Page 107 of The Umarova Crime Family

“Good to know. I hate to cut this call short, Santos, but I really need to get going. There are a few things I need to handle.”

“Okay, I’ll chat with you later.”

Eset and I say our goodbyes, and it’s not even a couple of seconds before my phone rings again, but this time it’s my father. “Hello, Father,” I say into the phone as I answer it.

“Santos, we need to talk. I heard some troubling rumors about you.”

Okay, so someone told him I was in Mexico City other than to deal with the problem my father had. I’ll play it cool. There’s no other way out of this. “What sort of rumors are circulating now?”

There’s a brief pause before my father speaks up. “I had a report from someone that you were seen entering Alejandro’s compound.”

“Alejandro? And yet somehow, you’re speaking to me right now? If I’d gone in, there would be no way for me to make it out of there alive. He knows I’m loyal to you.”

“That’s what I thought as well.”

“Has anyone reported me coming out of the compound?”

“No, they didn’t, which I find odd.” It isn’t odd at all because I went out through an underground tunnel, which leads a few streets over. I know my father has spies everywhere, and I know that someone would’ve reported something to him. That’s why I didn’t leave the same way I went in.

“Are you sure this informant is reputable? I mean, think about it, if I went into Alejandro’s compound, I wouldn’t be speaking to you right now, and surely they would’ve seen me coming out of the compound, wouldn’t they?”

“Ah, I suppose you’re right. Maybe my informant doesn’t know what they’re talking about. I apologize, son. I’m a bit rattled right now. Lu has been missing for a few days, and I don’t know what to think about it. She isn’t returning my calls, and I’m very worried about her.”

“Do you know where she was?”

Again, my father goes quiet. He doesn’t want to admit that Lu was in London. “She was in London handling some things for me, but she went quiet, and no one has heard anything from her since.”

“That’s odd, don’t you think?” I know for a fact that Lu has gone quiet on my father on more than one occasion, so hopefully, he’ll think it’s just her, and she’ll pop up.

“It is, but remember, she’s done this to me before.” There we have it… my father thinks Lu has gone AWOL on him, and that’s exactly what I want. It’s obvious he hasn’t gotten her head in the mail yet, but when he does, I’m sure I’m going to hear about it.

Chapter Twelve

Eset

It’s already been two weeks, and I’m back in London, in the Oliver Messel suite at the Dorchester. Typically, when I come, I get a standard suite that is only a little bit bigger than their regular rooms. But my sisters, Amelia and Emily, talked me into getting a penthouse this time because I’m getting married. They’re so very excited for me, and I don’t know if they understand this isn’t some union created out of love. They’re not idiots, but I think deep down they believe I have some sort of attachment to Santos, only that isn’t true. I’m not even holding my breath that we’ll become something, but I do think we’re on our way to becoming good friends.

When I spoke to him a couple of days after he’d left to go back to Mexico, I ended up telling him about my mother and what she said about her cancer diagnosis. He and I had a good conversation about it, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel very supported and cared about by Santos at that moment. It was a lovely change, and in time, I think we’re only going to be getting closer. Even if we’re friends for our entire marriage, I’ll be happy with that. We can come up with some sort of arrangement for me to provide him heirs and for the two of us to get our sexual needs met elsewhere. However, those conversations will happen in due time.

I’m sitting down at the table directly in front of the massive windows in the living area of the suite. The windows look out onto the spacious rooftop terrace and then give beautiful imagery of the London skyline. The terrace has some potted plants out there, but not too many since it’s the end of November, and it’s been getting rather cold as of late. I’m honestly surprised it isn’t raining yet, but it hasn’t rained since I arrived. Amelia told me that’s a good omen that the wedding will go off without a hitch, and I hope she’s right. Emily, of course, backed her up, and I got a kick out of those two.

My brothers are all staying at the Dorchester as well, and I’m certain Santos is, too, but I haven’t asked him. I’m sure we’ll text each other at some point today since we’re set to get married in two hours at the National Gallery. It feels very much like it’s meant to be, considering the National Gallery is where we had one of our first dates. I can’t wait to see what the museum did to prepare it for a wedding. They asked me a few questions when I made the booking, but other than that, I don’t really know what’s going on.

“When do you want to start getting ready, Eset?” Amelia asks me. Today is one of the few times I’ve seen her without Karim in her arms. She’s usually toting him around with her wherever she goes, but Ruslan must be on full daddy duty since today is my wedding day. It’s hard to believe how much time has passed since he was born. Some days it feels like I blinked, and he got this big, but I guess that’s what happens when you have a little one in your family.

“I don’t know, I already finished my makeup, so the next big thing would be getting in the dress and getting to the venue, right?”

Amelia nods. “Yeah, we probably have another hour before we need to head over there and check things out. I’m dying to see you in your dress, though,” Amelia whines slightly, which causes me to laugh.

I was fortunate enough to find a unique, one-of-a-kind dress in Paris last week. It’s a gorgeous mermaid dress with sparkles and pearl beads across every piece of fabric, and there are two detachable flares that fan out at the hips. I think it gives it a more regal look, and it’s been hanging up in my penthouse suite since I got here. Amelia and Emily are practically drooling over the thing.

There are small sleeves that drape mid-way down my shoulders, attaching to my bust area, which is a nice swoop neck. My waist is nipped in by a corset, and then there’s some ruching around my hip area, causing the sparkling fabric to really pop. It stops just below my butt and then falls into a long, luscious train. I chose this dress because I knew it would look breathtaking under the illumination of lights when we take photos this evening.

“I know you both are, but it will be worth it. I promise. Are you two going to get changed into the gowns I bought for you?” I asked my sisters to be my bridesmaids because there was no one else I could imagine being by my side.

Emily is pregnant, so her dress has a thick strap that goes over one shoulder, and her dress is tight around her stomach, accentuating her growing belly. Amelia, on the other hand, has the same color of forest green dress, but there’s a slight difference in the style. She has a halter dress that slides around her neck, and the fabric covers her breasts well, but there is a small triangle-shaped cutout in that area before the rest of the dress continues. Both of the dresses are longer, going down about an inch before their heels hit the ground.

“Yeah, I’ll go get mine on right now,” Amelia says. Grabbing her dress, she heads into the bathroom while Emily takes a seat across from me.

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