Page 92 of Unbreakable Vow

He frowns. “Yeah. I assume.”

“And then she found out you weren’t blood related and that would make it more difficult for you to tear the company from me.”

He nods. “Grandmother found out years ago, and she said it didn’t matter. She said I was still family. But when it came to thebusiness, she fucking gave it away.” He crinkles his face up in disgust. “To you.”

“Yeah. Me,” I huff. “Maybe she put that stipulation on it so that I’d end up marrying someone I didn’t like or even know. She knew the Petrovs have never had a divorce in their family line, and maybe she thought it would be punishment enough if I ended up in a bad marriage.”

He looks down, shaking his head.

“What are you going to do now?” He raises his chin, rolling his shoulders back. A pretense at courage.

“I wanted to destroy the company. Tear it apart piece by piece until the name Kustov was buried forever.” I scroll through my phone again and bring up the documents my attorney sent me. “But I’m not going to do that.”

“What?” He wrinkles his brow.

“I don’t give a shit about the company, and I don’t want anything from that woman.” I hand him back the phone. “I do want the arms division, though. The Petrov company will purchase the division for basically nothing. The other two divisions will remain under the Kustov Metals holding company.”

He scrolls through the document trying to read the legal jargon. “What does that have to do with me?”

“You’re taking the rest of the company. You’ll have the majority shares. I’m signing it all over to you.”

“But the year?—”

“The purchase of the arms division will be completed this afternoon after the board signs off on the sale. Tomorrow, I’m going to break the stipulation, and the rest of the company will roll over to you. The board has already been informed of the change and they will be waiting for you tomorrow at noon for your initial meeting. Everything you need will be there.”

His eyes go wide as he finishes skimming the documents. “You’re just giving it back to me.”

“As far as anyone knows, you’re a Kustov. No one knows the truth about that. Grandmother at least had the decency to take that to her grave. The company rolls to you. And the estates in Russia will revert to you as well.”

“Why are you doing this?” he demands. Smart to be suspicious.

I stand up, taking my phone back from him, and shove it into my back pocket. “I want to.”

“Sergei,” Andrei puts a hand on my shoulder as I pass him.

“It’s done.” I grab his shoulder and squeeze. “I have something more important to deal with right now. Put him back where you found him, yes?”

Andrei nods. “You got it, cousin.”

Viktor gives an approving grunt.

“Good,” I say.

Taking a deep breath, I shoot Maxim a text telling him to bring Cora home. No excuses. No delays.

The next order of business needs to be dealt with.

And I’ve never been more nervous in my fucking life.

Sergei standsin the living room at the window looking out at the gardens when I walk into the guest wing. His body tenses as I shut the door and drop my purse along with my keys on the small table in the entranceway.

“Cora.” My name slips gracefully from his lips as he turns away from the window.

It’s been days since I’ve laid eyes on him.

Longer since I’ve heard him speak to me.

I stand taller, bracing myself for the argument that’s bound to come. The demand that I move back into his bedroom. That I forget all about this temper tantrum and do as he says.

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