The Heiress' Revenge

Chapter 211: What We Came For

Natasha’s POV

The penthouse suite at The Ritz was cold even with the fireplace blazing. I’d been sitting here for two hours, waiting while the ice melted in my untouched glass of whiskey. My phone sat face-up on the table between us, the last message from Dante still burning a hole in my memory.

"I can’t do this right now, Natasha... I don’t feel anything towards you. I’m sorry."

He doesn’t want me, and he’s made that clear, but not when I’m carrying his child.

The door opened, and I didn’t bother to look up. I knew the footsteps and the expensive cologne that preceded him by a full three seconds.

"You’re late," I said.

"I’m here." Viktor settled into the chair across from me, loosening his tie with one hand. "The traffic in this city is unbearable. You’d think people had nowhere better to be at midnight."

I finally looked at him, the man who held the keys to everything I wanted.

"He won’t let her go," I said with no small talk. "Dante is so obsessed with her, and I’ve done everything, thrown myself at him, reminded him about the baby, tried to be understanding, tried to be cold, but nothing works. He doesn’t believe that she doesn’t want him anymore, that she may be forced or something; he still believes there’s more to it."

Viktor leaned back, studying me with that infuriating calm. "And what exactly is the problem with that? You knew what you were getting into when you got pregnant. He was never going to love you; he was only doing it for his child”

"He’s not even pretending!" I slammed my hand on the table, the ice rattling in my glass. "I’m not only carrying his child Viktor... I’m his fucking wife; she’s his past, and I know every time he looks at me, I know he’s wishing I were her."

"That’s... unfortunate."

"Unfortunate?" I laughed, but there was nothing humorous about it. "She’s been gone two years. Two years, and when he found her, she told him she didn’t want him anywhere near her, yet he still can’t let her go. He’s still trying to reach out to her... still convinced she’s being forced to stay away."

"And you don’t think she is?"

I stared at him. "What?"

"You heard me." He reached for the whiskey bottle, pouring himself a glass. "You’re telling me he’s convinced there’s more to her disappearance in the first place and why she’s not letting him back into his life”

"Yes! Fuck yes!” The words exploded out of me as I stood up, pacing in front of the fireplace, my hands shaking.

"I don’t care if she’s being held hostage by the Russian mob or if she’s secretly a spy or if she’s hiding from aliens. All I care about is that she’s in the way and I hate the fact that she’s there”

Viktor watched me pace, his expression unreadable.

"I need her to go, I need her gone, she’s standing in my way and I fucking hate it."

I stopped pacing and turned to face him fully.

"We need to kill her."

Viktor’s face didn’t change for a long moment.

"No."

"No?"

"We can’t kill her, Natasha." His voice was patient, like he was explaining something to a child. "Think for once in your life, actually think."

"What’s there to think about? She’s a liability and obstacle. When we take her out of the picture and—"

"And what? Dante finds out and destroys everything?" Viktor stood, his frame suddenly looming over me. "Do you have any idea what he’s capable of? You think he’s obsessed now? If she dies under suspicious circumstances, he will tear this city apart looking for answers. When he finds them, when he finds us... he won’t stop until we’re both dead."

I opened my mouth to argue, but he cut me off.

"Besides." He stood up. "We don’t need her dead, just gone; there’s a difference."

"Same result."

"No." He turned.

I shook my head, frustrated. "What are you talking about?"

He came back to the table, sitting on the edge of it so he was looking down at me.

"The company Natasha. Dante’s company. It’s worth billions, and right now we have nothing." He held up his hand, ticking off fingers. "Your name isn’t on anything. You’re not married to him yet, legally. If Dante dies tomorrow, you get nothing, plus your family hasn’t officially merged with his company”

"Then what’s the point of all this?"

"The point is to get what we came for." His voice was hard. "The point is the money, power, and empire. That’s always been the point, not some childish need to be chosen over a dead woman."

I felt the words like a slap.

"You think I’m being childish?"

"I think you’re being emotional." He reached out, gripping my chin, forcing me to meet his eyes. "And emotions make you stupid. You want Dante? You want the life you dreamed of? Then you need to think strategically."

"Strategically," I repeated with my voice hollow.

"Yes. Strategically." He released my chin. "Right now, Dante is distracted by Ariana, and it’s good for us. That means he’s not paying attention to what we’re doing."

"What are we doing?"

"Building leverage." He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. "The company has vulnerabilities we can exploit. If we can get control of enough shares, we can start making moves, but we need time, and we need Dante to stay focused on his little obsession."

"So we just... let him keep trying to get Ariana back?"

"We let him exhaust himself, but we both know that Ariana isn’t going to accept him back into her life, not with the situation she has in hand”

I nodded slowly, the implications settling over me like a shroud.

This was it.

Ariana? She’d be nothing but a memory. A fading photograph in a locked drawer, a name he’d learn to forget.

I’d make sure of it.

"Get some sleep," Viktor said, heading for the door.

The door clicked shut behind him, and I was alone.