Page 114 of Emperor of Havoc

Her glare sharpens. “I do,” she snaps.

I lean forward slightly. “He’s a brilliant man, Nina—ruthless, cunning, always thinking five steps ahead. That’s why the Ishida-kai is so powerful. You don’t imagine for a second that he doesn’t see you as leverage?”

“I’m notleverage,” she hisses, but there’s hesitation now, the crack growing.

I lean back, giving her space. “You’re a smart woman, Nina. You know what he’s capable of. Hell, you’ve benefited from it. And you’ve also been shaped by it. Every decision he makes, every move, every word—it’s calculated. Always.”

“What’s your point?” she asks quietly, her grip on the book loosening.

“Mypoint,” I say slowly, “is that no one is infallible—not even Kolya. And if you think he doesn’t have secrets…dark ones…you’re fooling yourself. I’m just saying, maybe it’s time to stop assuming he’s perfect.”

She stares at me for a long time. I can see the wheels turning in her mind, the doubts I’m planting taking root. I just need her to lean in to that doubt a little more. Get a little closer.

“I need your help,” I say.

Her lips purse, and I can see the conflict in her eyes. Finally, she exhales deeply and sets down her cup.

“What do you need?”

I keep my expression neutral, though a surge of satisfaction races through me. “I’m looking for something regarding someone I used to know— a friend of mine who might have done business with Kolya.” My jaw tightens. “Business that may have gone…badly.”

She stiffens.

“Look, Nina, all I want is the truth. I’m not trying to use it, or make it something bigger, or even try to come for Kolya with it. I’m married to his daughter. That makes him and me family.”

It’s almost alarming to me how easily I can bend the truth sometimes, or falsify my own emotional state.

“I just want to know what happened to my friend. I’ve tried, but it’s like any mention of him has been erased from Kolya’s records.” I lean a little closer, lowering my voice conspiratoriallyand injecting a wistful, sad note into it. “Do you…I mean, is thereanywherehe might hide his more…let's say…jarringrecords?”

Nina swallows, looking away, wetting her lips with her tongue.

“Nina,” I press quietly. “I know you’re happier here than you were with your birth family. But if you knew in your heart there wassomethingoff about how it all happened, and that there was an important piece of the puzzle missing, and then someone told you it was right there behind a locked door…” I reach out and lay a hand on one of hers. “Wouldn’t you want to open that door? Just toknow? Because that’s how I feel about my missing friend. I just have toknow.”

The kitchen goes utterly silent. Nina keeps her gaze averted. But I can see her breathing getting heavier, her throat working.

And then finally…success.

She turns to me slowly, her eyes flickering over my face. “There’s…a room in the basement,” she says quietly. She glances behind her, as if checking if we’re being watched or listened to. Then she slowly slides off of her stool. “Come with me,” she croaks quietly.

I bite back my triumphant grin.

I follow her through the house, down a staircase that leads to the finished basement. Through that, there’s another door leading down a much darker, narrower staircase to some sort of sub-basement. At the bottom, she stops in front of a scratched, battered steel door.

Nina nervously glances around, then taps a code into the keypad lock. The mechanism clicks, and the door creaks open.

“Be quick,” she mutters, moving aside to let me in.

I step into the room, eyes adjusting to the dim light. Shelves line the walls, filled with boxes and files. A desk sits in the center, its surface cluttered with papers and photographs. It’s exactly what I was hoping for.

And then before I can move further, I hear the sound of gun being cocked.

Shit.

I turn, coming face to face with Nina leveling a gun at me, her hands steady, her expression ice-cold.

“You really thought I’d betray Kolya?” she snaps, her voice sharp and furious, and maybe even a little amused. “I mean, are you fucking serious?”

She barks a cold laugh, shaking her head.

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