Page 121 of Brutal Reign
“How would I? I was practically Simon’s prisoner, and I didn’t want him to know about my inheritance.”
Pavel rises from his chair, moving closer. “I know this is difficult to hear, but it’s important. All the so-called bank delays were just Chen stalling until after the wedding Once you were married, Simon would have a claim over your assets, including the two hundred million.”
Nausea churns in my stomach, and I press my hands to my abdomen. Pavel moves to crouch in front of me, but when he reaches out, I instinctively pull back.
“Chen and Simon have nothing to do with each other. Chen was never part of triad operations. He’s just a lawyer, an old friend of my father’s. All of his business was above board.”
Pavel holds his hands up in a placating gesture. “Maybe that was true at one point, but things have changed. Simon could have approached Chen after your father’s death. Who knows what he offered him to play ball? Simon is broke. He’s leveraged to the teeth, borrowed money from dangerous people. With Black Company’s assets frozen by the authorities, he desperately needs your inheritance.”
My mind races back to all the signs I’d ignored. The skeleton crew at his penthouse. The jewelry that looked expensive but felt cheap. How he’d suddenly become obsessed with cutting costs on everything.
“None of this proves Chen was in on it.” But my voice sounds weaker than before, like I’m not as sure...because a seed of doubt has been planted.
His gaze burns into mine. “If Chen was on your side, you’d be in New Zealand with Kin right now. Think about it. He strung you along with bullshit bank delays, stalled your escape, and now he suddenly has the money on hardware wallets. Even though he claims he’s being followed, that he’s in danger, he’s willing to cross an ocean for an in-person meeting.” He slowly reaches out again, and this time I don’t pull away when his fingers brush mine. “Hope, he’s planning something. I may not have absolute proof, but I know something isn’t adding up.”
My vision blurs as tears well up, the devastating revelation finally sinking in.
Chen, who bounced me on his knee when I was little, who held me at my mother’s funeral and supported my father, who’s been my one constant connection to my old life, he’s been lying to me? Using me? Because if it’s true, then I’ve been nothing buta pawn in everyone else’s game. The uncle I trusted has been manipulating me, just like everyone else.
Pavel gently strokes my cheek, his thumb catching a tear. “I’m sorry that I set you up. I hated having to do it, but we needed to know the truth.”
“God, my life is so fucked up.” I wipe my eyes, trying to process the scope of the betrayal. “Everyone I trusted has been lying to me. Simon, Chen... Even you spied on me.”
Pavel goes still, and something unreadable flickers across his features. “Since we’re being completely honest, there’s something else you need to know. We didn’t kill your father.”
The air rushes from my lungs, and all I can do is blink in response.
“Yes, we raided the compound. Yes, we killed his men, but we were planning to take Lai King alive.” Pavel’s hands tighten where they rest on his knees. “When Maxim reached his office, your father was already dead. He’d killed himself.”
“No,” I whisper, a cold stone settling in my stomach. “Simon saw you kill him. He described the?—”
The words die in my throat as realization dawns. Was that another lie?
Pavel’s eyes never leave mine. “I have nothing to gain from lying to you. Simon’s version doesn’t add up. If he witnessed us kill your father, how is he still alive? We torched the villa shortly afterward.”
“He escaped the same way I did, through the tunnels.”
Pavelshakes his head. “We didn’t kill your father. It’s the truth, Hope.”
I press my fingers into my temples, trying to process this avalanche of revelations. Somewhere deep down, I think I’ve always known Simon’s story had holes in it. There were always details that didn’t quite align, inconsistencies I pushed aside. But now… I don’t know what’s real anymore.
I stand abruptly, nearly knocking over my chair. “I need time alone to process this… away from you.”
But the truth is already taking root, spreading through my system like poison. Everything I thought I knew about my father’s death, about who I could trust, about my own life—it’s all been built on lies.
Pavel stands perfectly still, but I see the fight in his eyes and how much it costs him to keep his distance. “I’m sorry, angel moy. We’re not the good guys here. Your father took his life because of us, but you deserve to know how it really went down.”
The walls close in. I can’t breathe, can’t think. Pavel’s office feels like a cage, and I turn and flee before I fall apart.
CHAPTER
FORTY-THREE
PAVEL
The palette knifescrapes across the canvas in savage strokes, leaving trails of midnight blue and charcoal that mirror the storm inside me. Paint covers my hands and arms, spatters across my bare chest and the waistband of my jeans, but I don’t give a fuck about the mess.
This is how I bleed. This is how I process the weight of what I just did to the woman I love.
