Chapter 149 Chapter 149

Chapter 149 Chapter 149
Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Nine

Irina

I woke up to Nikolai crying. The sound pulled me from sleep instantly. I got up and went to his room. He was standing in his crib, tears on his face, arms reaching for me.

"Mommy is here," I whispered, picking him up. "Mommy is here."

He calmed down immediately. Buried his face in my neck. His little body warm against mine.

I held him for a long time. Rocking him gently. Thinking about everything that had happened. The footage. The face. Viktor.

It could not be true. Viktor had been nothing but kind to me since I came here. He protected me. Watched over me. Made sure I was safe.

But the face on the screen was his. There was no denying that.

Nikolai fell back asleep in my arms. I laid him down gently. Covered him with his blanket. Kissed his forehead.

"I will protect you," I whispered. "No matter what."

I left his room and went to find Dimitri. He was in his office, sitting at his desk, staring at his computer screen. The footage was playing again.

"Have you been up all night?" I asked.

"Yes," he admitted.

"Any new ideas?"

He shook his head. "Just more questions. Who is behind this? How long has Viktor been working against us? Is he working alone?"

"What does your gut tell you?" I asked.

Dimitri looked at me. "My gut tells me something is wrong. But my heart tells me Viktor is loyal."

"Then maybe your heart is right."

"Maybe," he said. "But I cannot take that chance. Not with our family at risk."

I walked over and put my hand on his shoulder. "We will figure this out. Together."

He covered my hand with his. Squeezed gently. "I do not know what I would do without you."

"You do not have to find out," I said.

There was a knock on the door. Alexei entered. His face was tired. Dark circles under his eyes.

"Could not sleep either?" Dimitri asked.

"No," Alexei replied. "I kept thinking about Viktor. About all the times he saved us. Protected us. It does not make sense."

"Maybe that is the point," I said. "Maybe he has been playing the long game. Gaining our trust so he could destroy us from the inside."

"Then why not do it years ago?" Alexei asked. "Why wait until now?"

That was a good question. If Viktor wanted us dead, he had plenty of opportunities. Plenty of chances. Why wait?

"Unless something changed," Dimitri said. "Unless someone new came into the picture."

"Like who?" I asked.

"I do not know," Dimitri admitted. "But the voice on the phone said Viktor is a tool. That means someone is using him. Controlling him."

"Blackmail?" Alexei suggested. "Maybe someone has something on him."

"Or maybe he is protecting someone," I said. "Like Mikhail was protecting us."

Dimitri looked at me. "That is possible. We need to dig into his past. Find out everything about him."

"We cannot do that without him knowing," Alexei said.

"Then we do it carefully," Dimitri replied. "We assign someone else to watch him. Someone we trust completely."

"And who is that?" I asked. "After Viktor, who can we trust?"

The question hung in the air. It was a good question. If our most trusted man was a traitor, then who was left?

"We trust each other," Dimitri said finally. "The three of us. And Mikhail, once he is out."

"What about the others?" Alexei asked.

"We watch them too," Dimitri said. "Everyone. Until we know who is on our side and who is not."

It was a hard plan. But it was the only plan we had.

That afternoon, we got news from the lawyer. Mikhail was being released. The judge had reviewed the evidence and agreed that his confession was coerced. He would be out by evening.

I went with Dimitri and Alexei to pick him up. He looked older when he walked out of the jail. Weaker. But there was relief in his eyes.

"Thank you," he said when he saw us. "For believing me."

"You are family," Dimitri said. "We should have believed you from the start."

Mikhail nodded. "We all made mistakes. But now we need to focus on the real enemy."

We drove him back to the safehouse. Gave him a room. Food. Rest. He needed time to recover.

That night, we gathered in the living room. All of us except Viktor. He was on guard duty outside.

"We need to talk about Viktor," Dimitri began.

Mikhail looked surprised. "Viktor? What about him?"

Dimitri explained everything. The footage. The phone call. The voice saying Viktor was a tool.

Mikhail listened quietly. When Dimitri finished, he was silent for a long time.

"I have known Viktor for fifteen years," Mikhail said finally. "He was loyal to your father. He has been loyal to you. I find it hard to believe he would betray you."

"Then explain the footage," Alexei said.

"I cannot," Mikhail admitted. "But I also cannot ignore the possibility that someone is setting him up."

"That is what I have been thinking," I said. "The voice on the phone said he was a tool. That means someone else is pulling the strings."

"Then we need to find out who," Mikhail said. "And Viktor might be the key."

"How?" Dimitri asked.

"We watch him," Mikhail replied. "But not from a distance. We get close to him. We earn his trust even more. And we wait for him to slip."

"That could take months," Alexei said.

"It could," Mikhail agreed. "But finding the truth takes time. You cannot rush it."

Dimitri looked at me. Then at Alexei. Then back at Mikhail.

"Okay," he said. "We do it your way. But if he makes a move against us, we end it."

"Agreed," Mikhail said.

The next few days were strange. We acted normal around Viktor. Talked to him like nothing had changed. Asked his advice on things. Included him in discussions.

But we
were always watching. Always waiting for him to make a mistake.

He did not.

He was the same Viktor he had always been. Loyal. Protective. Professional. If he was hiding something, he was very good at it.

Then one night, everything changed.

I was in Nikolai's room, feeding him his bottle. It was late. Everyone else was asleep. The house was quiet.

Then I heard it. A soft sound from outside. Like footsteps.

I froze. Listened. Waited.

Nothing.

I told myself it was nothing. Just my imagination. But I could not shake the feeling that someone was out there.

I finished feeding Nikolai. Laid him down. Then went to the window and looked out.

At first I saw nothing. Just darkness. Then a figure moved. Just for a second. Near the trees at the edge of the property.

Someone was out there.

I ran to get Dimitri. Found him in his room. He was awake, staring at the ceiling.

"Someone is outside," I whispered. "Near the trees."

He was up instantly. Grabbed his gun. Woke Alexei and Viktor.

We went outside together. Viktor leading the way. His gun drawn. His eyes scanning the darkness.

We reached the trees. Found nothing. No one. But there were footprints in the dirt. Fresh ones.

"Someone was here," Viktor said. "Recently."

Dimitri looked at me. Then at Viktor. I could see the conflict in his eyes. Was Viktor the one watching? Or was he protecting us from someone else?

"Check the perimeter," Dimitri ordered. "Make sure they are gone."

Viktor nodded and moved off into the darkness.

When he was gone, Dimitri turned to me. "Did you see who it was?"

"No," I said. "Just a shape. A figure."

"Could it have been Viktor?"

I thought about it. The figure had been near the trees. Viktor had been inside with us. Unless he had someone else out there.