Page 145 of The Lazarov Bratva

Kristof’s words hit with the force of a physical punch, and my chest constricts so painfully that I can’t breathe. Air lingers, trapped in my lungs, and my tongue flits uselessly in my mouth as I search for words.

They finally come in a rushed gasp. “What?”

“Alyona contacted Mara and told her you were here. I’m not entirely sure when she made first contact, but given what I’ve learned, I imagine it wouldn’t have been long after she found out who you were.”

Kristof’s words are like ice, piercing through the air like droplets of venom.

“She even made the call that told your father that I had left the house, left you wide open for the attack so he could come and get you. He knew you were here. He knew I was coming to him and saw the opportunity to take you back. All because of her.”

“Why? Why…” My thoughts tumble over one another, losing coherency. How did this happen? Yesterday, everything was fine, and now Kristof stands there and tells me Alyona is a traitor.

“Why would she do that?”

His knuckles tighten on the cup, losing all color as he lifts his eyes back to mine. “She refused to let go of bullshit older traditions about a woman’s place. As soon as she learned you were Aleksander’s heir, that you were the sole heir to the Orlova Estate, it became her goal to return you to them. She was loyal to the Family. She wasn’t loyal to me.”

His voice quavers on that last sentence, and my heart punches out of my chest. An overwhelming desire to comfort him rises in my chest, but as I slide halfway off my stool, he takes a step away.

Physical comfort is not what he needs right now.

“I don’t understand,” I whisper. “She was… I thought she was like a mother to you.”

“She was.” He tears his gaze away, hiding his pain. “But I was an ongoing obligation to her, and you… you were just the pawn. She bought into the belief that marriage between Families was enough to soothe cracks of trust. It…”

Emotion bubbles Kristof’s words, and he turns his back to me. Winding my fingers together, I slide fully off the stool, but before I can run to him, Andrev steps in the way.

“We were able to confirm a lot of what was suspected via Alyona’s phone records. She had a burner that we weren’t aware of, so while we had monitored communications, she was able to bypass our security.” Andrev sighs bitterly, and his brow pulls so low that his eyes are swallowed up. “It’s a failure that will not happen again, I swear it.”

“You couldn’t have known,” I assure him quietly. “She kept it a secret and…”

Secret.

Words fail me, and I trail off into silence as the static concern for Kristof swells in my chest. It churns into a weighted ball as another realization hits me like a ton of bricks.

Alyona had been by my side before the attack. She hadn’t let me out of her sight, and she had been pushing me to take the pregnancy test. Had I mistaken her desire for information as motherly kindness?

She had only been looking to learn whether I was pregnant, to see if I was ruined in the eyes of all those who see me as nothing more than a tool.

One hand drops to my belly, and Andrev’s gaze follows. Then his eyes dart to mine, and they widen as he likely connects the same dots that I did.

“If she knew,” I whisper shakily, struggling to control my tongue as a full-body tremble sweeps through me. “Would she tell? Did she have a chance? Do they know?”

If Alyona was working for Mara and my father this entire time, then there’s a terrifying chance that they know about the baby.

“Alena—” Andrev starts to say, but Kristof cuts in.

“Do they know what?”

Brushing past Andrev, I run to Kristof and grip his empty hand. My pulse flies so violently that I can barely hear my own thoughts against the thumping, and my breath quickens.

“We–we have to leave, we have to get away from here. We have to go somewhere far away, really far away, because she knew, oh, my God, she knew!”

Kristof abandons his cup and cups my face with one large hand. His thumb rests just under my jaws, but even his touch isn’t enough to calm the rampant thoughts spiraling around my mind.

“Alena, what are you talking about? What did she know?”

He glances from me to Andrev over my head, and I clutch at his shirt with my other hand.

“She knew everything. She never let me out of her sight, and she… I thought she cared about me, but if it was just to get information, then…”

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