Page 47 of Arranged with Twins
I turn back to face him. “What did you find?”
“Vincent accepted a private loan eight months ago from an offshore account that traces back to Adrian’s network. This is in addition to the smaller loans he’s since taken from various sources, including more from Adrian.” Ilya spreads documents across my desk. “The initial amount was fifteen million, with repayment structured in quarterly installments.”
“Eight months ago.” I calculate the timeline. “Right when his European investments started collapsing.”
“Exactly. The first two payments were made on schedule, but he’s missed the last three.” Ilya points to a series of bank transfers. “More concerning are these phone records.”
I examine the call logs he’s highlighted. “Weekly calls to a burner number.”
“Which we’ve traced back to Adrian’s communication network. The calls started around the time Vincent missed his first payment.” Ilya leans back in his chair. “Vincent isn’t just desperate, Leo. He’s already compromised.”
I curse aloud. “The marriage treaty wasn’t about salvation. It was about playing both sides.”
“Vincent owes Adrian money and probably promised cooperation with whatever Adrian is planning for you in exchange for extensions. Meanwhile, he’s trying to use your engagement to Sienna as protection and a source of new investment.” Ilya’s expression grows dark. “He’s essentially using his daughter as collateral while passively betraying you.”
“He might not be targeting me. This tactic is one he’s used in the past. If Vincent is his target, Adrian will move against him directly, which indirectly means moving against Sienna.”
Ilya meets my stare directly. “I concur, but I still believe Adrian is perhaps running two plans—to force Vincent to cede all control of his company and to use his connection to Sienna to spy on you or set you up for something.”
“You’re probably right.” I sink into my chair, mind racing through scenarios and contingencies. “Vincent’s caught between debt and loyalty, but he’s gambling that he can manipulate both sides long enough to find a third option.”
“Is there a third option?”
“Not one that keeps everyone alive.” I look up at Ilya, seeing my own grim assessment reflected in his expression. “Vincent made a deal with Adrian, took his money, and now he’s trapped. Every day he delays repayment or cooperation makes Adrian more dangerous.”
“What about Sienna? Does she know about any of this?”
I instinctively shake my head. “She knows her father’s business is struggling, but she doesn’t understand the full scope of his involvement with Adrian. She still believes Vincent would never betray family, but there’s no way she’s helping him orchestrate my downfall, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
She knows what I am. She’s seen enough to understand my world comes with blood on its hands. The attack at the Ritz, the weapons training, and the security details that follow her everywhere isn’t a secret anymore. She’s still protected though. She doesn’t know what her father’s done, and she’d never help him or Adrian bring me down.
Ilya doesn’t argue with my insistence Sienna isn’t involved in any plot against me. “Will you tell her about her father’s failure and possible scheming?”
I consider the question carefully. Vincent’s betrayal would cut her deeply. Sienna deserves the truth, but the truth about her father’s choices will devastate her. Learning Vincent has been risking his family’s future and fortune would hurt her, but knowing the danger her father faces might be too much for her with the pregnancy.
“Not yet.” The decision feels right, but I don’t know if she’d agree with me protecting her. “I can’t risk it until I have complete proof and a plan for protecting her from the fallout.”
He frowns, and his tone carries a warning. “That’s dangerous, Leo. Keeping secrets from someone you care about rarely ends well, especially when those secrets involve threats to their safety.”
“I’m not telling her for her safety. Hers, and the… babies.” It’s the first Ilya is hearing of this, and I brace for his reaction.
He stiffens then freezes. “Babies?”
I nod slowly. “She’s having twins, and that doubles the risks of pregnancy. Too much stress might be more than she can handle.”
He frowns more deeply. “Stress isn’t good, but neither is being in the dark. Her father is facing danger, and there’s a possibility she could be drawn into it too, especially if Adrian is scheming against you.”
“Everything about caring for someone in our world is dangerous, so all I can do is minimize the risk and ensure Adrian can’t get to her regardless of his plans for Vincent or me.” I stand and move back to the window to avoid his penetrating gaze. “For the first time since I was seventeen, I want something more than survival and revenge. I want a future with Sienna and our children.”
“You’re in love with her.” Ilya states like he knows everything.
I sigh. “Yes, you’re right, but you’re a little too sure of yourself.”
He laughs a little through his nose. “It’s obvious, actually. To everyone but you.”
“Oh, it’s obvious to me, too. I’m completely, irrevocably in love with a woman who deserves better than the world I’ve dragged her into.”
He seems to be uncertain what to say for a moment but finally asks, “Does she feel the same way?”
