73. Tessa

73

Tessa

T he scent of food reminds me I haven't eaten in forever. My stomach growls and I'm practically salivating by the time I follow Elena and Chloe into a large, open-plan kitchen.

Considering this place is owned by a psychopath, it's surprisingly homely. Cream cabinets, white granite counters, and a pale wood table large enough to seat at least 10 people. The walls are duck egg blue and there are paintings and prints everywhere.

I'm genuinely surprised. Nothing I've learned about Sergei Mashkov to date suggests he has a Pinterest board of his favorite interior design ideas.

Whoever designed this kitchen has good taste.

Elena straps Chloe into a high chair and starts preparing some food for her like she's the parent, not me. It's jarring. I want to snatch my daughter up and run, but my instincts tell me not to rock the boat.

The woman is a certified lunatic. Right now, even though I hate her for touching my baby, she is behaving in a caring way. Obsessed and unhinged, yes, but she's making sure Chloe has food and everything else she needs to stay healthy.

I hover next to Chloe, unsure of what I'm supposed to be doing. Outside, guards patrol, all of them armed to the teeth. I can see gardens and a swimming pool through the sliding glass doors.

Elena hums away as she stirs something in a massive cast-iron pot on the stove. The scene is so ordinary I feel like I've fallen through a portal into another universe. One where my mother is still alive.

"Sit down, Tessa. Aleks will be here shortly."

Oh yes . Chloe's half-brother. Or so Elena tells me. Frankly, I don't know whether she's a fantasist or telling me the truth.

Elena drops a plate of stew, mashed potato, and green beans in front of me. Then she sits on Chloe's other side and starts spooning potato and sauce into her mouth. There's a moment when I think Chloe is going to smack the stupid bitch's hand away, but after some hesitation, she accepts the food.

"Good girl," Elena beams. "My granddaughter is a smart baby." I school my face into a neutral expression but inside, I'm seething.

The food is good. Better than good, even. Elena might be a deranged fruitcake, but the bitch can cook. I'm almost ashamed of how fast I finish my meal. If I was a stronger woman, I'd go on a hunger strike in protest of being kidnapped, but food is my weakness. And besides, I can't plot an escape if I'm weak with hunger.

At least that's what I tell myself.

As the last mouthful of potato goes down, a tall, lean young man with tousled dark hair walks in. His face is expressionless apart from a small twitch under his left eye. Is this Sergei's son? I assume so from the way Elena bustles over and hugs him while he stands, stiff as a post like he finds her touch deeply discomforting.

"Aleks, dorogaya , come and eat," she says when she finally releases him. I don't miss how some of the tension leaves him the moment her arms fall away.

Either the guy hates physical touch or he's less enamored of his dear, sweet grandmother than she is of him. Which is understandable.

"When is your father home?" Elena asks when she places a plate piled high with food in front of him.

"Tomorrow." Aleks ignores me and Chloe. He eats methodically, grunting occasionally while Elena waffles on and spoons food into Chloe's mouth.

There comes a point when Chloe's had enough and she bats the spoon away. Food goes flying, splatting on the stone floor. Elena's jaw tightens, and I see a brief glimpse of the real woman beneath the smiling Stepford Wife exterior, but it vanishes as soon as it appears.

Aleks looks up and for a moment, his blank mask slips. There's a flicker of concern, then it disappears. His gaze slides over me and moves on like I don't exist.

"Dessert?" Elena asks Aleks while wiping up the mess Chloe made.

"No. There's a shipment due. I have to oversee the transfer." From the way his eye twitches again, he doesn't seem too happy about it.

His chair scrapes on the floor as he pushes it back and stands. Elena bustles over to collect his plate. Her body brushes against his and he flinches, quickly stepping away to avoid any further contact.

I wonder why he's so averse to touch. Maybe the happy family vibe Elena is trying to force on me is fake. It wouldn't surprise me. There's no way a brutal Russian Mafia pakhan like Sergei Mashkov is a benevolent father.

Aleks has probably been brutalized his whole life.

Elena says something to him in Russian and Aleks nods. Then he walks away, not giving me or his half-sister a second glance.