Page 125 of Hate You Most

Sofia’s head lifted sharply. “You spoke to them?”

“Yes.”

“How many?”

“Three,” Viktoriya said. “There were four other people involved in the crashes, five if you count me. Three of them had ties to Russia. The fourth was a boyfriend—he was only in the car because he happened to be there when it happened. I don’t think he was a target, but he’s the one I haven’t been able to reach.”

Claire exchanged a quick glance with Aamina. “And they’re willing to go on record?” she asked.

“I think so, yes,” Viktoriya replied.

Daniel leaned back in his chair. “Their statements would be critical. Especially if they could help prove a pattern of coercion or pressure.”

“They do,” Viktoriya said quietly.

Claire looked at her again, more intently this time. “And your role in this? Are you willing to go public with it?”

“Yes, I am.”

Claire must've sensed something in her shift, because she gestured to the untouched glass of water that had been placed in front of her. “You should drink some water. You look like you're about to pass out.”

Viktoriya looked at the glass in front of her. “I want to go public with this,” she said instead of taking a sip. “It will be all over the news, and people will connect me to my father and then to the company. It is better to tell the story myself than rely on rumors and gossip.”

Claire closed her eyes. “Viktoriya, you know that’s not necessarily in your best interest.”

“I know.”

“It complicates the narrative. Public perception could⁠—”

“I don’t care about perception,” Viktoriya cut in. “I care about the truth. I just care about telling what happened so that it does not happen again.”

Daniel tilted his head. “The truth, as you describe it, includes your participation and willing agreement to a plan that resulted in you getting amnesia from a car crash orchestrated by your father and his companies.”

“Yes.”

“That could be used against you,” he said. “Legally and also publicly. It could shift focus away from your father and Red Meridian, and onto your past decisions, as well as the other survivors.”

Viktoriya’s jaw tightened. “I know.”

Claire took a sip of the water in front of her. “Then help me understand why you’re insisting on this. We could run a possible version without mentioning anything about you.”

Viktoriya exhaled slowly. It wasn't just one singular reason. She'd spent most of her life afraid and hiding who she truly was. She had already tried to erase the parts of herself that didn’t fit the narrative her father and her country had built for her. Viktoriya had stood in front of a nightclub a week ago and realized she would rather destroy everything in her life than continue being someone she wasn't.

“Because I wasn’t just a victim,” she said finally. “I made choices. These choices were not made freely, but I still made them. And if this story comes out as something simple, something where I’m made to look like a perfect victim, then it's not the truth. I wanted a way out and I took it, and It brought me nothing but pain. I don't want anyone else to take the same path as I did.”

“What happens if the public doesn’t respond the way you want them to?” Claire asked.

Viktoriya let out a quiet breath. “They will still know the truth, even if none believes me.”

“Alright,” she said after a moment. “If we do this, then we do it properly. We leave no room for speculation or exaggeration.”

Viktoriya nodded once. “It is what I want.”

“We’ll need everything you have. Full access to your phone along with your phone calls and texts. And any other documentation you have, you send over, even if it seems insignificant,” Daniel said and tapped his pen lightly against the table.

“Okay,” Viktoriya said.

Aamina looked up from her laptop. “And you understand what happens after this?”