Page 146 of Porcelain Lies

“I think you’re a better match for him, anyway,” she says again. “Better than Sophia.”

“Yeah right,” I mutter. “I can think of better things I’d rather do. Like date a grizzly.”

“He’s not the easiest man, my brother,” she acknowledges.

“Ya think?” I roll my eyes.

“But he has a good heart, Stella.” Diana takes another long drag, her eyes growing distant. “You know, Aleksei wasn’t always like this — so cold, so controlled. Our mother…” She trails off, then laughs bitterly. “Well, let’s just say her disappearance changed him.”

“Disappearance?” The word catches in my throat.

“Mmhmm.” Diana’s fingers play with the joint. “One day she was there, making breakfast, singing those silly Russian lullabies. The next…” She shrugs, the elegant movement at odds with the darkness in her eyes. “Gone. Just like that. Our father claimed she left us, but Aleksei never believed it.”

My heart clenches. “How old were you?”

“Ten. Both of us — we’re twins, you know.” She glances at me. “Identical timing, opposite genders. Rare, but it happens.”

“Yes.” I nod. I knew about them being twins, but I don’t point this out because I don’t want to discourage her from speaking.

“After that, Aleksei became… different. Started working out obsessively, studying constantly. Like if he could just control everything perfectly enough…” She takes another hit. “And then there was Olga.”

“Olga?”

Diana’s expression softens. “Bobik’s mother. Sweet girl, really. Too sweet for this life.” Her gaze drifts to the left wing. “She gave Aleksei his greatest joy and his deepest pain all at once.”

“Bobik?” I frown at her. “Who’s Bobik?”

Diana stops abruptly. “It’s… forget I mentioned that.”

“It’s a bit late now, Diana,” I press.

She looks at me, assessing. “I suppose I’ve opened the door, haven’t I?”

“Pretty much.” I nod, growing increasingly anxious to know where this is going.

“Bobik is… He’s Aleksei’s son,” she says, knocking the wind from my lungs. “Yes. I know it’s a surprise. He never tells anyone.”

My mind spins, connecting countless dots. “I think I saw them together,” I tell her, remembering the boy in the garden. “He has… problems?”

She takes another drag from the joint, staring off into the distance for a moment. She seems lost in memory. “The birth was… complicated. That doctor…” Her face hardens. “Well, suffice to say, mistakes were made. Permanent ones.”

Understanding dawns — the wheelchair equipment, the hidden staircase, Aleksei’s obsession with controlling my pregnancy. It all connects to this child, this Bobik.

“He’s paraplegic,” I half-whisper, my heart breaking a little.

“Yes.” She nods, then her expression brightens a little. “But he’s the most amazing kid in so many ways. Funny, smart… he’s a total science geek.” Her lips curl into a smile.

I perk up. “A science geek?”

“Yeah. He’ll talk your ear off if you get him started on quantum physics.” Diana laughs. “God knows I don’t know what the fuck he’s saying half the time.”

“Can I meet him?” I say impulsively.

“What?” She stares at me.

“I… I won’t tell Aleksei, I promise. And you can tell the boy that I’m a close friend or something.” I’m taking a chance here — the woman seems to be warming to me, but we’re hardly besties. “Please?” I press.

“Why?” Diana tilts her head.

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