Vanquished (The Encounter #3)

by Pamela Ann

The cracking from the wood in the burning hearth exuded warmth into the room, yet nothing seemed to warm me.

  It had been two days since Julien had left, and I was still waiting for any sign from the Russians. My business was being run through my computer while I patiently waited for any development. I was positive someone would show up soon enough.

  The crucial part of this process was the waiting game, and I could wait forever if I had to. There was nothing in this world I wanted to acquire more than a future for my children, and I could almost taste it. I was almost there. All I had to do was stay calm.

  I walked out of the library, temporarily halting going through contracts because I was in dire need of a stiff drink.

  “I finally get to meet the great Hugo Xavier,” a heavily accented voice boomed out into the hall.

  Immediately halting my steps, I swung to the side to see who the intruder was. As much as I had tried, nothing could have prepared me to face the one man who had been dictating my fate, crippling me into the man I had become.

  “You mean, you finally get to put a face to the innocent person you’ve cursed.” There weren’t many photos of this man since he didn’t like the media. Therefore, I was a tad shocked to find he quite old. The man was most likely in his late eighties, if not older.

  He merely grunted as he leaned against his cane, seeming too frail to properly function. “You took it upon yourself to play in these childish games. If you value anything at all, you must hand her over. I want to see this Isobel.”

  A man who was as good as dead had decided to use threat. Well, that should work nicely.

  “You don’t have any proof that she’s your daughter, and I’m making it my mission to keep her safe. Only a few know you were almost infertile after you became diabetic years after you murdered your wife and my uncle.”

  He glared at me, flashing those eyes at me that closely resembled Isobel’s. “She is my daughter. She looks exactly like my mother,” he huffed out, almost running out of breath. “Give her to me, and I will settle the ruckus this has caused with the bounty as well as your fate. You can consider it a fair trade. You get your life, and I get to meet my daughter.”

  Benedikt’s offer was unexpected. He must have been overjoyed to find out he had a child somewhere. Given that he didn’t have any living relatives, it made sense. But for him to wipe away the threats just so he could have Isobel … Well, that wasn’t going to happen.

  “She’s not here,” I stated with a blank expression. “And no … I can’t accept the tradeoff. I’m not giving her up, not in this lifetime.”

  He appeared perturbed, as if he hadn’t expected such a response from me. “Fair enough. I suppose I will find her soon enough. Mark my words, Xavier.”

  Unshaken, I stood my ground. “You can try—”

  “Oh, I fucking will. How dare you speak to me in such a way! I could have you killed if I so wish it! You’re not making me want to change my mind,” he bellowed in a rather wobbly voice.

  As much as I wanted to get my hands on him, I had to think about what was best for Isobel and the children’s future. This wasn’t about me.

  Dismissing his threat, I decided to take this confrontation in a different route. “What are your plans with her? You can’t honestly expect that she’ll simply embrace you and play family.” I pressed, reading his confused expression. “I know Isobel. She won’t warm to you in the way you picture it, most especially if she knows what kind of a person you are, not after the father figure she had in her life royally screwed her up to no end.”

  Benedikt didn’t seem too shocked with the revelation. I supposed he had found out everything he could about Isobel. Everything. And that included her being one of my mistresses.

  “That’s all in the past now. As you can see, I don’t have that much time left on my hands, Xavier. I’d rather spend the rest of that getting to know the only child I have.”

  “You don’t mean to hurt her in any way?”

  He shook his head. “No, she’s my child. Of course I won’t!”

  My anger flared, skyrocketing to new heights. “But it was okay for you to kill my child? You had Louise killed and not to mention your wife!” I bellowed, holding myself from wanting to throttle him.

  Benedikt shrugged. “You knew what the rules were, Xavier. It was a lesson after you defied me, but as hard as this must be to believe, I’d like to put all of that in the past now.”

  “Your daughter is pregnant, and it’s mine.” I knew it was a vicious retort, but I wanted to see how he would react.

