? Did she ever have a formal diagnosis?”
“No. But two doctors told me they believed she suffered from bipolar disorder.” Folding her hands together, she lets out a sigh. “Add to that the trauma of the kidnappings, and there was little chance Inessa would find a way to crawl out of the darkness.”
“It’s a wonder she survived.”
