"I mean," she shrugs, "I didn't know about that, but yes. Any and everything since. I truly believe he's the one responsible for all this."
"Giving you to the Russians, you mean."
Elena nods, her voice low. "Yes."
My lip twitches, and the rage that explodes inside me is white hot and instant.
I don't even question it. If she believes it, then there's truth to it.
My hands curl into fists, and I want to destroy something. I want to put my fist through the door, through the floor, through the entire fucking side of the house if I could.
But I don't move. I just sit there, staring at Elena, trying my best not to show my anger because I don't want to trigger anything in her.
"I'll look into it," I say, my voice low and deadly. "Immediately."
Elena nods.
"And when I find him, I will learn just how involved he is," I continue. "And then, I will kill him."
Her eyes widen slightly, but she doesn't look away.
"I mean it, Leni," I say. "I won't show you everything I'm feeling right now, but I won't lie to you either. I always tell you everything. I will hunt him down, and I will make him pay for every second of what you went through."
She doesn't respond, but I see the tension in her shoulders ease just a fraction.
I take a breath, forcing myself to shift gears.
There's more I need to know, and since she's the one who brought this up, maybe now's a good time.
"Since we're on the subject," I say, "I wanted to ask you about the drugs."
Elena stiffens, her arms tightening around her knees.
"The ones you were forced to take," I clarify. "The ones you detoxed from."
She looks away from me.
"What about them?"
"What did they look like?" I ask.
She hesitates, then shrugs one shoulder.
"Blue vials at first," she says, scratching her nose. "Liquid. They'd inject it into my arm or make me drink it. Later, it turned into pills. Small, round, pale blue."
My blood runs cold. I know what that is.
I shake my head, exhaling slowly. "You were being dosed with Siberian Ice."
Elena frowns. "I've heard that name before."
"Yeah?"
"Not in reference to the pill, though," she says. "Maxim never called it that. It was just 'the pill' or 'your medicine' or whatever stupid thing one of the servants picked for the day."
I nod, filing that information away.
"Matei and I discovered it in Los Angeles," I say. "The Volkovs are exporting it. It's tied to all the shit they're doing. The kidnappings, the trafficking, all of it."