Chapter 15

Violet woke up the next day with a headache. She’d had a hard time going to sleep. The room brought back memories she’d fought to forget.

Her childhood had been anything but good. Her father was always looking for the next big payout. He only cared about money, and he didn’t care how he got it.

That was how he ended up dealing with crime bosses and syndicates. It was why he wanted the Ivanov organization, and he probably had his sights set on the Volkov organization as well.

A knock on the door made her stomach drop, and she pulled the covers over her chest.

“Come in,” she said in a shaky voice.

“Sorry to bother you, but breakfast is ready.” The speaker was a short young housekeeper whose voice was barely audible.

“Thank you. I’ll be down shortly.”

Violet took her time getting ready. There were clothes in her closet, and she figured her father had had it stocked while she’d been with Simon yesterday.

She took a deep breath and headed downstairs to the dining room.

“About time,” her father said as she took a seat.

She looked at the table and saw her siblings for the first time, but none of them would look at her. They looked at their plates as if she wasn’t there, and it broke her heart.

“Violet? I would like you to meet someone after breakfast.”

“Are you going to try to marry me off?” she asked him bitterly.

Her father chuckled. “Only if he likes you enough. You owe me a lot of money, and this is a way for you to repay me…besides helping me with the Ivanov organization.”

“No.”

“You don’t have a choice. The only way out of this is if he decides you’re not worthy enough to be his bride.”

“The answer is still no. I will not sit back and let you use me as a pawn again. I’ll help you with getting Viktor’s organization, but I’m not marrying someone to help you gain more power.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Violet pushed her plate away, stood up, and headed toward the library. Her goal was to call Anatoli so he would know she was all right and to let him in on her plan.

***

The library had a phone, but she knew she had to be careful because the line was probably tapped.

She was thankful that she remembered Anatoli’s number as she quickly dialed it. The phone rang twice before he picked up.

“Hello?”

“Anatoli?”

“Violet, where are you calling from? Are you ok? Please tell me where you are.”

“I’m at my father’s, and right now I’m doing ok. He wants Ivanov’s organization. I’m the way for him to get it.”

“If he hurts you…”

“He won’t. I won’t let him. Don’t worry about me, I’ll try to keep you updated. I love you.”

“I love you, too. Please be careful.”

She could hear the sadness and concern in his voice, and it was killing her.

“I’m sorry I ran off. It was the only way I knew you would let me do this.”

Anatoli sighed. “I understand. I only want you safe.”

“I have to go. I’ll try to call again. Please don’t do anything stupid, Toli.”

“I promise.”

Violet quickly hung up the phone and briefly regretted coming here. She hated worrying Anatoli.

The last person she had been this hung up on had helped break her, and she was surprised how quickly she ended up trusting him.

“What are you doing here?”

Violet jumped and turned toward the voice, relaxing a little when she realized it was Simon.

“I wanted to get away from my father. He’s crazy if he thinks he can marry me off to some horrible man without me fighting back.”

“He thinks he can still control you.”

“Well, he can’t. I’ve changed since I’ve left. I’m not the same weak girl I used to be.”

“I know. I can see the change in you. You look like you’re determined instead of scared, and it’s good to see that you haven’t given up.”

Simon came face to face with her and placed his hand on her cheek. “I’ve missed you. I’ve thought about you the past two years and wondered if you were all right.”

“Don’t do this,” she whispered. “What we had got ruined the day you helped my father sell me. I found a man who loves me and protects me any way he can.”

“Then why are you here?”

“I didn’t want him to risk his life to carry out a revenge plot for me. I ran away in the middle of the night.”

They stood there in silence for a few seconds before Simon started leaning in. Violet quickly took a step back.

“You can’t do that. You can’t kiss me like there isn’t anything wrong, like I’m not with a guy who helped piece me back together after this place broke me.”

Simon quickly turned and left Violet standing in the library alone. All she could think about was how life was always complicated for her.

She knew she loved Anatoli, but Simon was familiar, and it was hard to not fall into his charm.

She needed to put her plan into motion. She was going to sabotage everything her father did until she could kill him. Starting with the man he wanted her to marry.