Six months had passed since Dimitri walked away.
The Volkov mansion had become something Sara never thought it could be: peaceful. Hope was crawling everywhere, pulling herself up on furniture, babbling words that almost sounded like "Mama" and "Dada." Tom was thriving in school, talking about college, about the future. Elena spent her days in the garden, the roses blooming around her like a promise kept.
And Natalia had become a regular presence at the dinner table.
She still moved with caution, still watched Adrian's face for signs of rejection, still hesitated before speaking. But she was there. Every day. Trying.
Adrian had not called her mother. He might never. But he no longer flinched when she entered the room. He no longer left when she sat beside him. He was trying too.
Sara watched them from the window of the nursery, Hope in her arms, and let herself believe that maybe—just maybe—they had found their happy ending.
The phone rang at midnight.
Sara answered it because Adrian was in the shower, because the sound was insistent, because something in her gut told her not to ignore it.
"Mrs. Volkov." The voice was distorted, mechanical. A voice changer. "I have a message for your husband."
Sara's blood ran cold. "Who is this?"
"Someone who knows what you did. Someone who knows where Dimitri is. Someone who knows that the Volkov family isn't as safe as you think."
Sara's hand tightened on the phone. "What do you want?"
"I want your husband to know that Dimitri didn't leave because he wanted to. He left because he was running. From me."
The line went dead.
Adrian found her in the nursery, standing over Hope's crib, her face pale.
"What happened?"
Sara handed him the phone. He listened to the recording—she had pressed record, some instinct telling her to—and his face went from confusion to ice.
"Who is this?" he asked.
"I don't know. The voice was disguised."
Adrian set the phone down, pulling her into his arms. "We're safe. The mansion is secure. The guards are in place."
"Someone knows where Dimitri is. Someone is threatening us."
"Someone is trying to scare us." His voice was steady, but she felt the tension in his body. "We've faced worse. We've survived worse."
Sara pressed closer to him. "I thought it was over."
"It's never over. Not completely. But we're stronger than we were before. We have more to fight for."
She looked at Hope, at her daughter's peaceful face, at the life they had built.
"I'm tired of fighting."
Adrian kissed her forehead. "I know. But we keep fighting. Because that's what we do. That's who we are."
The next morning, Adrian called Ivan Baranov.
The old man arrived within the hour, his face grim, his eyes sharp. He sat in Adrian's study, the door closed, maps spread across the desk.
"Dimitri contacted me three days ago," Ivan said. "He's in hiding. Someone's been following him. Someone who knows who he is, what he did, where he's been."
Adrian leaned forward. "Who?"
Ivan shook his head slowly. "He doesn't know. But he's scared. More scared than I've ever heard him."
Adrian's jaw tightened. "Dimitri doesn't get scared."
"He does now." Ivan met his eyes. "Whoever is following him, whoever made that call to your wife—they're not playing games. They want something. And they're willing to go through your family to get it."
Adrian stood, moving to the window. Below, Sara walked through the garden, Hope in her arms, sunlight on her face.
"Then we find them first. Before they find us."
Sara found Natalia in the garden that afternoon, sitting among the roses, her face troubled.
"You know something," Sara said. It wasn't a question.
Natalia looked up. "I know many things. Most of them I wish I didn't."
"The call last night. The threat. Do you know who's behind it?"
Natalia was quiet for a long moment. Then she said, "There was a man. Years ago. Before your husband's father took everything from me. He was... he was obsessed with the Volkov family. With the power. With the name."
Sara sat beside her. "What happened to him?"
"I thought he died. In a fire. Years ago." Natalia's voice was barely a whisper. "But now... now I'm not so sure."
Sara's heart pounded. "Who is he?"
Natalia met her eyes. "His name was Viktor Krasimov. And he was your husband's father's closest friend. Until he wasn't."
"What happened?"
"Your husband's father betrayed him. Took something that wasn't his. Left him for dead." Natalia's hands trembled. "If he's alive—if he's been waiting all this time—"
"He's more dangerous than Dimitri. More dangerous than you."
Natalia nodded slowly. "Yes."
Adrian listened to Natalia's story in silence.
When she finished, he stood at the window, his back to her, his hands clenched.
"Viktor Krasimov," he said. "I've heard the name. My father mentioned him once. Said he was dead."
"He wanted everyone to think that." Natalia's voice was steady. "If he's been hiding, planning, waiting—"
"He's been waiting for the right moment. When the family was weak. When the empire was gone. When we thought we were safe."
Adrian turned. His face was hard, but his eyes were tired.
"We need to find him. Before he finds us."
Natalia stood, moving to stand before him. "I know where he might be. A place your father used to own. A house in the mountains. The same one where I was hiding, years ago."
Adrian stared at her. "You knew about this place? All this time?"
"I knew about many places. Many secrets. I didn't share them because I was afraid. Because I didn't know who to trust." She met his eyes. "I trust you now."
Adrian was quiet for a long moment. Then he nodded slowly.
"We go tonight. Before he moves."
Sara found him in the nursery that evening, packing a bag.
"You're going after him," she said.
Adrian didn't look up. "I have to."
"No, you don't. You could wait. You could send someone else. You could—"
"Sara." He turned to face her. "This man has been waiting for decades. He knows our family. Our weaknesses. Our fears. If I don't stop him now, he'll come here. He'll hurt you. He'll hurt Hope."
Sara's eyes filled with tears. "I can't lose you."
"You won't." He pulled her into his arms. "I'm coming back. I promise."
"You promised before. And you almost died."
"I'm still here." He held her tighter. "I'm still here because of you. Because I had something to come back to."
Sara pulled back, looking at him. "Take Ivan. Take guards. Don't be a hero."
Adrian smiled—that real smile, the one only she got to see. "I'll try."
"Don't try. Do."
He kissed her—soft, desperate, full of everything he couldn't say.
When they broke apart, Sara touched his face. "Come back to me."
"Always."