Chapter four
1079 Words
The café two streets away was already buzzing when Alina pushed open the glass door.
Moscow mornings didn’t wait for anyone.
She joined the line, clutching the paper list with ten complicated drink orders scribbled in Jessica’s perfect handwriting.
Her coat smelled faintly of Viktor’s house — expensive, cold, and unfamiliar.
As she waited, she kept feeling it — the weight of eyes on her.
Two men at the far end of the shop, whispering and glancing her way.
She ignored them, ordered the drinks, and tried to balance the cardboard trays.
Outside, the wind bit at her cheeks as she started back toward the firm.
She didn’t notice the black SUV parked half a block away.
Inside, one of Viktor’s men sat in the driver’s seat, phone in hand.
“She’s on foot. Heading back,” the guard murmured into the line.
⸻
Meanwhile, Viktor’s meeting
The conference table was littered with documents and cigars, but Viktor’s focus wasn’t on the merger numbers being read aloud.
His mind flicked — annoyingly — to the image of Alina walking alone through the city.
He’d seen enough to know how quickly Moscow could turn ugly for a woman like her.
Halfway through a sentence, he cut off one of his associates.
“Find out where my wife works.”
The room went still.
No explanation. No expression.
Just Viktor’s usual calm command.
she quickened her pace, weaving through the morning crowd. The sooner she got back to the office, the sooner she could put Jessica’s petty errand behind her.
She moved fast — too fast for the man trailing her. The guard, tasked with discreetly following her to learn her workplace, was momentarily distracted by a delivery truck blocking his view. By the time he rounded the corner, she was gone.
No trace. No direction. Just the faceless tide of Moscow commuters.
⸻
Back at Viktor’s Office
The guard stood rigidly in front of Viktor’s desk, his cap in his hands.
“You lost her?” Viktor’s voice was calm, but it was the kind of calm that meant danger.
“She bought coffee and hurried down the street. I kept my distance, like you ordered… but she turned a corner, and there was a delivery truck—by the time I cleared it, she’d vanished. I couldn’t figure out where she went, sir.”
Viktor leaned back in his chair, his eyes narrowing.
“My wife… managed to disappear from one of my trained men?”
The guard swallowed hard. “It won’t happen again.”
“It won’t,” Viktor replied evenly, his tone laced with ice. “Next time, you’ll make sure she doesn’t even breathe without me knowing where she’s headed.”
The guard nodded quickly, but Viktor had already looked away, his mind lingering on one thought:
Alina Kuznetsov — and the secrets she clearly didn’t want him to know.
The city was still waking up when Alina pushed open the glass doors of the firm. Her heels clicked softly against the marble floor, the faint scent of coffee and printer ink hanging in the air. She had come earlier than usual — hoping the quiet might give her a few minutes of peace before the day truly began.
She barely made it to her desk before a sharp voice called across the room.
“Alina!”
She turned to see Jessica, one of the senior architects, leaning against her desk with a smirk that didn’t reach her eyes. Jessica was polished — every hair in place, lipstick immaculate — and she never missed an opportunity to remind Alina of her place.
“Yes, Jessica?” Alina kept her voice calm.
“Since you’re early,” Jessica drawled, drawing out the word like it was a personal offense, “why don’t you go and get coffee for everyone? Oh, and don’t forget my oat milk — last time you messed it up.”
Alina’s jaw tightened, but she nodded. “Sure.”
As she reached for her coat, a few of her colleagues chuckled quietly. She could hear them — the whispered comments about how she was “lucky to even have this job,” how she was “pretty enough to serve coffee but not smart enough to get promoted.”
She ignored them. She had learned to.
Still, as she stepped back into the crisp morning air, balancing the coffee order in her mind.
⸻
That night, the apartment was quiet except for the low hum of the central heating. Alina had just finished washing her hair, her damp waves clinging to her shoulders as she stepped out of the bathroom in loose satin shorts and an oversized sweater. She thought she was alone in the hallway — until she caught sight of him.
Viktor was leaning against the wall opposite her door, sleeves rolled up, tie loosened, watching her with that unreadable gaze.
“You didn’t tell me where you work,” he said, his voice smooth, but edged with something that made her pulse jump.
Her fingers tightened around the edge of her sweater. “I didn’t know I was supposed to report every step I take to you, sir.”
His mouth curved — not quite a smile, more like an unspoken warning. He pushed off the wall, closing the distance between them until the heat from his body brushed hers.
“Everything about you concerns me now,” he murmured, his eyes dropping briefly to the bare skin of her thighs before meeting her gaze again. “Where were you this morning?”
She hesitated, refusing to break eye contact. “At work.”
He leaned in slightly, his breath warm against her ear. “You mean the place you vanished to, after evading my man?”
Alina’s breath caught — half from the proximity, half from the realization that he knew she’d been followed. “Maybe,” she said quietly, her tone almost a challenge.
Viktor studied her for a long, charged moment, his gaze sliding over her face like he was memorizing it. Then he stepped back, giving her space — but only just enough.
“Tomorrow,” he said finally, “you’ll tell me where it is.” His eyes glinted. “Or I’ll come find out myself.”
He turned and walked away, leaving her standing in the doorway with her heart hammering, wondering if it was fear she felt… or something far more dangerous.
- Writer
