Consumed by Deception (Deception Trilogy #3) by Rina Kent

“I can walk on my own, Papa.”

Apparently, my son is at the stage where he wants to do everything himself and would judge anyone who’d commit the mistake of trying to help him.

Shaking my head, I put him to his feet and take his hand in mine.

As soon as we leave the bathroom, I can sense the change in the atmosphere without having to look twice. Jeremy releases my hand and runs to Lia before slamming into her legs.

She smiles at him, but her sharp glare falls on me.

I narrow my eyes. What’s wrong with her now?

She stands up with a force that shakes her tiny frame, takes Jeremy’s hand, and starts walking in the direction of the exit.

What the fuck? I thought she was the one who wanted to come here.

Boris follows her as Kolya falls in step beside me. “Mrs. Volkov ran into an old friend, sir.”

“An old friend?”

“The choreographer from the ballet. Stephanie.”

The image forms clearly in my head and I whisper, “Fuck.”

“Stephanie told her about Ryan’s disappearance and Mrs. Volkov froze. I believe she knows, sir.”

“Of course she does.” Lia is smart enough to connect the dots and figure out exactly what happened.

“What do you intend to do?”

“Let me deal with her.”

I didn’t want Lia to find out under the current circumstances, but it’s long overdue. She would’ve figured it out sooner or later.

It’s not that I purposely tried to hide it, but the conditions weren’t right at the time. Judging from the way Lia glared at me, they still aren’t.

But there’s one thing my dear wife seems to forget.

She once labeled me her villain, and that’s the most accurate label she’s ever given me.

As is true with any villain, right or wrong is never black or white.

It’s always gray.





15





Lia





By the time we reach home, I’m fuming.

No, that’s an understatement.

I feel as if my emotions have reached the boiling point and will now spill over, leaving only havoc behind.

Not only am I sure my husband is behind my ex-colleague’s disappearance, but he also never thought about mentioning it to me. I wish I was being paranoid or distrustful or that I was merely assuming the worst about the situation.

I wish what I’m thinking was tied to my insecurities and painful memories.

But I’ve known Adrian for six years. And those six years started with me witnessing him finish a life. A life that he ended because the Italian men were watching me.

So no, I’m not paranoid to assume that he hurt Ryan somehow, that he’s the reason a lead dancer who was extremely disciplined when it came to work, disappeared without a trace.

Jeremy fell asleep on Adrian’s lap on the ride back and it took everything in me not to snap at my husband while his men were present.

After we get inside, Adrian carries Jeremy to his room. I go straight to the bedroom and keep the door open so that I can watch in case he decides to go to his office and ignore me.

I remove my coat and throw it on a nearby chair as I pace the length of the room. My body is burning with pent-up frustration to the level that even the air feels suffocating.

Soon enough, Adrian walks in and closes the door behind him. Before the click has barely echoed in the air, I’m in his face. “Is there something you want to tell me?”

He turns away, simultaneously removing his coat. Oblivious to the change of atmosphere, he takes his time with the task, unhurriedly sliding it down his arms and hanging it up as if he has all the time in the world. Even his expression is neutral, unperturbed. “Something, like what?”

“Like, I don’t know, an incident that happened about six years ago?”

“A lot happened around six years ago, Lenochka. I met you, fucked you for the first time, put a baby in you, and married you. You’ll have to specify.”

“Ryan,” I grind out. “Is that specific enough for you?”

A shadow crossing his features is the only change in his demeanor before his composed expression returns as he unbuttons the cuffs of his shirt and rolls them over his defined forearms. “Ryan who?”

“Are you going to pretend you don’t even know him?”

“I’ve met a few Ryans in my life.”

“My co-lead, Ryan.”

“Former co-lead.”

“So you do remember him.”

“Yes. What about him?”

“What did you do to him, Adrian?”

“Why ask a question you already know the answer to?”

I stagger backward, my jaw nearly hitting the ground. “You’re…you’re not even going to try to deny it?”

“Why would I?”

“You killed someone!”

“He was neither the first nor the last.”

“No…no, Adrian! He’s not like the criminals you’ve killed. He was a dancer with a bright future ahead of him and you…you just ended it as if it never existed.”

“Just like he ended your career.”

I gasp, covering my mouth with my trembling hands as the clash of what he’s said ripples through me like an aftershock. The complete apathy he speaks with renders me speechless, unable to gather my scattering thoughts and put them into words.