Maya's POV
Ethan is gone. Hunting his supposedly dead uncle in Russia. Leaving me with armed guards and too many questions.
I pace the penthouse, my mind racing. Everything connects. Every betrayal. Every murder. Every lie. Marcus Volkova has been pulling strings for fifteen years while everyone thought he was dead.
"You need to rest," Derek says, watching me wear a path in the carpet. "The baby needs you calm."
"I can't rest. Ethan is in Russia facing a killer. Patricia is planning to murder us all. Marcus is orchestrating everything from the shadows." I spin to face him. "How am I supposed to rest?"
"By trusting that Ethan knows what he's doing," my father Richard says from the couch. "He's a professional. He's survived worse."
"Has he? Marcus trained him. Marcus knows all his moves. All his weaknesses." I sink into a chair, exhausted. "What if Ethan doesn't come back?"
"Then we adapt," Derek says firmly. "We protect ourselves. We don't give up."
