Page 13 of Zafira

The words hurt more than if he had slapped her across the face. She might have chased him away, but she had lived in hope every single day that he would return. Walk through her door and take his place as her protector, silently and firmly keeping her safe and cared for without saying a word—like he had done so many times over the years. She had always felt his love when he was close, no matter what had happened between them.

Now, for the first time... there was nothing.

“You are such a fool, Comare,” Andrei said.

“I don’t want to hear it, Andrei,” she said in a cold voice.

“You’re going to anyway,” he said unperturbed. “Do yourself a favor, Comare, and use one of those resources Bogdan mentioned, and you will realize just what a fool you have been all these years.” His lips thinned. “And just how many lies you were fed about my father... a man who had given up his entire fortune and a life of untold luxury to be trampled on like a cockroach by your father and husband.”

“What are you talking about, Andrei?” Arian asked with a warning frown. It didn’t matter that they loved Andrei like a brother and Bogdan like a father. They were still very loyal to the memory of Viktor Guzun.

“My father, Bogdan Rusu, was the sole heir of the Grand Duke Matvey Mikhailovich Romanov—had been since he was twenty-one years old. He is the only surviving Grand Duke Romanov. His castle has been serviced and staffed all these years while he continued to be nothing other than your mother’s fucking lackey!”

“Mom!” Vanya’s scream was the last Zafira heard as pure exhaustion and anemia lost the battle she had been fighting for the past year. The claws of darkness wrapped around her and squeezed, harder and harder until she couldn’t breathe.

She didn’t realize the strong arms that caught her before she fell were those of Bogdan, who had noticed her losing consciousness and rushed back toward her.

Bogdan... her trusted bodyguard... her protector... and the man her heart just couldn’t let go.

Chapter Six

A week later, Medpark International Hospital, Chisinau, Moldova...

“Destul! I’ve had enough of this hospital bed. You’re all treating me as if I am a frail old woman who had a heart attack.” Zafira resolutely pushed off the covers and swung her legs over the side.

“No, you didn’t have a heart attack, but you are frail. Don’t give me that look. You’re malnourished, Mama, which will lead to a heart attack, diabetes, or who knows what!” Vanya’s attempt to physically push her mother back into the bed was futile as Zafira slapped her hands away.

“Blyad’, Vanya! I’m a grown woman and your mother. You are not going to tell me what to do. I am going home. Now. Today, and no one is going to stop me.” She pointed at the hulk of a man who leaned negligently against the door, watching them with amusement. “You brought muscle man for naught. Not even he is going to keep me in bed.”

“Well, now that sounds like a challenge, and one I’m more than happy to oblige.” His voice sounded calm and filled with ridicule, forcing her furious gaze to slap onto his Goliath frame. “That is if Vanya is willing to leave. I wouldn’t want you to embarrass my daughter-in-law by begging me to get under the sheets with—”

“One more word from you, Bogdan Rusu... just one and I’ll... I’ll...”

Vanya stared at her mom wide-eyed. It was the first time the monarch of the family was at a loss for words. Not only that but her cheeks were also blistered with a rosy glow. Blushing! Zafira Guzun had never done either of those.

“Yeah? You’ll what? Chase me away again? Good luck with that.” He crossed his arms. “Or did you forget, Ms. Guzun? I don’t work for you. In fact, I am nothing to you.” A tender smile crossed his face as he glanced at Vanya. “Well, apart from sharing a daughter with you and future grandchildren.” His eyes turned dark. “Them I will protect with every fiber in my being... even against you, if it ever came to that.”

“You svoloch'! How dare you insinuate that I would ever hurt my own daughter or her—”

“Okay, that’s quite enough,” Vanya interjected quickly. “If you two want to wash your dirty laundry, I suggest you do so in private before your torrid affair is slathered across every tabloid in the country.”

“Rusu is the last man on earth with whom I’d have a torrid affair!”

“I have no interest in an affair with this heartless woman, torrid or otherwise.”

The two responses bombarded Vanya from both sides simultaneously. She hid a delighted smile. Her instincts about them had been spot on. Her mother had been slowly withering away ever since Bogdan had left. The haunting look she had seen in his eyes was proof that he also hadn’t been happy in Tampa. It was time they set the record straight. One way or the other, they had to find each other.

Vanya wasn’t going to rest until she found a way to light the fire between them that had been simmering for as far back as she could remember.

The parking lot, Medpark International Hospital, Chisinau, Moldova...

A shadow in the fading twilight, the man moved with the practiced grace of a cat. His silhouette blended into the surrounding darkness, allowing him to move unnoticed on the rooftop of the building across the street from the hospital. He was dressed in black, his clothing blending perfectly with the shadows.

“Ahh, there you are,” he all but cooed as his sharp gaze caught the movement just inside the swivel door. “So, my sources were accurate. Zafira Guzun is in hospital. How quaint and appropriate. Now they can just take you straight to the morgue while your soul joins your useless husband in hell.” The words echoed through the air from thinly pressed lips. “Odio, cazzo the Guzuns! So, fucking much!”

Settling onto his stomach, he placed the butt of the rifle against his shoulder, adjusting the stock for comfort. His gloved hands gripped the firearm with steady precision as his finger curled lightly on the trigger. Forcing his breathing to slow, he prepared to take aim.

Luciano Maranzano’s gaze was sharp through narrowed eyes as he scanned the target area using the rifle’s scope. His mind was calm and focused, a stark contrast to the tense anticipation that seemed to hum in the air. He adjusted the scope slightly, aligning the crosshairs with his chosen target. Usually, he would have appointed an assassin for the task, but after what the Guzuns and Andrei Balan, who now apparently changed his name to Rusu, had done to him, he didn’t trust anyone. More than that, he wanted the satisfaction of being the one to snuff out their last breaths... one after the other. Starting with the Matriarch of the family.

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