Page 132 of Sweet Obsession
“She’s the only part that matters. She’s why you’re weak.”
I drew in a breath through my teeth. “Let my father go and you can have the estate.”
“Volgograd?” He laughed again, cruel and short. “I don’t want your fucking estate. I want Luna. I want to see what it takes to make the fire in her eyes go out.”
I hung up.
Didn’t smash the phone. Didn’t scream. I just stood there, chest heaving, hands trembling, while the silence collapsed around me like ash.
I couldn’t tell her. Not now. Not while her smile, her real fucking smile, was still burned into my mind, lingering like a wound I didn’t know how to heal.
I called Oleg. Ordered full lockdown. Then had Nikolai brought to me.
He entered stiff, already guessing. His mouth was a grim line. “What happened?”
“Chernov has my father,” I said flatly. “He’ll execute him the moment I’m seen at the banquet.”
Nikolai’s face paled. “That’s a declaration.”
“It’s war.”
He exhaled slowly. “Then let’s end it now. Give the order. I’ll take a team...”
“No.” My voice cracked like ice. “We win the vote first. That gives us control. Authority. Without it, we’re playing defense in our own grave.”
He nodded, eyes cold. “Then we hit after.”
“Yes. From the top down. The elders. Lev. Chernov. Alexei. I want the entire fucking Odessa line turned to dust.”
“My sister’s missing too,” he said quietly. “Same warning. Same terms. They want silence for blood.”
I didn’t flinch. I couldn’t afford to.
“Call Gleb Romanov,” I said. “He’s the only one I trust with this. Tell him two targets—my father, your sister. Stealth only. No mistakes.”
Nikolai hesitated. “And Luna?”
I looked toward the door like I could still hear her breathing down the hall.
“I thought I could take her with me, but not anymore. It’s too risky for her. She stays here. Watched. Guarded. If I don’t come back tomorrow, get her out. Disappear. Burn everything.”
Nikolai gave a tight nod, then left.
The second the door shut, the weight hit me.
What if Gleb failed? What if Chernov’s men cut through mine tomorrow like paper? What if I walked into that banquet and never walked back out?
What if Luna found out?
My throat burned.
Not from fear.
But from the cold, jagged edge of desperation. I’ve survived death. Torture. Betrayal. I’ve clawed my way through blood and fire for power. For survival.
But now, now I was fighting for something else.
Someone.
