Chapter 4 - Natalya's Secret
Natalya had never disappeared before.
She had always wanted to be seen.
She posted photographs from restaurants, galleries, resorts, parties.
She wanted the world watching.
Now her phone was off.
Her car had been found outside a private hotel downtown.
Her purse was inside.
Her passport was inside.
But Natalya was gone.
Roman immediately contacted his security team.
I watched him work.
He wasn't frantic.
He was precise.
Every question had a purpose.
Every instruction was short.
Within an hour, we had a timeline.
Natalya left our family home at 9:12 p.m.
She arrived at the hotel at 9:41.
At 9:48, she entered a private conference room.
At 10:03, the camera feed stopped.
She never came out.
"Who was she meeting?"
I asked.
Roman looked at me.
"We don't know."
"Then find out."
His eyebrow lifted.
"You sound like me."
"I'm learning."
For the first time, he smiled.
It disappeared quickly.
A security specialist entered.
"We found something."
He placed a tablet on the table.
A photograph from the hotel security system.
Natalya sat across from a man.
I leaned closer.
The man's face was partially hidden.
But his watch was visible.
I recognized it.
My father owned the same model.
My heart sank.
"That's impossible."
Roman studied the image.
"Do you recognize him?"
"I think it's my father."
Roman nodded.
"I thought so too."
I stood.
"We need to call him."
Roman stopped me.
"Not yet."
"Why?"
"Because if your father is involved, we need evidence before confronting him."
I hated that he was right.
Then Natalya's phone appeared on the table.
One of the security officers had recovered it.
There was one unsent message.
It was addressed to me.
I opened it.
Paulina, I owe you the truth. I never wanted Roman's money. I wanted what he was protecting.
I stared.
Roman read it.
"What does that mean?"
"I don't know."
Another message appeared.
This one from Natalya's account.
If something happens to me, look inside Mother's piano.
My mother had an antique piano in the family mansion.
It had belonged to my grandmother.
I looked at Roman.
"We need to go there."
He nodded.
We returned to my parents' house after midnight.
The mansion was dark.
No lights.
No staff.
The front door was unlocked.
I immediately knew something was wrong.
"Stay behind me," Roman said.
"I can take care of myself."
"I know."
He opened the door.
We entered.
The house felt different without my mother's voice.
We went directly to the music room.
The piano stood against the wall.
I opened the lid.
Nothing.
Roman crouched beside it.
"Look here."
There was a tiny compartment beneath the lower panel.
I opened it.
Inside was a black leather notebook.
My hands trembled.
The first page contained names.
Dates.
Payments.
Property transfers.
My father's name appeared several times.
So did Mrs. Volkov's.
And then I saw another name.
Roman Fedorov.
I looked at him.
He went pale.
"I didn't know about this."
I turned the page.
There were notes about Roman's former partner.
Then one sentence:
Roman suspects the truth.
My pulse raced.
Another page.
The marriage must happen before he finds the archive.
I stared.
"Your family wanted you to marry Natalya because of this."
Roman's jaw tightened.
"Apparently."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
Then I found a final note.
The girl who knows nothing is the safest one.
My blood went cold.
"The girl."
Roman looked at me.
"Paulina."
We both understood.
I had been kept outside everything because my family believed I knew nothing.
But someone had made a mistake.
They had forgotten that I worked in the museum archive.
They had forgotten that I noticed missing documents.
They had forgotten that I remembered things.
A floorboard creaked upstairs.
Roman immediately closed the notebook.
We heard footsteps.
Slow.
Measured.
Someone was walking toward us.
I whispered:
"Who is that?"
Roman moved in front of me.
The footsteps stopped outside the room.
Then the door opened.
My father stood there.
His face was pale.
He looked at the notebook in my hand.
Then at Roman.
May you like
Then at me.
"You shouldn't have found that."
