“It’s true. Leif managed to save Desmier. That’s why he’s alive today. The order was given because Desmier’s existence threatened everything Evgeni stood to gain from his marriage to Mira. That was based on Viktor being his heir.”
“I’m so shocked.” So much about Desmier makes sense now. And his hatred toward Viktor. “Did Mira know any of this, or anybody else?”
“No, they all found out when Desmier stopped your wedding to Viktor.”
That would have been while I was being brought here. “Why was I left out?”
“Because of Desmier’s vendetta toward your father.”
Dread twists my insides and I feel sick. Something hits me in my gut that feels like truth. The last time I felt it was when I found my mother in the bathtub and knew she was dead.
As Ehlga looks at me I feel even more certain that I know what that vendetta is. It’s like it’s staring me in the face, and I can’t breathe.
My father is an enforcer who worked for Evgeni for years. They were so close I’m sure there was no question of a union by marriage to join our families. Evgeni ordered Desmier and his mother’s death, so he would have sent men to do the job.
Men like my father. The senior guard.
“Ehlga, my… father… he killed Desmier’s mother, didn’t he?”
“Yes.”
Shock jolts through me at the confirmation, and I feel like I’m going to fall over and keep falling through the earth.
My skin goes hot, then cold, then hot again, then ice takes over, sending a chill through me that’s so callous I don’t know how it doesn’t freeze my heart.
“No… it can’t be. Please, no.” My head moves on its own, shaking as more tears come.
“Yes. Your father was the man Evgeni sent to kill Desmier and his mother. He killed Desmier’s mother, then took Desmier and tortured him for weeks. In the end, he locked him in a barn and set it on fire.”
By the time she’s finished talking, I’m crying and shaking so much I see stars.
Ehlga gets up and approaches me, then she pulls me into her arms and holds me.
Gytha was right. Oh my God, she was right.
“Don’t cry, Anastasia.”
“I can’t stop. My father is evil, Ehlga. He’s evil.” When I think of all he’s done, I’m so ashamed. Yet part of me feels like I always knew something truly horrific had happened. Just like my nightmares. I know Dad is lying about that, too. So only God knows what the hell happened to me, or what I saw and can’t remember.
All the pieces of the puzzle of how I ended up here have fallen into place, and the picture it’s created is damnation.
“Desmier must hate me, too.”
“No. He doesn’t hate you. Listen to me.” She cups my face. “I told you all of this because I can see you both love each other.”
“You think he loves me?”
“I do, but I think you already know that for yourself.”
When I think of all the things Desmier has done to show me he loves me, I know it’s not a question I should even ask.
Look what he did with the oil company. He gave away his ownership to me so it would all belong to me. He told me he chose me over the money. The fact that he even told me about the oil company is everything. I’ve been kept in the dark for so long, but he pulled me out into the light.
“I do know,” I mutter.
Ehlga smiles. “Then if you do love him too, fight for what you have. Don’t give it up. It will be something you’ll both regret.”
“How can I even face him?”