Chapter 6 - Shadows of Betrayal
Three days passed in the fortress.
I spent my mornings teaching Misha how to roll out dough for biscuits, and my afternoons walking with him through the secured estate gardens. Slowly, the quiet, fearful boy was blooming into a bright, energetic child.
And as the days went by, the distance between Mikhail and me began to shrink.
He was a ruthless man to the outside world, executing orders that shook the city's underworld. But in the quiet hours of the night, I would find him sitting in the library, working through endless mountain stacks of documents, pouring his soul into keeping his son safe.
On Thursday night, as I brought a cup of hot black coffee into the library, I found Mikhail staring at a bank of security monitors, his jaw locked tight.
“What’s wrong?” I asked gently, setting the cup down on his mahogany desk.
“We found the traitor who helped Callahan,” Mikhail growled, pointing at a screen showing a middle-aged man bound to a chair in an undisclosed basement. “It was not just Misha’s nanny. It was my chief head of logistics, Grigori. A man I trusted for fifteen years.”
I gasped softly. “Why would he betray you?”
“Money. Gambling debts,” Mikhail spat bitterly. “Callahan promised to clear his debt if Grigori provided the route Misha took to the mall.”
Mikhail rubbed his face with both hands, looking utterly exhausted. The heavy burden of his crown was crushing him.
“In my life, Sarah, everyone wants something from me,” he whispered, looking up at me with raw, dark eyes. “My lieutenants want power. My enemies want my blood. My allies want money. You are the only person who came into my life asking for nothing.”
He reached out, his thick, warm hand gently cupping my cheek. The contrast between his dangerous strength and his gentle touch sent a shiver straight down my spine.
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“Mikhail…” I breathed, my breath catching in my throat.
“You brought light back into this house, Sarah,” he murmured, stepping closer until there was no space left between us. “And I don't know how I will ever let you leave.”
