Chapter 26: Filthy Lies: Chapter 26

“For the last time, we are not using white fucking roses.” Vince’s voice carries through the entire east wing.

I roll my eyes at Sofiya, who’s perfectly content on her playmat, cooing at the ceiling mobile. “Your daddy’s a bit of a diva about flowers,” I whisper. “Didn’t see that one coming.”

Christening preparations have turned my normally unflappable husband into a man obsessed with details. The ceremony is three days away, and Vince has opinions about everything—the guest list, the security protocols, the refreshments, and apparently, the floral arrangements.

“Calla lilies,” he insists to someone on the phone. “They’re elegant, distinctive, and nobody fucking dies at christenings with calla lilies.”

I scoop up Sofiya and head toward his study. When I peek inside, Vince is pacing, phone to his ear, his free hand gesturing sharply as if the florist can see him.

“No, not ivory. Pure white. And make sure—” He spots me and his expression softens. “Just handle it. I’ll call you back.”

He hangs up and crosses to us, pressing a kiss to Sofiya’s head before dropping one on my lips.

“Everything okay?” I ask.

“Fucking dandy.”

“The flowers would suggest otherwise.”

He runs a hand through his silver-streaked hair. “Details matter, Rowan. Every aspect of this ceremony sends a message.”

“About how particular we are about lilies?”

“About our ability to maintain standards despite threats.” He takes Sofiya from me, bouncing her gently.

My phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out to see a text from an unknown number.

Need to talk. Urgent information about Andrei. Meeting you would help. – Nat

My stomach drops.

“What is it?” Vince asks, noticing my expression.

I hesitate, then show him the text.

His jaw immediately tightens. “Ignore it.”

“What if it’s important?”

“It’s a trap.” He hands Sofiya back to me. “Andrei’s using Natalie to get to you.”

“Or she actually has information we need.” I scroll through the message again. “You said yourself that Andrei’s been suspiciously quiet.”

“Exactly why we shouldn’t take risks.”

“Vince—”

“No.” His voice hardens. “The christening is in three days. The Solovyovs are mobilizing. We’ve just established fragile peace with your father. This is not the time.”

I bounce Sofiya gently as she starts to fuss. “She tried to help me when I was kidnapped.”

Vince’s hands clench at his sides. “This is different.”

“How?”

“Because now, there’s an explicit connection to my father mentioned.” He steps closer, his eyes boring into mine. “This has his fingerprints all over it.”

I’m about to reply when Arkady appears in the doorway. “Sorry to interrupt,” he says. “But we have issues with the guest list. Two of the family heads are requesting additional security clearances.”

Vince sighs. “I’ll handle it.”

He gives me a look that says our conversation isn’t over, then follows Arkady out.

I stare at my phone again, Natalie’s message glowing on the screen.

She betrayed me for years.

She also might have information that could protect my family.

I text back: What kind of information?

The reply comes almost instantly: He’s working with Barkov. Planning something for the christening. I can prove it, but only in person. Please.

My blood runs cold. Barkov has been a thorn in our side. If he’s working with Andrei…

I make a decision, knowing Vince won’t like it.

Fine. Tomorrow. Text me when and where.

“I still think this is a terrible idea.” Dimitri adjusts his earpiece as he drives, his eyes constantly checking the mirrors.

“It’s gonna be fine, Dima.” I smooth my hand over Sofiya’s carrier, though she’s not with us. I left her with Mrs. Christianson, one of our most trusted household staff. Being separated from her makes my skin crawl, but bringing her to meet Natalie would be an even worse risk.

“The boss is going to kill me,” Dimitri mutters. “Then probably resurrect me just so he can kill me again.”

“Vince will understand.”

“Will he?”

Fair question. I’m not so sure, honestly.

When I left the compound, I told Vince I was visiting my mother—which wasn’t entirely a lie. I did stop by her room, kiss her forehead, and whisper that I’d be back soon. She was sleeping, as she does most of the time now, her body surrendering to the cancer that’s consuming it.

But afterward, instead of returning to the nursery, I met Dimitri at the service entrance. He’s one of the few guards I trust completely—a man who has put himself between me and danger more than once.

The fact that he agreed to drive me, even while protesting, tells me he sees some merit in what I’m doing.

The café Natalie selected is in Tribeca—small, nondescript, with multiple exits. Not the choice of an amateur. Dimitri parks across the street, scanning the area through polarized windows.

“Two guys on the corner,” he notes. “Another watching from that bakery. They’re hers?”

I check the positions of the men Natalie described in her text. “Yes. Security she hired.”

“Amateurs.” Dimitri scoffs. “I made the one with the donut immediately.”

“Not everyone has your level of talent, Dima.”

“Clearly.” He turns to face me. “I go in first. Check every inch. You wait here until I signal.”

“Fine.”

Dimitri enters the café, moving with the casual confidence of someone who can kill in seventeen different ways without taking his eyes off his cappuccino. Three minutes later, he signals through the window—all clear.

I enter and pause one step inside to let my eyes adjust to the dimness. The café is nearly empty. She sits at a corner table, her back to the wall, watching the door.

She looks different than at the hospital—more put together, but still not the polished girl I remember from college. Her hair is tucked under a baseball cap, her makeup minimal.

“Row.” She stands when she sees me.

“Security sweep’s already done, so save the pleasantries.” I slide into the chair opposite her. “You said you have information.”

Natalie nods, glancing at Dimitri, who hovers nearby. “Your guard dog stays?”

