Chapter 13 - The Woman Who Never DiedNatasha woke in a hospital room.
For one terrifying second, she did not know where she was.
Then she remembered the blood.
She grabbed her stomach.
A doctor rushed in.
"Easy."
"My baby?"
The doctor checked the monitor.
"Heartbeat is strong."
Natasha burst into tears.
She had not cried when Leo threw her out.
Not when her mother appeared.
Not when gunfire trapped them.
This broke her.
Leo was sitting beside the bed.
His right arm was bandaged.
His eyes were red from exhaustion.
"You're here."
"Where else would I be?"
She looked at him.
"Is it safe?"
"No."
She almost laughed through her tears.
"Of course."
He took her hand.
"Your mother disappeared."
"Viktor?"
"Disappeared too."
"Claire?"
"Dead."
"Marcus?"
"Alive."
Natasha stared at the ceiling.
"We're almost out of people."
Leo's mouth tightened.
"Maybe that's the point."
"What?"
"The war keeps removing everyone until only the bloodline remains."
A nurse entered.
She handed Natasha an envelope.
"No return address."
Leo opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
An elderly woman.
White hair.
Dark eyes.
Standing in front of a mansion.
Natasha recognized her.
She had seen that face in an old family portrait.
Her grandmother.
Still alive.
On the back of the photograph:
COME TO THE LAKE HOUSE. ALONE.
Leo stared.
"We're not going."
Natasha sat up.
"We are."
"No."
"She has my mother."
"We don't know that."
"She's the only person who can end this."
Leo shook his head.
"She's also the person who started it."
They escaped the hospital before dawn.
At the lake house, there were no guards.
No cars.
No cameras.
Just fog.
Natasha entered first.
The house smelled like cedar.
A fire was burning in the library.
An old woman sat beside it.
She was eighty.
Elegant.
Straight-backed.
Calm.
"Natasha."
The girl froze.
"Grandmother."
The woman smiled.
"You look like Elena."
"Where is she?"
"Alive."
Leo stepped forward.
"Where?"
The old woman looked at him.
"I know your father."
"Viktor."
"No."
She laughed.
"Poor Viktor."
"Then who?"
She pointed at Leo.
"Carlo."
Leo went still.
"You said Carlo was my father."
"He was."
"Then what was Viktor?"
"My husband."
Natasha stared.
Her grandmother continued.
"Carlo was the love of my life."
Leo's expression hardened.
"You built all of this."
"Yes."
"For what?"
"To make sure the Tomlin organization would never fall into the hands of men like Vincent."
She looked at Natasha.
"I needed a lawful heir."
"You used me."
"I protected you."
"You manipulated my life."
"Yes."
Natasha's voice broke.
"Did you plan my relationship with Leo?"
The old woman nodded.
"Yes."
Leo looked sick.
"You brought her into my life."
"Correct."
"Why?"
"Because you had to produce the heir."
Natasha felt the room disappear.
Leo stared at the old woman.
"You used us."
"I used everyone."
He raised his gun.
Natasha grabbed his arm.
"No."
The grandmother did not flinch.
"If you kill me, the trusts remain locked."
Leo's gun stayed raised.
"Where is Natasha's mother?"
"Below."
A hidden door opened.
Two men brought Elena upstairs.
Natasha ran to her.
They embraced.
"I thought you were dead."
"I thought you were gone."
Her mother cried.
The grandmother stood.
"Now you know."
Natasha looked at her.
"No."
The old woman smiled.
"You know only the first half."
She pointed to Natasha's stomach.
"The child you're carrying is not merely an heir."
She paused.
"The child is the only person who can legally dissolve the Tomlin organization."
Leo's face changed.
"Why?"
"Because your grandfather wrote the final clause."
"What clause?"
The old woman leaned closer.
"If the heir refuses the empire, every asset is liquidated."
Natasha stared.
"So I can end all of this."
"Yes."
The old woman smiled.
"And that is why everyone wants your child."
Suddenly, gunfire erupted outside.
The windows shattered.
The grandmother looked toward the lake.
"They found us."
Leo drew his weapon.
May you like
His grandmother said quietly:
"Now we see which of you survives."
