Page 55 of No Longer Mine

Bile burned the back of my throat. I had seen my father do a lot of horrific things, but this? This was beyond any sin I had accounted for. This was beyond any sin I could forgive.

He clicked his tongue, nodding. “Efficient.” Then he turned his head slightly. “What about the buyers?”

The leader smiled, full of yellowed teeth. “We have a few waiting. Middle East, Eastern Europe, even some of your old partners down south. A few local to the city.”

My father exhaled, pleased. “Good.”

The fucking bastard.

I wanted to kill him. Right there. I could descend from my perch, rip him apart with my bare hands, and put an end to his reign. I swallowed back the need to vomit. Was it only Russian women? Who else? Were there other women around here? What else didn’t I know? This was so much worse than I could have ever imagined. I pulled out my phone and began videoing, but it didn’t matter how much I zoomed in or how much footage I tried to get, someone was either blocking my father or he wouldn’t turn in my direction. My stomach sank as I turned the recording off. At least I got something.

Has Tony been released yet?

Alexei’s response was quick.

No.

Put him in the Hudson.

Alexei

Done.

We couldn’t afford any loose ends. Not after Tony had seen our faces. He would report back, and our father would know. We couldn’t risk anything else.

I forced myself to move, slipping back into the shadows as my father continued his business. Every nerve in my body screamed for action, but my mind was already crafting a plan. I needed leverage. I needed evidence. And most of all?—

I needed to burn his entire fucking empire to the ground.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Scarlett

Between the ringand the next heist, I couldn’t get away from Dimitri Cristof. He was the last person I wanted to see—which was a lie I told myself—and the last person I wanted to be around. But I knew that if I didn’t return the ring, he would pull another stunt on my apartment. The last thing I wanted was to be blindsided by him when I returned one night.

Oliver begged me to stay at the safe house, but I knew I would be okay. I didn’t think Dimitri would hurt me, but then again, there had been hatred in his gaze the night of his celebration. I was walking a thin line, I knew it.

Thankfully, Oliver hadn’t tried to talk me out of breaking into Gavin Crenshaw’s home. He didn’t like it, especially since Sinclair Cristof was involved; I didn’t blame him. The last place I wanted to be was cozy with the viper, but there was an itching under my skin that I’d never felt before. A need to see what he was doing with Dimitri’s father.

Instead of breaking into Gavin’s home like I wanted to immediately, I decided it was best to take a trip to remind me why I did everything that I did. I hadn’t refreshed my memory in three years. It was so easy to get lost in the glitz and the glamorof the high life, but I needed to be reminded of where I came from and everything I fought so hard to get out of.

The Uber slowed at the end of the road, and I thanked the driver. He eyed the overgrown weeds that had taken over the long gravel drive. “Are you sure this is right, miss?”

“Yes,” I sighed. “Thank you.”

The man turned his head slightly. “I don’t know if I feel comfortable leaving you out here all alone.”

With any other driver in the city, I would have felt uneasy with the comment but I could see the sincerity in his eyes. He really didn’t like me being out here in the middle of nowhere. I didn’t like it either. I gave him a gentle smile.

“I’ll be fine.”

It was times like these that I regretted not hiring my own personal driver. It would have made things so much easier on me. It was too late now. Maybe on my next stroll down memory lane I would be smarter. I shoved my hands into my coat pockets as the Uber drove away, and I began my trek down the overgrown driveway.

The gravel crunched beneath my boots, the uneven stones shifting as I moved deeper into the past. The cold bit at my cheeks, sharp and unforgiving, but I barely felt it. My focus was on the looming structure ahead, its silhouette barely visible against the overcast sky.

Vanewood Manor.

The place that made me.

---