Chapter 10
“It’s a mistake,” I insisted, my voice tight with denial as I leaned over Adrian’s shoulder to read the digital police report on Viktor’s secured phone. “It has to be wrong. You’re right here.”
Adrian simply nodded, the news confirming his worst suspicions. “It’s not a mistake, Ella. It’s a confirmation. The report says Adrian Volkov, male, mid-thirties, gunshot wound to the chest, pronounced dead at the scene. Konstantin staged it.”
“Why stage your death?” Nadia asked from the back seat, now focused on cleaning a scrape on my father’s arm.
“To flush out the real players,” Adrian replied, his gaze sharp and cold. “He needed me gone officially to see who would move on the empire next. To expose the rats who haven’t committed yet. And to make us careless.”
The report placed h
