Page 173 of Filthy Promises

“So no little Vladimirs or Viktoriyas?” I’d teased.

“No.” His face had gone serious. “I want our child to have choices I never had.”

God, how is it possible to fall more in love every day?

I stretch, feeling deliciously lazy. The notification sound on Vince’s laptop makes me glance over to his side of the bed. He left it open, something he never used to do around me. Another small gesture of trust that makes my heart swell.

The notification pings again. Probably work. Always work, even on Saturdays.

I hesitate for a moment, then reach over. If it’s important, I should let him know.

The screen springs to life, already open to a folder labeled with one simple word.

ROWAN

My fingers freeze over the keyboard.

That’s… weird.

I shouldn’t look. I know I shouldn’t.

But it’s my name. So surely I’m entitled to a peek…?

Curiosity wins. I click on the folder.

And my world implodes.

There are dozens of files. Hundreds of documents. Years of surveillance photos. Hospital records. School transcripts. Financial histories.

My hands start to shake as I open file after file, horror mounting with each click.

SUBJECT: ROWAN ST. CLAIR (BORN: ROWAN NIKOLAEVNA PETROVA)

Petrova?

Petrova?

That can’t be right.

I click on a document titled “Lineage Confirmation.”

DNA ANALYSIS CONFIRMS SUBJECT IS BIOLOGICAL DAUGHTER OF GRIGOR PETROV AND MARGARET ST. CLAIR. SUBJECT UNAWARE OF PATERNAL IDENTITY.

My heart is pounding so hard I can hardly breathe. This has to be a mistake. My father left when I was a little girl. He was just some deadbeat who couldn’t handle my mom’s illness.

… Wasn’t he?

I keep reading, unable to stop myself, each document more devastating than the last.

SURVEILLANCE INITIATED: 2019 (SUBJECT’S INTERNSHIP APPLICATION TO AKOPOV INDUSTRIES)

Five years ago.He’s been watching me for five years.

There are psychological profiles. Detailed reports on my routines, my vulnerabilities, my financial struggles.

Then I see a document that makes me physically ill.

ASSET: NATALIE WINTERS (FRIEND/CONFIDANTE)

---