Varro was the real target. Vetrov happened to be the substitute. Neither of them committed the crime, but the one paying for it wasn’t the one who was supposed to be arrested. There was more to the story than it met the eye; however, she didn’t even know the half of it.
To the outside world, Vetrov was serving time for the bombing that claimed over half a dozen lives and left many injured. To Ellie, however, the man was incapable of pulling off such a coordinated terrorist attack on his own.
She strongly believed that he was framed and innocent. But that’s because she didn’t know the full story. Now that she’d already figured out there was another player in the game that nobody knew about, she wasn’t going to stop until she found out who he was and his role in this case.
Ellie had come closer to the truth than anyone ever had. And although a part of me wanted to keep her in the dark, the other part was of the opinion that she’d earned the truth.
She’d put in the work, giving it her all, in a bid to prove a man’s innocence. I admired her dedication to the case, especiallybecause she wasn’t making a dime from it. She wasn’t moved by money but by her affection and her faith in a broken system.
Perhaps it was time to come clean and finally set this case aside once and for all.
It was time to tell her the truth and open her eyes to the reality of how things truly worked in this world. The conversation was long overdue anyway.
Later that evening, after a warm shower, I put on a white singlet over a pair of loose pants. I combed my hair to perfection and wore my signature cologne in the right proportion. Strange, I would usually just step out without paying attention to my looks.
I told myself it was nothing.
But deep down, I knew the extra effort was for her, to impress her. There was no need for any of that. Yet, I couldn’t help it.
I stepped out of my room and began strolling down the empty hallway. Not long after, a door toward my right opened with a quiet creak, as if someone was being careful not to make a noise.
When I looked in that direction, I saw her standing in the doorway. She froze the moment our eyes met, her breath hitching, eyes wide with shock.
It was Agata.
At first, I thought her sudden unease was because of the way I scolded her the last time. Or maybe because she was afraid I’d scold her again for reporting me to Ellie.
But that was until I noticed the subtle details in her appearance. Her hair was a tangled mess, her fingers quietly tugging down the hem of her uniform.
The zipper on her back was undone, letting the sleeves of her dress slip slightly off her shoulders. The imbalance left herbra straps exposed, and that’s when I noticed her breathing was labored.
A man’s voice came from inside the room, asking in Russian why she’d stopped. I recognized it. Behind her, Sergei came into view, shirtless, fingers zipping up his pants.
He stared at me in shock while she lowered her head, unable to meet my eyes.
Those two were fucking.
I wasn’t sure how to feel about my staff having a secret affair under my roof. But then again, what they did in secret shouldn’t concern me. As long as it didn’t affect their work or interfere with my life.
To ease the tension and not make things more awkward than they already were, I walked away as though I never saw a thing.
Agata and Sergei?
I did not see that coming.
Ellie was at her table when I pushed open her door and walked in. She was working through a pile of documents, her back to the entrance, scribbling in a notebook.
“The day you learn how to knock, pigs might actually start flying past my window,” she said, her voice calm and composed.
“Vetrov wasn’t supposed to be the one behind bars,” I said, going straight to the point.
She stopped writing and paused for a moment before turning around. Her hair was tied in a messy bun, with a few strands framing her face. When she looked at me, her eyes sparked with curiosity and something darker.
I stepped forward, both hands in my pockets. “He was never in the original plan.”
“What do you mean by that?” she asked. “What original plan?”
I halted a few paces before her. “The Bratva wanted to silence a high-ranking freelance operative. The man knew too much. He stole vital information about our organization. The elders had to stop him.”