Chapter 38 Nikolai
I saw him at the exact same moment Marlena did.
Viktor Rousseau. He was standing across the room like he owned it.
Silver hair. Expensive suit. That same predatory smile I'd seen in surveillance photos for fifteen years.
My hand moved before I could think, grabbing Marlena's wrist hard.
She tried to pull away immediately, her body tensing like a coiled spring.
"Let go," she hissed.
"No."
My grip tightened. She wasn't running. She wasn't doing anything stupid not until I figured out what Viktor's play was.
Because this was a play. He'd been waiting for us.
The recognition in his eyes when he looked at Marlena wasn't surprise.
It was satisfaction.
Viktor set down his champagne glass and started walking.
He moved through the crowd like a shark cutting through water.
People parted for him without thinking. Instinct told them to get out of the way.
My free hand moved to my jacket, feeling the weight of the Glock hidden there.
"Stay behind me," I whispered to Marlena. "Now."
"Fuck you –"
"Now." I pulled her slightly behind me as Viktor approached.
She resisted but didn't break free.
Viktor stopped three feet away, close enough to talk but far enough to avoid immediate violence.
His eyes moved over Marlena like she was something he could buy.
"My beautiful daughter," he said. His voice was smooth, cultured, with just a hint of French accent. "You've grown into quite the woman."
Marlena's face went white. All the color drained out like someone had pulled a plug.
Her hand in mine went cold.
I stepped between them fully, blocking his view.
"Viktor." My voice came out flat, emotionless. "Enjoying your party?"
He smiled wider. "Very much. Especially now that you've arrived." His eyes moved to Marlena again, looking around me. "Both of you."
"We're here for the auction," I said. "Nothing more."
"Of course. The auction." Viktor's smile turned mean, soft laughter escaping him. "Tell me, Nikolai Volkov. Did you really think I wouldn't know? Did you think I wouldn't recognize my own daughter when you paraded her through Monaco under a fake name?"
My jaw clenched. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"No?" He pulled out his phone, showing me a photo.
It was us arriving ving at the hotel yesterday.
"You've been watched since you landed," Viktor continued. "Every move. Every step. I knew the moment your plane touched down."
Shit.
"And you brought her right to me." Viktor's eyes gleamed with triumph. "After all these years of hiding her away. You brought her right to my doorstep. Thank you so much."
The words were polite. They made my skin crawl.
Marlena tried to step around me.
I blocked her again, my hand still locked on her wrist.
"We're leaving," I said.
"I don't think so." Viktor's smile stayed in place, but something cold moved behind his eyes. "You came all this way. Surely you'll stay for the main event."
"We're leaving," I repeated.
My hand moved under my jacket, fingers wrapping around the Glock's grip.
Viktor saw the movement. His smile widened.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Then I heard multiple sets of footsteps, moving in from every direction.
Guards emerged from the crowd. There were six of them, maybe eight.
All with weapons concealed under their jackets but hands positioned to draw in seconds.
They formed a loose circle around us, cutting off exits.
The other guests noticed. Conversations died. Heads turned.
The string quartet kept playing, but the music felt wrong now.
My hand stayed on the Glock. I could draw and maybe get off two shots before they returned fire.
But Marlena was right behind me. If bullets started flying, she'd be caught in the crossfire.
I couldn't risk it.
"Let us walk out," I said quietly. "We'll disappear. You'll never see either of us again."
"Now why would I do that?" Viktor tilted his head. "I've waited years to get my daughter back. Years of watching her from a distance, unable to approach. And you've delivered her to me gift-wrapped."
"I'm not your daughter." Marlena's voice came from behind me, shaking with rage. "I stopped being your daughter when you abandoned us."
Viktor's eyes moved to her. Something flickered in them that might have been genuine emotion.
"Marlena, my dear. You don't understand –"
"I understand perfectly." She tried to step around me again. This time I let her.
She stood beside me, her back straight, chin raised.
She looked fearless, magnificent and terrifyingly vulnerable.
"You let Mom rot in prison," Marlena continued. "You abandoned Luka and me. You built your new life while we struggled to survive."
"I had no choice –"
"There's always a choice." Her voice was pure venom. "You chose yourself. You always did."
Viktor's expression hardened. "You know nothing about the sacrifices I made –"
"Sacrifices?" Marlena laughed, bitter and sharp. "You want to talk about sacrifices? While you were living in this villa, drinking champagne, I was forging art to pay for Luka's cancer treatment. I sold my soul to save him. Where were you?"
The room had gone silent. Everyone was watching now.
The guards stayed in position, hands ready.
I pulled the Glock free slowly, keeping it pointed down but visible.
"Last chance," I said to Viktor. "Let us walk out."
Viktor's eyes moved to the gun, then to his guards.
They all drew simultaneously. Eight weapons pointing at us from every angle.
I'd been in firefights before and I knew the odds and how this would end if it came to shooting.
We'd both die. Marlena and me. We'd be cut down before we made it three steps.
"Put the gun down, Nikolai," Viktor said softly. "Don't make this uglier than it needs to be."
"Let her go." My voice was steady despite my racing heart. "This is between us. Between our families. She has nothing to do with it."
"She has everything to do with it." Viktor's smile returned. "She's mine. My blood. My daughter. And you've kept her from me long enough."
Marlena's hand moved to her clutch. I saw it from the corner of my eye.
She had a knife in there.
"Don't," I whispered to her. "Not now."
"I'm not leaving with him," she whispered back.
"You won't have to. I promise."
Viktor watched our exchange with amusement. "How touching. The great Nikolai Volkov, playing hero. Tell me, does she know? Does she know the real reason you married her?"
My blood went cold.
"Does she know about Elena?" Viktor continued. "About what really happened in Moscow? About why our families are connected in ways even you don't fully understand?"
Marlena stiffened beside me. "What's he talking about?"
"Nothing," I said. "He's stalling."
"Am I?" Viktor's smile was poison. "Or am I the only one telling the truth?"
Around us, the other guests had started backing away slowly, not wanting to get caught in whatever was about to happen.
The circle of guards tightened slightly.
I kept my gun pointed down but ready to raise it in a heartbeat.
Marlena's hand was still on her clutch. Her breathing had quickened.
The villa's beautiful facade had cracked. Now it just felt like a trap and we'd walked
right into it.
People whispered to each other behind hands, backing toward exits, eyes wide with fear and excitement.
Rich people loved drama as long as it didn't touch them directly