Page 140 of Secret Heir

Nikolai nods slowly. “We will present evidence. But first, we will hear testimony from the woman who witnessed the beginning of your conspiracy eight years ago.” He looks directly at me. “Ariana Delano, please come forward.”

My stomach drops.

Maksim squeezes my hand. “You can do this,” he whispers, his lips against my ear. “I’m right here.”

I stand on legs that feel like water and walk toward that single chair in the center of the room while twelve pairs of eyes track my every movement. Alexander’s cold blue gaze burns into me. I can’t believe this is my life right now. I’m walking into the center of a room full of killers to testify against one of their own. The absurdity of it would be funny if I weren’t so terrified.

I gingerly sit in the chair. It’s positioned so I’m facing both the council and Alexander. I swallow hard. I’m either going to look at judgment or hatred.

Nikolai stands. “State your name for the record.”

“Ariana Delano.” My voice is barely above a whisper. I clear my throat and try again. “Ariana Delano.”

“And your relationship to the accused?”

“I have no relationship with Alexander Morozov. But eight years ago, I was in a relationship with his colleague, Maksim Sokolov.”

I’m not going to offer up the information that I’ve currently rekindled that relationship with Maksim.

“Describe for the council what happened on the night of December fifth, eight years ago.”

I take a breath and close my eyes briefly. Then I tell them everything.

“I worked at an art gallery in Brighton Beach as an authentication specialist. I’d been seeing Maksim for three months. He told me he worked in import-export and had business dealings that required discretion. I didn’t know what that actually meant.”

I open my eyes and look at the council members. Some are leaning forward with interest while others remain stone-faced.

“I wanted to surprise him. Maksim. He’d mentioned he had a meeting that night at his office in Red Hook. I thought—” My voice cracks slightly and I pause, collecting myself. “I thought I’d show up early with wine and—it doesn’t matter what I thought.”

No way in hell I’m telling these people that I was planning on jumping Maksim’s bones.

“What happened when you arrived at this office?” Nikolai prompts, seeming to read my thoughts.

I shake my head. “It wasn’t an office. It was a warehouse. I got there around nine-ish. I went in through the unlocked door.” I can see it so clearly. Like it was yesterday instead of eight years ago.

“There were lights on in the main space. I heard voices—men talking in Russian. I couldn’t understand the words, but the tone was…wrong. Harsh. Frightened. So I hid behind some crates to see what was happening.”

“What did you see?”

“I saw Maksim and Alexander Morozov. There was a third man tied up. I didn’t know who he was then, but I learned later he was an accountant who’d been stealing from the organization. He was tied to a chair, beaten, and begging.”

The council members are completely silent now, listening.

“Maksim spoke to him, but it was all in Russian and I didn’t understand it. Then Maksim—” I look at Maksim sitting on the bench, his face carved from stone. “Maksim shot him. Twice. In the head.” I fight the urge to gag as I remember the way the man’s body slumped and how brain matter splattered on the wall behind him.

“And Alexander Morozov’s role?” Nikolai asks.

“He was there. He helped. After the man was dead, Maksim said something to Alexander in Russian. I later learned he was getting the van. He left through the front entrance.”

“What happened after Maksim left?”

This is it. This is the crucial part. I take a deep breath.

“I stayed hidden. I was in shock, trying to process what I’d just seen. I was about to leave when I heard Alexander talking to someone.”

Nikolai raises a brow, as if this is the first time he’s heard this even though we both it isn’t. “Someone else was there?”

I nod. “Yes. Another man. I couldn’t see him clearly—it was dark, and I was behind the crates. But I could hear them talking.”