Chapter 204: She’s a key

"Why?" Viktor asked. Carina looked at him for a long moment. Then she let out a quiet breath and looked away. "Because you don’t understand what this means yet."

"I understand enough." Viktor’s voice was cold. "You’re telling me my wife is the Don’s missing daughter. You’re telling me she’s been living all these years without knowing who she really is. And now you’re asking me to keep it from her?"

"I’m asking you to think before you tell her." Viktor stared at her. Carina slowly folded her arms across her chest.

"Think about it, Viktor. I was raised by the Don for twenty years because everyone believed Katalia was dead. I was brought into that world to become her replacement."

Her voice remained calm, but something underneath it had changed.

"I wasn’t just another person working for him. I was being prepared to take her place. To become the daughter he lost. To carry his name. His expectations. His business."

She swallowed.

"For twenty years, everyone believed she was gone. And then that imposter, Aliya, appeared."

Viktor’s jaw tightened.

"And if Katalia suddenly appears now..." Carina gave a small, bitter smile. "What do you think happens to me?"

She looked directly at him.

"I lose everything."

Viktor didn’t answer.

"I was meant to be the Don’s heir," Carina continued. "Do you understand what that means? Everything I have today came from the choices I made for him. The things I did. The people I hurt. The things I had to become."

Her eyes dropped to the floor.

"I lost my innocence in that world a long time ago."

A pause.

"Then I lost my humanity."

Viktor’s expression hardened, but Carina continued before he could interrupt.

"So yes. I’m afraid of losing what I have now. I’m not going to lie to you about that."

She looked back at him.

"I’ve already gone too far. I’ve spent too many years becoming the person they wanted me to become."

Viktor’s answer came immediately.

"I don’t give a fuck about any of that."

Carina’s face went still.

"My wife deserves to know the truth," Viktor said. "Whatever happens after that is her decision. I’m sorry, but I can’t help you hide my wife from her own father."

For the first time, Carina almost smiled.

"Really?"

There was no amusement in it.

"I met Sienna at the hospital," she said quietly. "She is sweet. Innocent. She still believes people can be good."

Viktor’s expression softened slightly at the mention of his wife.

"She isn’t made for this world, Viktor."

"Don’t tell me what my wife can handle."

"I’m not insulting her." Carina shook her head. "I’m warning you." She stepped closer.

"You think she’ll be happy when she learns Don Konstantin is her father?" Viktor said nothing. "The same man who is trying to have her killed?" That stopped him.

Carina watched his face carefully. "And what do you think happens after she finds out who she really is?" Viktor’s eyes narrowed. "The Don will want her back."

"He won’t just want to see her." Carina’s voice dropped.

"He’ll want her beside him. He’ll want her to inherit everything. His influence. His money. His network. His position." She paused. "And you?" Viktor’s eyes hardened.

"You’ll be standing beside her." Carina gave a faint smile. "You could become the Don’s son-in-law. May be even the new king of that entire world."

She shook her head slowly. "But can you handle the kind of business we run there?" Viktor didn’t respond.

"That kind of power comes with responsibility," Carina said. "And the responsibility isn’t clean. It isn’t sitting behind a desk and signing papers. People die. People disappear. Families are destroyed; you know that, but the don’s world is even darker. Forget your rule in business."

She looked at him steadily. "You already know what kind of monster you have to become to survive." A quiet silence settled between them.

Then Carina said softly, "You’re a monster, Viktor." His eyes flickered. Carina smiled sadly.

"But at least you still have a heart." She touched her chest lightly. "And a soul." Her smile disappeared.

"Some of us don’t have much of either left." Viktor looked away for a moment. Carina wasn’t finished.

"And there’s something else you need to understand." His eyes returned to her.

"Katalia isn’t just a daughter." The way she said the name made Viktor uneasy.

"She’s a key."

"A key to what?"

"Many things." Carina’s expression became unreadable.