“My guard dog’s name is Dimitri, and yes, he stays.”

She accepts this with a small nod. “I’ve been working for Vincent, you know.”

This takes me back. “What?”

“After you disappeared—after the kidnapping—I went a little crazy.” She fiddles with her coffee cup. “I thought you were dead, and I couldn’t live with myself. So I went to Arkady. Told him I’d do anything, absolutely anything, to help find you.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“Why would you? After what I did…” She trails off. “Anyway, once they found you, I just kept working. Watching. Listening. Trying to make up for years of being on the wrong side.”

“And Vince agreed to this?”

“He didn’t object.” She takes a deep breath. “That’s how I learned about Barkov. And Andrei.”

“What about them?”

“They’re planning to disrupt the christening,” Natalie explains. “Not an attack, exactly. More like… a statement.”

“What kind of statement?”

“The kind that proves Vince can’t protect his family.” She fiddles with her bracelets anxiously. “Andrei wants to humiliate him. Show everyone that Vincent is weak.”

My stomach tightens. “Why would Barkov work with Andrei? After what Vince did to him⁠—”

“Money.” Natalie shrugs. “And revenge. Barkov wants payback. Andrei wants to undermine Vince’s authority. It’s a marriage of convenience.”

“How did you get this information?”

“I’ve gotten… close to someone in Barkov’s organization.” She looks away. “Don’t ask for details.”

I wouldn’t be surprised if Natalie’s closeness involved a bedroom. She’s always been resourceful, and she’s never shied away from using her looks when necessary.

“Why tell me? Why not go directly to Vince?”

“Would he have believed me?” She meets my eyes. “Would he have even agreed to see me?”

She’s right. Vince would have dismissed the information outright if it came directly from her.

“Besides,” she continues, “I wanted…” She swallows hard. “I wanted a chance to talk to you. Without your mom dying in the next room.”

“About what?”

“About how sorry I am.” Her voice cracks. “I know it doesn’t change anything. I know what I did is unforgivable. But I need you to know that the friendship we had—it became real for me. Somewhere along the way, I forgot I was being paid.”

The set of my jaw hardens. “Not enough to stop taking the money, though.”

She winces. “I was trapped by then. They had years of evidence against me. If it had gotten out what I’d done…”

“So instead, you betrayed me.”

“Yes.” She doesn’t try to soften it. “And I will regret it every day for the rest of my life.”

I stare at her, searching for the friend I thought I knew. The girl who held my hair back when I drank too much. The woman who brought me coffee during all-nighters. The friend who checked in on my mother when I couldn’t.

Was any of it real?

“I believed in us, you know,” I say softly. “When everyone else in my life was temporary—boyfriends, roommates—you were my constant. I thought we’d be friends forever.”

“So did I.” Tears glimmer in her eyes. “That’s what kills me, Row. Somewhere along the way, it stopped being an assignment. You became my person. And by the time I realized that, I was in too deep to get out.”

“You could have told me the truth.”

“Would you have forgiven me?”

I consider this. “I don’t know.”

Dimitri shifts nearby, a subtle reminder that time is passing. If I stay away too long, Vince will get suspicious.

“The information about Barkov,” I say, redirecting. “What exactly are they planning?”

Natalie pulls out a thumb drive and slides it across the table. “Everything I know is on here. But the short version is that they’re planning to have agents at the christening—posing as waitstaff, security, other guests. They’ll create some kind of commotion. Nothing violent, but enough to show the world that even at his daughter’s christening, Vincent Akopov can’t maintain control.”

I pocket the drive. “If this checks out, it’s valuable,” I admit.

“I know.”

“It doesn’t erase what you did, though.”

“I know that, too.”

I study her face, searching for deception. All I see is remorse and a desperate hope that appears genuine.

“I need to ask you something,” I say finally. “When you heard I was kidnapped—when you thought I might be dead—was your reaction real?”

“God, yes.” Her voice breaks. “Row, I was hysterical. Ask Arkady. Ask any of them. I threatened to go to the FBI, to the press—anything to find you. I didn’t sleep for days.”

I believe her. Which makes everything more complicated.

Because it means Natalie isn’t simply a villain in my story. She’s a person who made terrible choices, but still cared. Who betrayed me, but tried to help when it mattered most.

Can I forgive her? No. Not yet.

Can I cut her out completely? Also no.

“I need to get back,” I say, standing. “Vince will be looking for me.”

“Of course.” Natalie stands, too. “Rowan, I know I don’t deserve it, but I have to ask… can you ever forgive me?”

I pause and consider it. “I don’t know,” I answer honestly. “What you did… it changed everything. You knew about my feelings for Vince, about my job, about my mom’s illness—and you reported it all back to them.”

“I did.”

“But you also tried to help me when I needed it most.” I take a deep breath. “So maybe, someday, we find a way forward. Not as the friends we were—that’s gone. But something new. Something built on honesty this time.”

Hope flickers in her eyes. “I’d like that.”

“It starts with this information being legitimate.” I tap my pocket where the thumb drive sits. “If you’re manipulating me again⁠—”

“I’m not. I swear on my life.”

I nod once. “Then we’ll see.”

It’s not forgiveness. It’s barely even trust.

But it’s another step forward.

“Take care of yourself, Nat,” I say, turning to leave.

“You, too.” Her voice is soft behind me. “And Rowan? He really does love you, you know. Vince, I mean. I’ve seen it firsthand. Whatever else happens, that part is real.”