Page 97 of Shadows of Obsession
"OMG. There's drama involved, isn't there?!" he responds ecstatically, and my face must clearly tell him that the pansy-covered shirt he's wearing will be in the trash in twenty seconds if he doesn't shut up.
Luna has a smile on her face, while Niko stoically looks out the window. Neither he nor I ever expected to have another brother. The implications of this are huge.
After some waiting, Maksim and Julia enter the office, followed by Felix, who I could swear would build Maksim a statue, judging by how he’s looking at him. There's a moment of silence where we all just analyze each other until Luna breaks it.
"Thank you for coming," she tells them in a gentle tone.
Maksim's eyes go to her, and I see him scanning her. This idiot thinks I would hurt the woman I...
"Are you okay?" he asks her, and what little calm I was trying to maintain evaporates.
"If she hadn't been kidnapped by you yesterday, she probably would be," I throw at him in a threatening tone, but I hear Luna answering at the same time.
"I'm okay."
Maksim looks at me as if he hadn't noticed me until now.
"She'd be dead if Julia and I hadn't been there," he answers in the same bored tone as yesterday, and although I'd like to tell him it's not true, I can't.
"Roman, I know you have questions, so let's answer them. We all have other crises to resolve," says the woman next to Maksim as she makes herself comfortable in an armchair.
"How long have you known about us?" Niko asks first and takes a few steps forward.
"Since I was fifteen," he answers, a small smirk appearing on his lips.
It feels like a punch to the chest. He's known about us for so many years and never contacted us. Niko must sense my shock because he's the one who continues the discussion.
"Why did you never reach out?"
It's clear he's carefully weighing his answers as I sense hesitation in every gesture.
"I didn't need you."
It's a simple answer. Cold. Impersonal. He can go to hell for all I care. Right now I'm glad I didn't bring Victoria here. It would have broken her heart to see what an ice block our new brother is. Because, although neither Niko nor I are saints, family is our priority. I would bleed for any of them.
"Until now," I declare because obviously something has changed.
"Bingo!" is all my carbon copy offers me.
"Maksim! Can't we be adults and talk normally?" Julia scolds him. When none of us say a word, she continues.
"You want to know everything? I'll tell you everything. Max was adopted at age six from an orphanage near Moscow. His new adoptive father was human garbage, a predator who abused Max for years."
I suspected that from what Luna told me, but hearing it and seeing Maksim at the same time puts a knot in my throat.
Calm, Roman.
Julia seems to seek permission to continue from Maksim, and a few seconds later he nods.
"But Ivan Rastovski didn't just want a new toy. He wanted an heir. A successor to take over all the family horrors and carry them forward. At fifteen, Max had his first mission in Atlanta. That's when he accidentally saw a picture of you and your family in the newspaper. It was obvious enough what had happened."
I look into Julia’s eyes and see such protectiveness in them. I don't know what they've been through together, but it's clear these people would die for each other.
"Alexei Borisov didn't want a defective child, and Ivan had too much influence for me, at fifteen, to do anything. That's why I never made contact. When you took the reins, I started implementing my plan," Maksim says, and all heads turn to him.
"What this monster did exceeds any limit of humanity. I went through it. Julia went through it. But if I get my hands on everything he has, I can finally end this chapter. That's why I needed Luna. I can't legally inherit his empire if there is suspicion surrounding his death. The bastard fortified his will well."
The heavy atmosphere in the room presses down on us, and when I look at Niko, I know what he’s thinking. Maksim is telling the truth. You can feel it in his wording.