  His gray brows furrowed. “No one reported it to me.”

  “Now you know.” Slipping my hands inside of my pockets, I strode towards him, stopping merely a few feet away, looking at him with a steady face. “She’s having twins if you’d like to know.” It was bait, a challenge on whether he was still willing to come after me or Isobel after this revelation. The man might be old, but he was a cruel son of a bitch.

  He blew out a breath, seeming unfocused. “What do you want, Xavier?”

  It was good that he had asked because it was obvious I had everything he wanted, and if he had any designs on being a part of that, then he had better work with me. There was no way this could work without me bridging anything.

  “I have every intention of marrying her. I love her like I haven’t loved anyone,” I said, unashamed of my declaration. “She deserves happiness in her life after going through all of this nonsense. Isobel wants nothing more than to have the twins, so please call off all the spies. Pay off that man who placed a bounty on her, and then I promise you will get to meet her on my terms, preferably after she has given birth. She doesn’t need the extra stress beforehand. What happens from then on between you two is on you.”

  “How far along is she? If my men didn’t know she is pregnant, that means she isn’t that far along. That could take a long time until your part of the agreement is fulfilled.”

  “That’s correct.” It was the only offer on the table, and I thought he understood that.

  One thing I had learned in my lifetime was that, no matter how strong-willed the man seemed to be, they always had an Achilles heel. Isobel was his. And I believed the news of her pregnancy had amplified that even more.

  Old age softened people in one way or another. This man had been lonely, and after learning that he was almost sterile, he had been devastated. However, the man surely deserved it after he had murdered people.

  He pondered a moment, making his frown lines much more evident and severe as he did so. “I’m only agreeing to this because of her. I’m doing this for her sake and hers alone,” He emphasized, as if I was dense enough to even consider he would have a change of heart because he pitied me.

  No, I knew the bastard couldn’t care less about me, but he did care very much about Isobel. It was alarming to say the least. It was the very reason his enemy had decided to do some digging, finding the one thing that would surely sway the incorrigible bastard of a Russian.

  “You don’t have to remind me why you’re doing this, Romanov. I wouldn’t be where I am if I wasn’t shrewd or perceptive.”

  Benedikt nodded, eyeing me incredulously. “If you hurt her, you’re a dead man.”

  “Likewise.”

  He smirked at my retort, as if he truly found it amusing. “So, do tell me about her. I want to know about her from the people she truly knows, and not from reading it through some file.” There was remarkable regret in his voice.

  In that very instant, I saw a glimpse of the man who wasn’t a monster. He was simply a human being who had loved his wife to no end and truly felt revengeful. He was willing to close his eyes, hoping that the more hurt and pain he caused, the more his would lessen.

  What he had done was unforgivable, yet I needed to know more about him before I let him meet Isobel. I didn’t trust him one bit, but I had to find a common ground somehow.

  In the back of my mind, I had trouble projecting how I would even bring this blasted subject
up to her. Not only would she be heartbroken that the father she had known growing up wasn’t truly her dad, but that the real one was actually a blood thirsty monster who had begun to find his heart once again after he had learned he had a daughter.

  True to his character, he inquired about Julien and Isobel’s relationship. Apparently, he’d had someone tail them who reported that they were a cozy couple.

  I wasn’t sure if he was reaching for a reaction, but he surely got it. The ravaging jealousy I felt at the idea of them touching, let alone doing anything remotely intimate, made me fucking sick to my stomach. All that wretchedness aside, I had to assure him it was Isobel who had guaranteed it was I who had gotten her pregnant.

  “Very well, then. I’ll be in touch very soon. I want you to give me progress reports of her pregnancy,” Benedikt demanded as he began to move towards the main door.

  I watched him from a distance, feeling displaced from the thoughts he had left me with. I was stunned negotiating with him was rather too easy, not that I was complaining.

