Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 106159 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106159 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
I feel sick to my stomach that I was fooled so well. I thought I agreed to marry Matvei for love, but it seems as if he knocked down every one of my support beams so well, I had no choice but to rely on him.
“I’m so sorry, Saka. I should have listened to you. I don’t understand why he’s doing this.”
His words sound like they were dragged over a heap of gravel before leaving his mouth. “He-he thinks you took his family’s money.”
“What?”
With a shaky hand, Saka pulls a wad of papers out of the breast pocket of his leather jacket. When he opens the document, I balance on the car with him. It is a marriage license I assume was lodged with the court before I “wed” Bastian, and one fundamental matter is highlighted brightly enough for me to read it.
“No p-prenup,” Saka announces, his voice cracking through the dryness of a saliva-free throat. “So when Bastian died, you got both the Fernandez and Ivanov estates.”
“I signed an annulment.”
“That was never processed.” He cocks a brow. “You were under twenty-one when you wed. Your mother was the executor of your trust. She handled all your financials. She wasn’t giving up those funds for anything.”
“But when I turned twenty-one, she lost those rights.”
“Not if you were dead.”
“What?” Excuse my daftness, but I can’t think of a better reply, much less express it.
Saka coughs through dry lungs before saying, “Your father didn’t agree to hide you solely from Bastian’s children. He needed to hide you from your mother as well. She put a hit on your head. A hit I have proof Matvei accepted. He isn’t an ex-military contractor, Nat. He’s a hired killer.” My heart cracks in two when he mutters, “And from what I unearthed, it was a contract he planned to fulfill until he found out the annulment hadn’t been processed. That’s why he tried to get you to sign one.”
“The paperwork he wanted me to sign at Spanks,” I murmur as the gaps slowly fill in.
I’m not asking a question, but Saka nods as if I am.
I can’t hold the contents of my stomach a second longer when Saka drops his tired eyes to the enormous rock on my ring finger. Although the diamond is massive, since we didn’t make it to the boutique, the smaller, more reserved wedding band can’t be missed. I usually slip it off a second after sliding out of the passenger seat of Matvei’s car to authenticate our ruse that we’re only engaged.
“Did you sign a prenup?”
“No.” A bitter laugh lengthens my curt reply. “I didn’t think I had anything of value to lose.”
“Only two billion in assets.” His words are wheezy. “Chump change.”
I hit him without thinking, then almost sob when a painful sigh escapes his lips. He’s battered and bruised, and I’m responsible for every graze and scratch embedded in his skin.
I won’t explain the pain I’m experiencing, or we will never leave before we’re swarmed by the men who see people as props, and love as a gimmick to puppeteer women into doing anything they want.
“We need to go.” I help Saka from the ground the best I can since he stands an easy foot taller than me. “People are coming. I don’t know whose side they’re on.” I assist him into the passenger seat of Maksim’s ride before asking, “Do you know how to hotwire one of these?”
“No need.”
He pushes the start button, firing up the engine.
“Where are you going?” he asks when I bolt toward the entrance of the derelict mansion.
“Nikita is inside. She’s hurt.”
“Nat—”
“No, Saka,” I push out, spinning to face him, aware of the reason for the caution in his tone. “I’m not leaving her here. What if they’re using her too?”
It takes a beat, but he eventually gives in. He always does when it comes to matters of the heart. It’s a soft spot for us both, and the reason Matvei so easily blindsided me. “I’ll come with you.”
“No, it will be quicker without you.”
I sprint away before another word can leave his bruised lips.
Nikita sighs in relief when she spots me coming down the basement stairs. “I thought you’d left.”
“No. I just…” I stop talking before striving to work out whose team she is on. “There was a man in the trunk of Maksim’s car. A friend of mine.”
“What?” You can’t fake the shock on her face. “Is he okay? We were fired at as we left. He could be hurt.” When she forces herself to stand, pain crosses her features. “I can help him. You just need to take me to him.”
“He’s okay. Bar dehydration, he is relatively uninjured.” I slide my arm around her waist and prop her up on the side not housing a bullet wound. “But we need to get out of here.”