Page 47 of Hooked On Victor
“This means nothing to me.”
Nikolai’s gloved fingers tapped once against the table.
“It should,” he said softly.
He paused.
Then he leaned forward just slightly, voice dropping to something conspiratorial.
“Because he delivered a child in secret. Tatiana Nikolaevna Romanova, eldest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, fell in love with one of her guards. She gave birth in hiding before the family was moved to Yekaterinburg.”
Rose sucked in a sharp breath she tried to hide behind her cup.
“But she—she died with the rest,” she said.
Nikolai turned his gaze on her, cold but respectful.
“She did,” he said solemnly. “But not before she entrusted the child to Rasputin.”
Victor’s brow furrowed deep, creasing the bruises along his temple.
“Rasputin was dead by then,” he snapped.
Nikolai didn’t flinch.
“Not yet,” he said calmly. “Not according to the timeline in the confession. He was injured. Fading. But alive. He knew thechild wouldn’t survive the purge unless he made him disappear completely.”
Victor’s fingers tightened on the plastic sleeve until it crinkled loudly.
“So he sent him where?”
Nikolai’s voice was patient.
“To a distant cousin’s estate in the countryside. A forgotten branch of the Romanovs—minor nobility. No power. No voice. No reason to be hunted.”
Victor leaned back slowly.
His eyes were flat.
Accusing.
“And now you’re going to tell me that child was your ancestor?”
Nikolai’s mouth twitched once.
But it wasn’t amusement.
It was pain.
He shook his head.
“No, Viktor,” he said softly.
Silence fell like a blade.
Nikolai swallowed.
“He was yours.”