"Believe me, Viktor. The Don doesn’t want Katalia simply because she’s his daughter." She took a breath. "He wants what she represents."

Viktor stared at her. "Power." The word hung between them. "The kind of power that can change everything."

Carina looked down at the photograph in Viktor’s hand. "So I’m asking you to think." Her voice was quieter now.

"Think about all of this before you decide whether Sienna should know the truth."

Viktor didn’t move.

"Yes," Carina continued, "maybe part of this is selfish. Maybe I’m trying to hold on to the position I’ve spent twenty years fighting for."

She looked at him. "But I’m not pretending otherwise." Her voice cracked slightly. "I’m already too far gone."

She swallowed. "I’m deep in that world. I’m broken by it." Then her eyes softened.

"But Sienna..." Carina shook her head. "She doesn’t have to become what we became." Viktor’s fingers tightened around the photograph.

"Her innocence can still be saved." Carina stepped backward. "Mine couldn’t." She turned away. "That’s why I’m leaving this with you."

Viktor watched her. "The choice is yours." Carina began walking toward the exit. "Tell her," she said without turning around, "and you may change both your lives forever."

She stopped for a moment.

"Don’t tell her..." Her voice became almost a whisper. "And maybe you give her a chance to keep the life she knows." Then she walked away.

Viktor remained where he was. The old photograph was still in his hand. He looked down at it again. Sienna’s face came into his mind.

Her smile. The way she looked at him when she was tired. The way she curled into his arms without saying anything. His little librarian. His wife. His Sienna. His chest tightened.

For the first time since Carina had revealed the truth, Viktor didn’t know what the right answer was. He had faced guns, faced enemies. He had walked into situations where one wrong decision could get him killed.

But this was different. This decision could change Sienna’s entire life. Viktor slowly put the photograph inside his jacket.

"I need to see her." That was the only thing he knew for certain. He needed to see his wife. He needed to hold her. He needed to hear her voice and feel her arms around him.

Maybe then, with Sienna in front of him, he would know what to do with the truth Carina had just placed in his hands. Viktor turned and walked out of the building.

But for the first time in his life, the man who was used to making decisions without hesitation had absolutely no idea which choice would save the woman he loved.

–

Viktor left the old building without looking back. The photograph was still inside his jacket. He could feel it against his chest with every step he took.

Normally, Viktor would have made a decision quickly. He was not a man who liked uncertainty. When there was a problem, he dealt with it. When there was an enemy, he confronted them. When there was danger, he moved toward it.

But this time, he had nothing. No plan. No answer. Only Sienna. He got into the car and sat behind the wheel for several seconds without starting the engine.

His hands rested on the steering wheel. He stared through the windshield. My wife is Katalia. The thought kept repeating in his head.

The Don’s missing daughter. The daughter everyone believed had died. The daughter the Don had spent years searching for. And somehow, that little librarian he had fallen in love with was that same woman.

Viktor closed his eyes. He remembered Sienna laughing at something stupid he had said. He remembered the way she complained whenever he carried her around instead of letting her walk.

He remembered her sitting quietly with a book in her hands, completely unaware of the world outside.

And then he remembered Carina’s words. The Don will want her back. Viktor opened his eyes. He started the car.

He drove toward the hospital. But he didn’t drive as fast as he normally would. For once, he wasn’t rushing toward a problem. He was afraid of what he would feel when he saw his wife.

What would he say? Would he look at her differently? Would she notice something in his eyes? Viktor didn’t know. So he drove slowly.

He needed the time. He needed to put his thoughts together before he stood in front of Sienna. By the time he reached the hospital, the sky had begun to brighten. The building was already awake.

Doctors moved through the corridors. Nurses pushed carts from one room to another. Machines beeped softly behind closed doors.

Viktor stepped out of the car. He looked at the hospital entrance. Then he walked inside.

The moment he entered the laboratory section, he began looking for her. His eyes moved from one glass room to another.

"Sienna?" Nothing. He walked faster. Then he saw her.