Chapter 16 16

Chapter 16 16


Ivan returned to his seat after revealing his plan to Yelena. He reopened his laptop and began scrolling through a series of details.

“You mentioned you had someone that could watch over her?” Ivan asked.

“Yes” Yelena replied.

“Who is this person?”

“He’s a man I’ve worked with before. He’s efficient and reliable and he listens to orders. He’s done some dirty jobs for me as well without any complications”

“That can’t be it… I can’t possibly have a random guy watch over Katerina, what if something goes wrong?” Ivan said, leaning back in his chair.

“Like what?”

“I don’t know, anything could go wrong”

“You can drop protective act Ivan, Katerina Isn't here” Katerina said tilting her head.

“This is not an act Yelena, I need to be sure that she would be safe, if not, I would rather have her stay here knowing she’s under my watch”

“That’s why you have her sleeping in the same room with you…to… have her under your watch”

“Yelena, I do appreciate your interest in seeing me settle the score, but you must know that there are certain boundaries that ought not to be crossed” Ivan said sternly.

Yelena scoffed folding her arms “I am fully aware, Ivan. Alright, here’s what I’d do. I’d send you his name, you run a full background check , just to be sure he fits your rightful description”

“Good, I’d expect that”

“Have you seen my father” Yelena said changing the subject, easing the tension in the room.

“Considering the attack, I have been in my room for the longest of days. This is actually my first time being back into the office.

“Attack? What attack?”

Ivan’s gaze lifted slowly to her. “You mean you haven’t heard?”

Yelena shook her head slowly in shock.

“ A few days ago, two men got into the estate. Silenced all our guards and came straight for me. I was almost done for until Katerina stepped in”

“She did? “ She asked in disbelief.

“Yes she did! I wouldn’t be alive if she hadn’t come out to save me” Ivan replied.

“Well, at least she’s finally being put to good use”

“Yelena, do you really want to help me figure out how Katerina fits into all of this?”

“Yep, I mean that’s why I am here, being all up in your face” Yelena replied.

“Okay good. So I need you to run a few errands for me… a couple actually”

“Listening” Yelena said softly

“So I want information on her, information about the accident. Not that I believe half the things she says but according to her, she was involved in one”

Yelena scoffed “In her dreams. I hope to God, you don’t believe that nonsense”

“I actually might believe she did get into an accident “

“Wait… what? Oh come on Ivan” Yelena leaned forward.

“Pay attention. I don’t fully believe she’s innocent, but slightly believe she got into an accident. My position is this, she was perhaps running…. Or maybe she was just about to celebrate her successful mission but whoever she worked for decided to get rid of her.”

Yelena thought for long.
“You actually do have a point there.”

“I mean why will she earnestly keep up with the pretense that she doesn’t remember being Sasha.” Ivan continued. “I mean look at her, she doesn’t look like my Sasha”

Ivan shifted in his chair, Sasha’s face flashing briefly in his mind like a ghost from the past.

“She doesn’t” Yelena said nodding slowly.

“Here’s how i see it..,” he grabbed a piece of paper, and as if sketching a map, he began to draw. “ My father was murdered, Sasha was super happy she had completed the job or she was running so I don’t find her out. Then her boss takes her out or perhaps karma… catches up with her”

“So what do you need me to do for you”

“I need more information surrounding the accident, I am talking days before the accident and the days after. Who did she speak to? Where did she go? What were the details of the accident? Was it a hit and run? What was it…. Now that's phase one.”

Yelena learned in trying to make sense of Ivan’s sketches.

“Phase 2 is, what was the accident scene like” He said tapping his sketches. “What caused it? What hospital was she taken to? Which doctor attended to her? How did her mother know about her health and not me? Was she diagnosed with amnesia ? I want to see the doctor's report. What was the cause of her mother’s death? Each of these questions would help us know what the accident meant for Katerina”

“Okay” Yelena nodded.

“If we get the answers to all these questions, I can trace the dots and figure all of these out” Ivan said now relaxed to his chair.

“Definitely, If we get all these questions answered, the work is done. So are you gonna hire private agents to get these answers?”

“Well technically no. I know you have a good eye for detail, so I want you to head the investigation. Every single detail comes directly to me. We don’t have to worry about her movements because she'd remain confined here till I can ascertain your guy is good enough” Ivan replied.

Yelena smiled faintly. “It’s going to be a huge task but I am up to it and I’d get on it right away”

“And Yelena, keep this away from your Dad. Till I am sure of everything then I'll personally let him know.” Ivan said.

“Alright, there’d be no problem. Would that be all?”

“Yes, that would be all. Thank you Yelena, I appreciate this”

“Nothing I won’t do for the family” Yelena said smiling as she took her leave.

Ivan sat still for a while. Then he pulled open a drawer, inside was a pile of folders and files.. As though searching for something missing, he brought out a mini Portrait of Sasha laughing, her hair tousled by the wind.

Wave of emotions ran through his body.

What am I doing? He thought.
Investigating my wife. The woman I once swore to protect with my life.

He had loved Sasha like he had never loved any woman.
He remembered the day they met; one of his morning runs through the city. He had bumped into her, barely stopping to apologize before running along. Then came the sharp tug from behind, a small fist that sent him to the ground.

“Are you blind? Is this how you go around hitting women without apologizing” She yelled at him.

The memory almost made him smile. Almost. He forced it away as quickly as it came. Sasha had never called herself a feminist but she had always fought for what was right, for anyone. She had fire and that was what drew him in.

And yet the question lingered, how had she gotten into his life. His father had many enemies, perhaps she was planted to destroy him and if so, she succeeded.

His mind went from thinking about Sasha’s betrayal to the strange softness he had begun to display to her. He recalled the words he said to Yelena. It’s all an act. But was it really a mere act for him? Was he pretending to care again or was something in him softening…breaking?

He remembered the taste of her lips the night he was attacked, how close he had come to losing control. Her whisper echoed in his head “I am all yours”

Lies, she wasn’t his. Not completely.
Not after the betrayal, not after Slavik, not after the years she disappeared from him.

It wasn’t just enough, and not even a passionate kiss could erase all the damage that had been done.

Ivan picked up his phone and dialed a number. It rang twice before a voice answered.

“Hello, do you have any news for me?”

“I am afraid nothing concrete. But here’s what I found, two days before your father was murdered. Sasha met with Slavik at a restaurant, in ….. Mexico”

“Mexico? What the hell was she doing in Mexico two days before my father died” He asked.

“I can’t say but from the pictures, I am afraid that your suspicions might be true”

“You have pictures of them?”

“Yeah, the restaurant had this special couple’s offer. Comes with a picture with the manager. They got the offer and were even named the favorite couple for the night.”

Ivan’s face hardened, the affair with Slavik had always just been a speculation until now.

“Can you send the picture over.”

“Nah, you know I use a burner phone. But I’ve got the actual photos, one with the manager and one of just the two of them. I’d bring it over once I return to London” He concluded.

“Okay good”

“Gotta go now, I think I’d enjoy a bit of Mexican fun before heading out”

“Sure thing” Ivan said.

The call ended and Ivan sat still, staring at the phone in his hand. He wanted to believe she was innocent, that somehow all of this was a mistake. But deep down, a voice whispered the truth he didn’t want to face:Maybe he never really knew Sasha at all.