Chapter 164: Family Ghosts
Chapter 164: Family Ghosts
The Kozlov estate was smaller than Anya remembered.
Or maybe she’d just grown bigger. Stronger. Too big to fit back into the gilded cage that had once trapped her.
Viktor pulled up to the gate. The guard saw them. Surprise. Fear etched onto his face. But he opened the gate wordlessly.
“You don’t have to do this,” Viktor said as the car climbed the long driveway.
“I know.” Anya looked up at the house. Grand. Elegant. Cold. “But I have to.”
They parked. Elena was waiting on the steps. Her expression was harder. The high polish of the golden child scrubbed away to reveal something… less plastic.
“You came,” Elena said.
“You asked.” Anya got out of the car. “Where are they?”
“The study. Father’s been drinking. Mother’s been pacing.” Elena’s tone was flat. “They’ve done that a lot since Pavel.”
“Since Pavel what? Since he tried to destroy us? Or since they learned he was alive all along?”
“Both.” Elena nodded to the door. “They’re waiting.”
Viktor turned to follow. But Anya stopped him.
“This one I do alone.”
“Anya—”
“I’ll be fine. It’s just my parents.” She touched his cheek. “Stay with Elena. Keep an eye on her.”
Elena flinched at that, but nodded.
Anya went inside. The foyer was the same. Marble floors. Crystal chandelier. Family portraits along the walls.
She’d burned in one of those portraits once. Laughed next to Elena. Played a part in a family that had never truly existed.
The door to the study was open. Dimitri stood by the window. Katarina sat in a chair, hands folded. Both of them turned as Anya entered.
“Anya.” Dimitri’s voice broke. “You came.”
“You asked. Through Elena. As if I was some stranger who required a liaison.” Anya remained near the door. “What do you want?”
“To apologize.” Katarina stood. “For everything. For not believing you about Marcus and Elena. For blaming you when Pavel was beaten. For—”
“For treating me like a disposable child my entire life?” Anya’s voice was icy. “For making it abundantly clear that Elena was the daughter who mattered and I was just the backup?”
Silence.
“We were wrong,” Dimitri said finally. “About many things. About you most of all.”
“You were.” Anya took a step into the room. “But I’m not here for an apology. I’m here for answers.”
“What answers?”
“Did you know? About Pavel. About what he was planning.” Anya watched them. “He spent two years building his network. Collecting intel. Making allies. Did you know?”
“No.” Dimitri’s voice was low. “We thought he was brain damaged. A child. We gave him a stipend but we never imagined—”
“That he was manipulating you? That he was manipulating all of you?” Anya laughed. “Marcus. Elena. Pavel. Even your so-called allies. Everyone saw the weakness and exploited it.”
“We know.” Katarina’s voice cracked. “We know what we lost. The family. The respect. Everything.”
“And now you want what? Redemption? Reconciliation?” Anya shook her head. “I can’t give you that.”
“We’re not asking for that.” Dimitri sank into a chair. “We’re asking for understanding. For a chance to explain.”
“Explain what?”
“Why we set you aside. Why we chose Elena.” Dimitri’s gaze was haunted. “You were always stronger than her. Even as a child. You were so capable. You didn’t need us the way she did.”
“So you cast me aside because I was strong?”
“We failed you because we were cowards.” Katarina’s voice was brittle. “Elena was easy to love. Beautiful. Charming. Obedient. You were difficult. Challenging. Independent. And we didn’t know what to do with that.”
“So you made me feel like I was worthless instead.”
“Yes.” Dimitri nodded. “And we were wrong. About everything. You were the daughter who had the real strength. The real brains. And we wasted it because we were too proud to admit Elena wasn’t cut out for leadership.”
Anya looked at them. The people who’d raised her. Diminished her. Destroyed her sense of self-worth for twenty-five years.
“Pavel told me something before they arrested him,” Anya said softly. “He told me I had potential. That the family wasted me.”
“He was right.”
“He also told me the Kozlov name was poison. That you were weak and delusional. That the whole empire deserved to burn.” Anya stepped closer. “Was he right about that too?”
“Yes.” Katarina’s voice was a whisper. “We built something rotten. Something that couldn’t withstand scrutiny. When you exposed the truth about Marcus and Elena, you didn’t destroy the family. You revealed that it was already destroyed.”
“Then why am I here? Why ask me to come back to a place that represented everything wrong in my life?”
“Because you’re our daughter.” Dimitri stood. “And we wanted you to know that we see it now. What you became. What you built. The council. The alliances. You did what we never could.”
“I did what you never would,” Anya corrected. “Because it required honesty. Sacrifice. Actual strength instead of performance.”
“You’re right.”
“I know I’m right.” Anya turned toward the door. “Is that all?”
“Will you come back?” Katarina asked. “Visit. Let us be part of your life.”
Anya stopped. Thought about it.
“No,” she said at last. “You’re not part of my life anymore. Haven’t been for years. This visit doesn’t change that.”
“Anya, please—”
“I survived you. Both of you. Your neglect. Your favoritism. Your weakness that let the family fall apart.” Anya met their eyes. “I built something better from the ashes. And I did it without you. I don’t need your approval now.”
“We’re still your parents.”
“Biologically. But that’s where it ends.” Anya opened the door. “Goodbye, Dimitri. Katarina. I hope you find whatever peace you’re looking for. But you won’t find it through me.”
She left. Walked down the hall. Through the foyer. Out into the sunlight where Viktor waited.
“How’d it go?” he asked.
“Exactly as expected.” Anya took his hand. “Let’s go home.”
They drove away from the Kozlov estate. Anya didn’t look back.
Behind them, in the study, Dimitri and Katarina sat in silence.
Their last vestige of the empire they’d lost.
Walking away without a second glance.