Page 31 of Vendetta Crown

Mikayla notices my unease. Her eyes, too old for her face, track the way I scan the property line. She shifts her chair imperceptibly closer to mine.

"More sugar, Aurora?" Hannah asks, her voice deliberately light as she taps my wrist.

I force a smile. "Yes, please."

I can't stop staring at the cut on Hannah's cheek. Every time I see it, guilt cuts me like a blade.

"I've been meaning to ask," I say, keeping my voice low so the girls can't hear. "How did you get away from him after we left?"

Hannah's fingers tighten around her teacup. "I kept screaming and I just wouldn't stop. A neighbor finally called the police." She gives a bitter laugh. "Ironic, right? When he's a police officer himself."

"And then?"

"The responding officers didn't know what to make of me. I was still tied to the chair when they arrived. I told them some bullshit story about a robbery gone wrong, then called Artyom as soon as they left." Her eyes meet mine. "That's when he told me about the attack on the mansion."

My throat tightens. "Hannah, I'm so sorry."

"It's alright." She cuts me off with a shake of her head. "You'd have done the same for me."

Vera sits quietly beside us, cradling her cup with delicate hands. Her heavy ring catching in the sunlight.

Hannah turns to her. "So why exactly are you here with us, Vera? Last I checked, Las Vegas was quite a ways from here."

Vera's eyes flicker toward me before she answers. "Aurora negotiated my presence as part of her arrangement with my husband."

"Arrangement?" Hannah raises an eyebrow.

I sip my imaginary tea, remembering the moment I saw the Mikonov tattoo on Potyomkin's man. How I leveraged that small detail into Vera's safety.

"Let's just say I made her husband an offer he couldn't refuse," I explain quietly.

Hannah leans forward with a mischievous glint in her eyes despite the cut on her cheek.

"Look at you," she says, nudging my arm. "Negotiating with a Vegas crime boss like you were born into the family business."

I roll my eyes, feeling warmth creep into my cheeks. "I didn't negotiate anything. I just noticed something that gave me leverage."

"Noticed something," Hannah mimics, her voice dropping into an exaggerated mobster accent. "And made him an offer he couldn't refuse."

"Stop it," I mumble, but can't help the small smile tugging at my lips. It feels good to have a moment of lightness after everything.

Vera sets down her teacup with surprising authority, the delicate clink drawing our attention.

"You shouldn't downplay what you did," she says, her voice soft but firm. "I've seen plenty of people try to negotiate with my husband and fail. Strong men. Powerful men. Pakhans who have built empires from nothing." She looks directly at me, her eyes clear and steady. "None have succeeded where you did."

The table falls quiet. Even Stella and Sofia pause their make-believe pouring.

"I didn't do anything special," I say, uncomfortable with the praise. "I just saw an opening and took it."

"That is exactly what makes it special," Vera replies. Her fingers trace the heavy wedding band on her finger. "Most men come to Slava with threats or money. You came with truth. You saw through to the heart of things."

I remember standing in Potyomkin's office, the weight of my desperation and the clarity that came with it.

"When you have nothing left to lose," I say quietly, "you see things differently."

Vera nods, a small smile on her lips. "And that is why you will survive in this world when so many expect you to fail."

I stare into my teacup, watching the imaginary tea ripple with my shaking hand. "But I'm not sure if Icansucceed at any of this."

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