Aria’s POV
Elena got a guest room in the east wing, far enough from Romanov’s quarters that the message was clear even if no one said it out loud.
She received clean clothes, a locked door with a guard outside, and zero freedom to wander — which told me more about where Romanov’s trust actually sat than anything he had said aloud since she arrived.
I found her there an hour later, sitting cross-legged on the bed in borrowed pajamas, staring at nothing.
“You came to gloat?” she asked without looking up.
“I came because I have questions you didn’t answer downstairs.” I closed the door behind me and leaned against it, arms crossed.
Romanov’s watching everything you say. I figured you might tell me more than you’d tell him.”
That got her attention. She looked up, and for a moment I sa
