Page 109 of Ruthless Lullaby

We repeat this same routine about five more times. Same question, same fucking answer. It's a pattern I am all toofamiliar with but fuck me if it doesn’t break my goddamn heart every time.

I kiss my mother’s temple. "Do svidaniya, Mama.Timofey will bring you tea and your favorite cookies. I'll see you tomorrow."

I head back to my office and prepare myself for the task at hand. I must know where Mindy has been these past few days. A part of me wonders if this is a good idea at all. Will it only make me miss her more? Will it only make me more pissed? I push aside my doubts and decide to proceed.

But just as I'm about to open Pavel’s message, my phone buzzes with a new message, coming from an untraceable number. It is an unwelcome interruption but my instinct tells me it could be important.

And it fucking is.

What comes into view makes me want to smash my office all over again. It causes my blood to boil and my knuckles to turn white from clenching my phone too tightly.

The images show Mindy and Maurice sitting in a café. They're close to each other, holding hands, looking intimate. Hands intertwined, smiling at each other, all that shit. There are four photos like this, showing the same fucking thing. It’s like a punch to my gut that ignites a fiery rage within me. I can barely contain the urge to exact revenge as I scroll through the damning images.

Ublyudok!

I jab at the speed dial, my voice low and commanding. "Pavel," I growl into the phone. "Get your ass down here,mudak!"

In less than five minutes, my second-in-command is standing in front of me with a questioning look on his face. "What's the rush, boss?"

Without answering, I bring up the pictures on my screen. Pavel leans in, studying them intently with a crease forming between his eyes.

"What do you make of this shit?" I ask, my tone dripping with anger and disdain.

After a pause, he meets my gaze with a serious expression. "You want to know what I think? I think these are doctored, boss. Photoshopped."

Photoshopped?

“You mean like fake?” I ask like a dumbass.

“Look more closely.” Pavel points out with a smug smirk on his face. "Looks like someone is trying to fuck you over with these photos. Have you seen the data I sent you?” he asks.

I gape at him. “Not yet.”

“Then take a look. It’ll tell you everything you need to know. Those manipulated pictures are nothing but a load of horseshit. Need anything else, boss?"

“Nyet. Spasibo, Pavel.” I shake my head, still looking like a dumbass.

Pavel nods and saunters out of my office, leaving me alone with my thoughts and the incriminating evidence in front of me.

As I take a seat at my desk, I quickly scan through the list of addresses Pavel had sent over. The only notable places are achemist's shop, a grocery store, and New York High - meaning she still has gigs at the club. I guess she still needs the money.

But it’s her last hospital visit that sticks out like a sore thumb. She was there almost all day. Why the fuck was she there for so long? Is she sick? Injured? Did something happen to her that I don't know about?

Then it hits me. Of course! Her mother.

The realization hits me like a freight train. I don't even know anything about what’s going on in her life right now. I've been so caught up in my own jealousy and anger that I completely lost sight of what really matters.

My fingers hover over my phone, itching to call her, but I stop myself. Again. If something serious is going on with her, barging in like a fucking caveman and demanding answers isn't going to help the situation.

Instead of being an impulsive idiot, I decide to check the photos again. I scroll through the photos in pure disgust when I notice there's a video too. How the fuck did I miss that before?

I press play and squint at the phone as I try to make out the grainy footage. I see Maurice leaning in towards Mindy, his hand reaching for hers across the table. Envy stabs me like a knife, but after turning up the volume to maximum, I manage to catch the audio. The recording is rough, but the words are unmistakable: "No, Maurice," Mindy's voice rings out. "Too much has changed. I've changed too."

I gape at my phone, trying to make sense of this.

What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Is she turning him down? What if I've been barking up the wrong fucking tree with this whole Maurice thing? What if my fucked-up,possessive brain is playing tricks on me, making me see shit that's not even there? If Mindy was really sneaking around with Maurice, wouldn't there be more to it? More secret little rendezvous points or something? Restaurants, parks, his place, her place?

I must admit, fucking Pavel's got a point again. Maybe those photos are a crock of shit, and my jealous thoughts are just making matters worse. At least Pavel is always there for me when I lose my shit. I need him to keep me level-headed when I can’t think straight. Like now.

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