  At the dead of night, instead of opting to go back to work, I was pondering how things would play out this time. I had no doubt in my mind that I wanted to marry Isobel, but would she want to marry me? I knew she loved me, but would that be enough for her to align her fate with mine? I couldn’t be sure, and that bloody feeling of insecurity plagued me most of the night.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Isobel

  “I don’t get it. I thought you said you would be here for a few more days. What’s the rush to go back to Monaco?”

  Julien was acting strange as of late, as if he was going through something, and I wanted to reassure him that he could confide in me if he so wished it.

  He smiled, looking rather exhausted from his late hours in the office. “Hugo has something to tell you, and before you ask, no, you won’t get the information from me.”

  Frowning, I let out a frustrated sigh. My tummy was just beginning to protrude, and my body seemed to be more taxed than before. Puking and being incessantly exhausted were a norm these days. Subsequently, the thought of being stuck once more in a jet made me feel faint. I hadn’t been claustrophobic before, but things had changed, or maybe I was simply paranoid. I couldn’t be sure.

  “All right. But let me make this clear: this is the last time I’m flying anywhere, or so help me God!”

  He laughed, shooing me away to pack and get ready for our journey. My life was tiresome, and I was beginning to resent it. However, the mere thought of seeing Hugo again gave me such profound joy that it somehow made this worth my while.

  Eleven hours later, I found myself back at the chateau, enjoying a meal with my two favorite men in the world.

  “I want to reassure you both that the endless, imminent threat has now been dealt with. It’s all been settled,” Hugo stated.

  Carefully placing my utensils down, I glanced at Julien’s solemn reaction before diverting my eyes towards Hugo’s. “Define settled?”

  How could a lifetime of anathema, a ruthless vow, be so easily resolved without bloodshed?

  “What did you do, Hugo?” I asked, breathless. If he had done something drastic to attain such security, there had to be some kind of repercussions. It was inevitable.

  “I assure you, my love, I didn’t break the law. I simply … negotiated.”

  What terms did he negotiate? I wanted to inquire more, but he didn’t seem keen on elaborating, and oddly enough, Julien didn’t seem to, either.

  As much as I hated it, maybe he wasn’t comfortable discussing it with Julien in the room. For the time being, I just had to shut my gob and pray I could get my wits about me until it was just the two of us.

  Julien cleared his throat, gaining our attention. “Well, in light of that splendid announcement, as much as this was all entertaining me, I am happy to be off to Paris.”

  “Paris?” I raised my brow.

  “Yes, Paris.” He beamed. “I have to seek out my ex-mistress and hope to the god of gods that she will take me back.”

  “Oh, my, I’m sure you’ll seduce her into submission. Use your charms. They never fail to get you whatever you want,” I teased, laughing with him.

  With that, he barely finished his meal, so elated at the very idea that he didn’t have to sacrifice his own life, his freedom any longer. He was jetting out of the chateau as fast as he could, en route to Paris.

  It amused me how he could immediately adapt to whatever circumstances came his way. I wished him well, and the ex-mistress he had to woo back in his arms. She would be a fool not to succumb to his charms. He was truly one of a kind.

  “Care to enlighten me on how his charms could get him whatever he wanted, Isobel?”

  Hugo’s question threw me off guard.

  Tensing, I awkwardly glanced at him, hoping he wasn’t insinuating what I thought he was, because we couldn’t go back there again. For fuck’s sake, not tonight. Most especially not after what he had just announced. We should be celebrating, not dwelling on the past and picking on every damn word that might condemn me in his eyes.

  “Any woman with good sense would not want to pass on a good-natured man like Julien; that’s all I meant. I get where you’re trying to go. Let’s not, Hugo,” I huffed out, a little ticked. “We’ve come a long way to get where we are right now, so let’s not go there, please, not tonight of all nights.”

  “Forgive me,” he pleaded. “You’re right. It’s just … Jealousy gets the best of me, and the thought of you with any man kills me inside, Isobel.”

  He looked so conflicted my heart ached for him. This guy truly loved me, and he was having difficulty trying to express it without having his machismo being edged out.

  Poor man, I thought, grinning like an idiot.

