Page 64 of Sinful Union

I exhale a sigh of relief.

Then Vlad’s gaze shifts to me. “Kat, you must have suspected something. Why else sneak around to find information? You brought Darya here, after all.”

I purse my lips. “I suspect Piotr is capable of a lot more, of things we don’t know about,” I say, choosing my words carefully. “He used Ana as leverage against me, so there’s no question he’s willing to cross lines. But what Darya said was…” I let my words trail off, glancing at Pavel for help.

He picks up the thread. “She implied Piotr might have had a hand in your parents’ deaths.”

Vlad recoils, disgust taking over his expression. “That’s bullshit.”

The abruptness of his response is like a punch to my stomach. He’s never accepted that Piotr could be involved. He’s always tried to see the best in him—even after everything he’s done.

“It’s what she overheard,” Pavel clarifies. “He was bragging about how young he was when he becamepakhan, how he ‘helped it along,’ insinuating your father’s death wasn’t just an accident. That’s all we know.”

Vlad looks at me as if asking me to refute what Pavel just said. I purse my lips and give him a pleading look, watching the light nearly go out in my brother’s eyes.

Pavel rakes a hand through his hair. “I never believed your father’s accident was random, but we’ve always suspected outside involvement. The Novikov Bratva or some other group that wanted to break the alliance, never Piotr.”

Vlad shakes his head vehemently. “You’re telling me my own brother killed the man who raised him? Our father? That’s…” His voice breaks for a second. “That’s insane.”

I lean forward; my hands clasped tightly in my lap. “Vlad, you know he’s changed. We all know. He’s not the boy we grew up with who cared about alliances and bridging our families. He’s a different person now. He has been for a long time.”

Vlad presses his lips into a thin line. “It’s one thing to orchestrate attacks in order to push you out of power. But to murder our parents? That’s monstrous.”

“Exactly,” I say. “And that’s why I don’t want to believe it either. But with what we know, it is possible.”

“We have no proof other than Darya’s word,” Pavel says. “And it sounds like she’s not even sure what she heard. But just think about it for a minute. If he is working with Viktor Novikov or some other faction that wants to see us both weakened, it’s not that big of a stretch to doing something as extreme as removing your father from power.”

Vlad’s face contorts with anger. “He’s convinced your father or someone in your family had a hand in it. That’s been his story for years."

“I loved your parents, Vlad. They were like a second family to me. I’d never—” He clenches his jaw. “You know me better than that.”

Vlad exhales sharply, running his hand over his face. “I do, but Piotr doesn’t, or at least he pretends he doesn’t. He’s been on a warpath about the Fetisovs’ guilt forever.”

“He’s the one who told me your family killed my parents, which gave me all kinds of reasons not to trust you. For a while, I believed him,” I quietly admit.

Pavel turns to me slowly. “But now you know better.”

I swallow hard. “I do.”

Vlad sighs heavily, setting his whiskey down on the nearest shelf. “What exactly are you asking me to do here? Accept that my brother could have murdered my parents?”

Pavel takes a deep breath before speaking. “No, not just accept it. We want you to look into it. Discreetly. See if you can uncover anything. If we confront him outright with no evidence, he’ll just spin it. But if we have something tangible…”

Vlad clenches his hands into fists at his sides. “That would make him a traitor and guilty of patricide, the worst kind of scum.”

“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I don’t want it to be true either. But we have to face the possibility.”

He stares at me, eyes burning with fury. “Darya said all of this?”

Pavel nods. “Yes. She was here. She refused my protection and left. We can’t force her to confirm or clarify anything further, that’s if she even lives much longer. Piotr will be after her soon, I would imagine.”

Vlad rakes a hand through his hair again, staring out the window. “Fine. I’ll go home. I’ll watch him, ask nondescript questions. I’ll tread carefully. But if he did kill our parents…”

I stand and approach my brother, placing a hand on his arm. “Be careful. He’s already used Ana to threaten me. Who knows what he’ll do if he suspects you’re snooping around.”

He looks at me with haunted eyes. “I will.” Then he turns to Pavel, extending a hand. Pavel takes it, the handshake is brief but firm.

“Keep me informed,” Pavel says quietly.

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