Chapter 32

Nikolai

"Y ou drugged her?" Kimiko yells down the phone.

"Yes. It was the only way. Now, get here and bring Endo," I demand. I don't wait for her response before I hang up.

I gently lay Arianna down on the sofa before heading back into the kitchen.

"Where Mommy?" Mads asks when she notices I'm alone.

"Mommy was sleepy so she's taking a nap."

"Okay, play wiv me?" she asks in her toddler lisp, so sweet and trusting.

When the others arrive a short while later, Mads and I are sitting on the floor playing, surrounded by an array of stuffed animals, dolls, and a tea set.

"Well, that's a sight I never thought I'd see," Endo quips, grinning at me.

"Auntie Kimmi!" Mads cries, reaching her pudgy hands up toward Kimiko.

"There's my favorite girl, I missed you!" Kimiko says, picking her up and cuddling her.

"Mommy's sleepy" Mads announces.

"Is she?" Kimiko says, glaring at me pointedly over the top of Mads' head.

I just shrug. I'm not going to apologize for doing what had to be done. "Take Mads, we'll bring Arianna along after you."

"Come on Mads, we're going to go on an airplane to America!" Kimiko announces in a falsely cheerful tone.

"Yay!" Mads declares, seemingly unaware of the tension between the adults.

I carry a sleeping Arianna into the back of the car, thinking about how similar this feels to the first time we met. I only hope she can forgive me and realize that I did what was best for her and Mads. That I'm keeping her safe.

We're five thousand miles high and just about to cross into US airspace aboard my private jet when Arianna wakes. She blinks, slowly opening her eyes. Panic sets in as she wakes and doesn't recognize where she is.

"Mads!" she cries out in a strangled voice.

"I'm right here Mommy! You were sleepy!" Mads giggles from where she's been sitting next to Kimiko, gazing out of the window the entire time.

"Hey," Kimiko says, looking visibly uncomfortable.

"Long time no see, princess!" Endo declares, he was his usual chipper self, seemingly oblivious to the fury emanating from Arianna.

Arianna visibly relaxes and then takes in her surroundings. Her eyes glaze over me as she resolutely refuses to look my way. She glares at Endo before her eyes land on Kimiko's guilty face.

"So, you're both just fine with this?" she demands, glowering at both of them in turn.

Endo reddens slightly, uncomfortable under her wrathful stare. "Sorry princess, what the boss says, goes," he declares with a shrug.

"Yes, such a loyal friend," she spits, though her gaze is fixed on Kimiko accusingly. "If only I had someone like that who I could rely on not to stab me in the back at the first opportunity."

Seemingly happy to not be in the firing line and sensing an argument ensuing, Endo turns his attention to Mads. "Hey, Mads, have you ever played eye-spy?"

The little girl shakes her head and Endo starts to explain the game, distracting her.

"Arianna, that's not fair. I didn't know he was going to—" Kimiko starts.

"Drug me and force me and my daughter onto a plane against our will?" she snarls.

"Nikolai was just doing what he thought was best to protect you. I'll admit his methods were a little… unorthodox, but he means well," Kimiko reasons.

"Unorthodox?" she says with a sarcastic snort.

"We all just want you and Mads to be safe, Arianna."

"You don't get to decide what's right for me, how to keep my daughter safe. She's my daughter, not yours. She's not anyone else's but mine!"

"I think we all know that you're not being completely honest here," Kimiko states, looking at me and then Mads pointedly.

It's clear that she's implying she thinks Mads is mine. So it's not just me who noticed the similarity, who questioned who Mads' father is. The thought should comfort me but instead, I'm livid. If Kimiko thought there was even the slightest chance that I could be a father, that Mads could be mine, why would she hide that from me?

"Kimiko," I state, my voice stern and commanding.

She looks up and I gesture for her to follow me to the back area of the plane where we can speak privately.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" I ask calmly, keeping my voice low.

"I don't know what you mean…" she says nervously.

"Sure you do. You were just implying that you think Mads might be mine. And I thought, that's funny, Kimiko's been visiting Arianna for over two years and never once mentioned she has a daughter to me, let alone that the child could be my own flesh and blood. Surely, Kimiko, who I think of as a sister, wouldn't hide something that important from me."

"You never wanted me to talk about her, whenever I brought her up, you'd change the subject. I didn't have a chance to tell you," Kimiko replies.

"You should have tried harder," I snarl.

"I'm sorry, Arianna says you're not the father and I believed her," she states, clutching at straws.

"But you don't now?"

"I don't know, honestly. Why would she lie about it? I told her the last time I saw you that I was going to tell you my suspicions, I promise. But if you're being honest, I'm not sure you'd have listened to me no matter how hard I tried to talk about her," Kimiko pleads.

I search her face, seeing no sign of deception. I'm still livid, but I can't fault her reasons. She's right. The last time I saw Kimiko I know I would have commanded her to stop talking if she brought Arianna up.

"Get out of my sight before I change my mind about not killing you for this," I hiss.

My mind is reeling. Arianna swears that the child isn't mine. Kimiko is right, what reason would she have to lie about it? I'd give my child everything they could want. I'd die for them. They'd lead a life of unparalleled luxury. What mother wouldn't want that? But even as I ask myself that, I know the answer. Arianna. Arianna is the kind of mother who wouldn't want her child to have that life. Who views the luxurious lifestyle I offer as a prison for the wealthy.