Chapter 3 - The BloodlineLeo drove like a man who had forgotten traffic laws existed.
Natasha sat beside him, gripping the door.
Two cars followed.
No one spoke.
At the third red light, Leo finally said, "Tell me everything."
"There is nothing to tell."
"You met someone at my building."
"Yes."
"Who?"
"An old woman."
"Name."
"I don't know."
"Then describe her."
Natasha turned toward him.
"Why?"
"Because she is dead."
Natasha stared.
"What?"
"Security footage shows she was shot thirty seconds after you left."
Natasha felt sick.
Leo continued.
"Her name was Evelyn Mercer."
The name struck something in her memory.
She remembered a woman from childhood.
A nanny perhaps.
Someone who used to whisper stories about Russia.
"You know her?"
"No."
"She said she knew my mother."
Leo's hands tightened on the wheel.
"What exactly did she say?"
"She said my father was Viktor Volkov."
Leo went completely still.
Even while driving.
Then he said, "Who told you that name?"
"Evelyn."
"Anything else?"
"She said Carlo knew."
Leo stared through the windshield.
"Of course he did."
"What does that mean?"
"Nothing."
"You're lying."
His jaw flexed.
"Not now."
"Then when?"
He slammed the brakes at the next intersection.
The convoy behind them stopped.
Leo turned toward her.
"You don't understand what you're carrying."
"I understand perfectly."
"No."
His voice was colder now.
"You don't."
He reached into the glove compartment and removed a folder.
He threw it onto her lap.
Inside was a photograph of a man.
Viktor Volkov.
Natasha stared.
It was the same man from Evelyn's file.
He had Leo's eyes.
The same dark eyes.
The same sharp cheekbones.
The same small scar beside the eyebrow.
Natasha looked at Leo.
"Why does he look like you?"
Leo said nothing.
"Leo."
"He was my biological father."
The words landed softly.
Like a knife placed on a table.
Natasha stared at him.
"You didn't know?"
"I knew."
"When?"
"When Carlo died."
She shook her head.
"That makes no sense."
"It does if you understand Carlo."
He pulled the car into an underground garage.
The doors opened.
Men with rifles surrounded them.
Leo got out.
Natasha followed.
He took her wrist.
"From now on, you don't go anywhere without me."
She yanked free.
"That's not protection."
"It is."
"It's a cage."
His eyes met hers.
"Yes."
That honesty frightened her more than anger would have.
They entered a secure elevator.
The doors shut.
Leo leaned against the wall.
"Viktor Volkov and my mother were married before she met Carlo."
Natasha stared.
"My father disappeared when I was four."
"Disappeared?"
"Carlo said he died."
Natasha remembered Evelyn's words.
"Your father didn't die."
Leo's eyes sharpened.
"You heard her say that?"
"She said Carlo lied."
The elevator doors opened.
Leo stepped out.
His lieutenant, Marcus Donigan, was waiting.
"Boss."
Leo's voice was clipped.
"Lock down every property."
Marcus nodded.
"Already done."
"Anyone who was near Natasha's apartment gets checked."
"Everyone?"
"Everyone."
Marcus glanced at Natasha.
Then at Leo.
Something flickered in his eyes.
Concern.
Maybe surprise.
Leo noticed.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Say it."
Marcus hesitated.
"There's a problem."
"What?"
Marcus handed him a phone.
"Someone accessed the family archive."
Leo looked at the screen.
"From where?"
"The penthouse."
Natasha felt cold.
"But no one was there."
Marcus shook his head.
"Someone was."
Leo looked at Natasha.
Then at the security monitor.
A frozen image appeared.
A hooded figure standing inside the penthouse.
Near the bedroom.
Near Natasha's old closet.
The timestamp was twelve minutes after she left.
Leo's expression changed.
"Enhance it."
Marcus did.
The image sharpened.
The hooded man turned slightly.
Natasha stared.
She recognized the posture.
The shoulders.
The way he stood.
She knew that man.
She had watched him from across Leo's dining room for three years.
"That's impossible."
Leo looked at her.
"Who?"
May you like
Natasha whispered.
"Carlo."
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