  “I love you, you stubborn fool. There’s no one else but you. Try to remember that from time to time, will you?” Reaching for his hand, I gave it a light, encouraging squeeze.

  We were going to be okay. I knew it. I could feel it. The grace of calmness welcomed me into its arms. We were almost there.

  After dinner, we decided to stay in the bedroom, lounging in the sofa section of the room with the Louis VX intricate-style fireplace on. We were both entranced with the fire dancing before our very eyes while he held my feet, gently massaging them since they were a tad swollen from a cross-Atlantic trip. I was exhausted, yet I lavished on these little moments. They were meaningful to me.

  “Hugo,” I said softly, my eyes still glued on the dancing fire. “Are you going to tell me how you did it?” I wasn’t trying to pressure him, but this matter directly affected me and the twins. I had to know, or I wouldn’t be able to rest.

  I could see his jaw locking, which was a clear indication that he had reservations. Something displeased him.

  Waiting with bated breath, I tried not to concentrate on his silence. There was something that bugged him, and the more he waited and held back, the more I became anxious and curious.

  “First, I want you to understand that everything I did—everything I have ever done—was all for the benefit of you and the twins, but most of all you,” He began, to appear agitated and anxious to no end. “The night your father, Constantin, came to threaten and extort you and Julien, he immediately went to my place. He asked for double actually.”

  I saw red everywhere. The word anger didn’t even come close to describing how furious I was.

  “For the love of God! That man is—”

  Hugo stopped me with a finger against my lips, his eyes full of unspoken emotions. “Don’t waste your breath on it. We all know what kind of a man he is. There’s no need to harp on it right now, because if we divert from this subject, I might never get to finish it, so please, indulge me this one time.”

  His pleading set alarm bells ringing in my ears. For him to dissuade me from the subject of Constantin after he had blatantly asked for two million Euros … Well, whatever it was holding him back was much more pressing. I wasn’t sure I was prepared fo
r it yet. It felt as though I was waiting on the scaffold, and the executioner was still taking his sweet time, sharpening his ax.

  “Don’t mention this ever again, but I paid the man off. Not because I wanted him to go away—well, that, too, but what he held was much more important to ignore. It was worth the payoff. The information he had directly affected us both, like killing the two birds with one stone kind of thing.

  “Constantin’s statements checked out with what Benoît found. There was a man who sought retaliation against a man named Benedikt Romanov, the very same man who had cursed my family. This vengeful man wanted to hit Romanov where he deemed it would hurt most. Since Romanov had a lot of money and investments, taking a few of his companies wouldn’t suffice; hence, the hunt for a particular driving force that would hit him so much he wouldn’t ever recover.

  “After months of research and scouring Romanov’s history, they finally found it, and merely a few days ago, a bounty was posted. Then a rampage ensued.

  “Romanov went on vacation after he murdered his wife. Apparently, he was on a yacht, enjoying the glorious Grecian sights when he slept with a woman, a woman who later bore a child. She didn’t inform Romanov since she was married and passed it off as her husband’s. But the husband knew all along. That’s why he came to me, thinking I would benefit with this information more than anyone else.”

  Each word spoken echoed in my mind. After he had stated the last sentence, I had to reiterate it a few more times just to assimilate its meaning. And when I did, it hit me like a tsunami. Helpless, I was drowned by its powerful current. It was insurmountable. The helpless mixture of pain, overwhelming sadness, betrayal, and the list went on.

  “My father … the man who … No wonder he hates me.” I sobbed, crying for the unrequited love I’d had for him as a child but never gotten back from a parent. I cried for all the pain and suffering he had caused my mother, punishing her and never letting up until the very end because of that one night that she had made a mistake.

  All this time, I had thought him despicable for treating his own daughter in such a horrid way when it was simply because I wasn’t his flesh and blood. It all made sense, yet instead of feeling relief that I wasn’t related to the blasted man, I was ravaged with unstoppable tears and inconsolable sadness.