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I grin with violent satisfaction. “Good.”
When I hang up, Emma is staring at me curiously, but she doesn’t ask what that was about. Probably because she assumes I wouldn’t tell her.
“That was Kirill,” I explain. “He wanted to let me know that any remaining threat Remmy might’ve posed to you and the kids is gone now.”
She raises her eyebrows. “H-how?”
“For one, I bought the newspaper that Remmy worked for just so that I could squash the story he wrote about us.”
Her jaw snaps open. “That must have cost you a fortune.”
I shrug. “Luckily, I have several of those to spare.”
“B-but… Remmy can always go to other newspapers and sell the story there. Or print an anonymous thing, like a letter to the editor or whatever. Or even just publish online—”
“He won’t be writing, printing, or publishing anything else.”
The vein in her forehead is jumping erratically now. “Y-you mean… do you mean that he’s—”
I don’t pull any punches. “He’s dead, Emma.”
She pales. For a moment, I wonder if perhaps there’s such a thing as too much honesty. After all, she is still not familiar with the inner workings of my world. She might object on moral grounds even if she believes Remmy deserved what he got.
Her face gets solemn and tight. “Why did you tell me that?”
“Because I want you to be my equal partner.” I hold her face between my hands. “I don’t want to have to hide these things from you, Emma. If you don’t want to know, then I won’t tell you. But if you do… then everything is yours. The good, the bad, and the ugly. All of it.”
She entwines her fingers with mine and gives me a tentative glance. “Thank you… for telling me all that.”
“I told you: I’m going to keep you and the kids safe. This is for the long haul.”
Her forehead vein is back, twitching, a tiny little voice of doubt she can’t quite shake off yet. But that’s okay. Trust takes time.
And I’m willing to give this as much time as it needs.
35
EMMA
“‘Emergency custody hearing’?” Isabel Costa’s face doesn’t change when I echo her words back to her. “What on earth does that mean?”
I’m hoping that she doesn’t take my tone personally. I’m not shoutingather; more like, I’m shoutingaroundher.
She purses her lips. “It seems your parents have decided to push the hearing forward after discovering that your brother-in-law has skipped town. They want to sue for custody.”
I jump to my feet and shove the papers away from me. “Ihave custody of those kids. Ben signed away his rights tome.”
Isabel adjusts her green-rimmed glasses and nods. “It may be that your parents are unaware of that. Or maybe they just don’t care. Either way, we will need to attend this hearing so that we can clear things up.”
I’m hearing footsteps down the hall, coming towards the living room. “Be straight with me, Isabel. Do I stand a chance of losing custody of the kids? Even with Ben’s signed consent?”
“It’s highly unlikely—”
My heart stops for a beat. “‘Highly unlikely’?That implies that there’s a chance of a yes!”
“There’s no chance,” Ruslan snarls as he storms into the living room. “Not a fucking chance in hell they’re taking those kids away from you.”
Isabel looks extremelyuncomfortable. “Ruslan… I’m not sure giving Emma guarantees is necessarily the best idea. We need to be realistic. The fact is that Emma is young. She’s also struggled with providing for the children in past years. If her parents can make the case that she’s an unfit guardian, then—”
