Page 129 of Beguiled

While I had four soldiers ensuring our safety, they would only interfere if necessary. I doubted Anton would give us any trouble. From what I’d witnessed in my surveillance of him, he was suffering the loss of his only daughter.

His only child, his wife dying years before. The man was alone with his billions and would suffer the grief for the rest of his life.

Especially since he was the reason Tawny had been killed.

Once inside, I scanned the crowd and could tell instantly when our arrival had been spotted. He had several of his own soldiers, men hired to keep him and his family safe. Yet he’d had a child who’d demanded freedom. Much like Saige had done.

“Is that her father?” she asked when we neared the closed casket.

“That’s him.”

I found it interesting that we didn’t need to approach him. He walked toward us, pushing his men away.

“You must be Saige Mitchell. Tawny told me how important your friendship was to her.” He held out his hand and it was easy to tell he was distraught. “Thank you for coming.”

“As you said, she was my best friend,” Saige answered, accepting the gesture although she was stiff in her actions. “An incredible woman with her entire life ahead of her. A woman who didn’t deserve what happened.”

“She also said you speak your mind. Why don’t we talk in the other room?” He eyed me carefully and expected us to follow.

Before we left the area, Saige laid a white rose on the girl’s casket. “I miss you, girl. I’ll never forget what you did.”

As I passed the security, they puffed up as if they planned on causing us trouble. I simply unbuttoned my jacket, allowing them to see I was armed.

Once inside a private room, he closed the door behind us.

“I’m surprised to see you here, Mr. Chertov.”

“Why is that?”

“Your father wasn’t my biggest fan.”

“Yes, so I heard. I wasn’t his.”

My statement surprised him. “Ah, yes, the son he adored from afar.”

“I don’t know about that.”

“I do, Stash. Your father adored you. We were still friends when you were born and even up until you were about six years old. He used to show me pictures of you, telling me how proud he was.”

“Anton, we’re not here to discuss my childhood. We’re here to discuss the reason your daughter was murdered.”

He seemed confused. “My daughter wasn’t murdered. She was distraught because of what I was doing to her. She jumped to her death. I’m to blame. She didn’t want to honor our name. I pushed her anyway.”

“She was murdered, Mr. Pushkin. For trying to protect me.” Saige’s voice was strong and obviously believable enough Anton was taken aback.

“That’s not true. The police told me what happened.”

“And I was there minutes after, chased by the man who killed her.”

“What?” He looked to me for guidance.

“She’s not lying, Anton. Mikhail couldn’t take the risk of Tawny sharing what you must have told her, perhaps about why you were suggesting the marriage. Including that she was in danger. You did tell your daughter that. Didn’t you? You were starting to feel as if the deal made was more dangerous than you’d originally thought.”

He turned white and as he brought his hand to his face, his arm was shaking. “Mikhail.”

“Yes. He’s in control of Vardan. The deal you made for the alliance included taking Mikhail along for the ride. Vardan has been gaslighting you the entire time. And why? Because my brother has a vendetta against my family.”

“Do you have proof?”