Chapter Two: Family Drama
1351 Words
Blood isn't always thicker than water.
The Kiev family estate loomed before Kira like a fortress—cold, imposing, and utterly indifferent. She hadn’t set foot here in years, not since her mother had left, taking her and her sisters with her. But now, with nothing but her younger sister’s cryptic message to guide her, Kira had returned. To the one place she swore she’d never come back to. To the one person she never wanted to see.
Her father.
Inside, the mansion was as grand as ever—marble floors, sweeping staircases, chandeliers that glittered like they belonged in a museum—but the luxury only made the place feel colder. She remembered the long hours of her childhood spent inside these walls, not playing, but studying—endless piano lessons and afternoon Russian with a stern tutor who never smiled.
She found Viktor Kiev in his study, a room lined with dark wood paneling and filled with the scent of aged leather and old power. He sat behind a massive desk, papers spread before him, eyes fixed on a report. He hadn’t changed much—still sharp, still unreadable.
Still the last person she wanted to ask for help.
"Father," Kira began, her voice steady despite the storm brewing inside her. "Where is Katerina?”
Viktor didn't look up. "On vacation."
"She left me a message, and she can't be contacted. She doesn’t do that.”
Her sister doesn’t send her messages at all, especially a cryptic one.
“I need to know if she's okay.”
He finally glanced up, his eyes cold and calculating. "And what makes you think I’ll tell you where she is?"
She hated Katerina for going back to him—after everything their father had done to them. But even that anger paled in comparison to what she felt toward the man himself.
Her hatred for Viktor Kiev couldn’t be measured.
She stepped closer. “She ran away didn’t she?And you don’t know where she is!”
Viktor looked up slowly, then leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers with that cold, calculating calm. “You don’t have a business here, Kira. Your sister knows exactly what will happen if she doesn’t fulfill her duties.”
The words struck Kira like a slap. She’d known their parents’ marriage was a loveless arrangement—so she understood not caring for her sick mother. But hearing her father speak so callously about his own daughter was unbearable.
“Are you going to kill your own daughter?” Kira’s voice trembled, thick with fury and disbelief. “What did you do to Katerina?”
Viktor studied her, his gaze sharp and unreadable. “You don’t deserve an explanation. But if you truly want to know where your sister is, I’ll tell you—on one condition.”
Of course. Her father’s help always came with strings attached. He’d pay her tuition fees, but only if she returned to the mansion.
Only if she agreed to study business, just like her siblings who had chosen to live with him.
Kira braced herself, voice steady despite the storm raging inside.
She laugh sarcastically. “Im not some child you can easily manipulate, father. I’ll find Katerina on my own.”
“You have two options, say yes to my proposal or say good bye to your beloved orphans.”
Her heart stumbled. “What are you talking about?”
Her father’s smile is evil. “You think I don’t know what you’ve been up to, daughter?”
“No! You will not do anything! You leave my life alone.” She is furious.
“You marry Kai Maddox, I get my company back, and I will tell you where your sister is.”
The name hit her like a thunderclap. Her sister’s fiancé.
“Are you insane? H… he’s Katerina’s fiancé!” she raised her voice in disbelief.
“Your sister vanished. I need someone to stand in her place.”
“An arranged marriage, father? Really? You haven’t learned anything from Kassandra’s death?”
A silence followed. Not the kind that calms—this was a silence that held its breath, waiting to break.
Then it did.
Smack.
The sound came first—sharp, sudden, like a branch snapping under too much pressure. Kira heard it before she felt it, a strange, empty moment stretching between the noise and the pain, as if time itself recoiled.
Then the heat bloomed across her cheek. Not just pain, but a stinging, electric burn that spread from skin to bone. Her head snapped to the side, and her breath caught in her throat. She tasted salt and copper. Her hand shot up instinctively to her face, fingertips brushing the fresh, rising welt.
She didn’t cry. Not yet.
Her eyes lifted slowly, locking with his. His chest was rising and falling too fast, his jaw clenched tight. For a brief second, Kira saw something flicker in his eyes—regret, maybe, or shame—but it was gone before she could name it.
She stepped back. Once. Twice. The wall caught her shoulders like a cradle made of ice.
Her father didn’t move. Didn’t speak.
And still, the echo of that slap rang in her ears louder than any apology that would never come.
Kira whispered, the weight of the decision crushing her chest. She needed to find her sister—desperately. Worry etched deep lines into her face.
Viktor’s gaze hardened, ice-cold and unyielding. “Don’t you ever mention that name again!”
Tears welled up, but Kira blinked them away. She had always despised this man. She knew coming her was not a good idea.
Without a word, she turned toward the door.
But before her fingers could close around the doorknob, his voice struck again.
“Take one more step,” he said, low and ragged, “and I swear to God, Kira—I’ll do what I said I would.”
She froze. Her hand hovered in the air, inches from the door, trembling.
She raised her head. Defiance is written all over her face. “You will regret this father.”
Viktor smiled as if the matter was already settled. “Good. I’ll arrange the details.”
He turned back to his papers. Kira stood frozen, numb.
The door creaked open behind her. Her father looked up, a faint, cold smile flickering across his face. She rarely saw him smile—and never for her or her mother.
“Ah. You’re here.”
Kira turned—and froze.
The man who stepped into the room was sharply dressed in a tailored navy suit, his dark hair tousled just enough to seem effortless.
He carried a quiet confidence, the kind that didn’t need to be announced. But it wasn’t the power suit or the expensive watch that made her heart stumble.
It was his face. His eyes.
The bar.
Now, here he was—in her father’s office.
“Malachi Maddox,” her father said with unmistakable pride, rising to shake the man’s hand. “Soon to be family.”
The name hit her like thunder.
Malachi Maddox.
The Kai Maddox.
And now—he was looking at her.
Recognition flickered in his gray eyes, slow and deliberate. A small, knowing smile curled at the corners of his mouth.
Kira’s breath caught.
He remembered her too.
Kira’s mind reeled.
Her sister.
Katerina.
She kissed her sister’s fiancé. And not just that—she’d agreed to marry him.
Every piece crashed into place like a cruel twist in a play she never auditioned for.
She straightened her spine, fighting to keep her expression neutral.
“I need to use the restroom,” she murmured. Without waiting for approval, she turned and walked away, her heart hammering, her face stinging, and her pulse thundering in her ears.
As she walked away, a chill ran down her spine.
Behind her, Kai said. “You don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into.”
She didn’t answer.
But the words hung in the air like a promise—or a warning.
- Writer
