"Listen to me." I cup her face in my hands, forcing her to look at me. "I'll be fine. But I can't promise that you'll be safe if you come with me. The police can't be trusted right now and I will not risk putting you in harm's way."
Her eyes shimmer with unshed tears, but I see the fierce determination behind them.
Then, she nods. "Okay."
"Vassily will be back soon," I continue. "He'll rally the guards here, and make sure the mansion is locked down tight in case anyone wants to take their chance attacking here while I'm gone. No one will get to you."
"Do you think this is Lola's doing?" Indigo asks, her voice hardening at the mention of that name.
"It can only be her. With Ryan dead after that confrontation yesterday, it's the easiest way for her and her father to turn the entire city against me. Gives them a lot more room to maneuver."
I turn to Roma, who's still standing silently by the door. "Gather everything you can to prove I was here all night. As many witness statements from as many people here as you can."
Roma shifts uncomfortably. "Witness statements from your wife and the staff won't mean much to the cops right now. They'll want hard evidence."
Fuck!
He's right.
If the police are coming in force, then they've already made up their minds. We'll need to provide them with as much physical evidence as we can. That means things like security recordings from the mansion showing me coming home. Security cameras showing Ryan was alive when I came home. More video evidence that I didn't leave the house.
And that comes with its own risks.
I don't want to hand that information over to the cops, especially when I have no idea which cops I can even trust.
But if I don't hand that information over, then there's no way back to Indigo.
No way back home.
That fucking Ryan.
That useless idiot allowed himself to be manipulated by Lola this entire time. He played his willing part for her schemes without ever realizing that she was grooming him to die at the right moment.
Like a prized pig to slaughter.
And now because of his stupidity, Lola has gotten enough of an upper hand to make my life a living hell.
Roma clears his throat. "Should I start assembling the evidence now?"
I look back at Indigo. Her chin is raised. Determination is written across her face. And when I see that determination, I can't help but feel the fact that if she can come back to me against all odds, then I can do this for her.
There's no setback that will hold us apart.
Not this time.
Not anymore.
"Yes," I turn back and face Roma. "Go gather the evidence. Get the security camera footage showing I was here all night. Send them every angle if you have to. What matters is that the evidence is ironclad. Once you have that, send everything to Kaufman in triplicate copy. Physical and digital. We can't risk this information not reaching him."
Roma nods. "I'll get it done."
He walks out and I'm left alone with Indigo and the half-painted nursery walls.
I turn to her, cupping her face in my hands. "I'll be back. I promise."
This time, there's doubt nor hesitation in her soft hazel eyes. She believes me completely.
"When you come back," she says, her voice steady and strong, "we'll finish painting this room. We'll finish fighting this war. We'll make Lola and Taras and the rest of the Volkovs pay for everything they've done."
