Anya stood frozen in the museum garden, the ring with the bird symbol cold in her hand. The words of Elara, the kind old woman, played over and over in her mind. Her mother's family was Lex's enemy. Her uncle, Damian, was the man who wanted to destroy him. Her mother's family, the Zhenya family, was not a simple family. It was a family of power and darkness.
The news was a physical shock, a pain in her heart. She was a bridge between two warring worlds. A war that had started before she was even born. A war that had now come to her doorstep.
She heard the sound of footsteps. It was Lex, his face a mask of cold fury. He had the earpiece in, so he had heard everything. He looked at the ring, at the symbol of the bird, and a cold wave of understanding went over his face.
"The Zhenya family," he said, his voice a low growl. "I knew they were still alive. I knew Damian was a part of something. But I never thought... I never thought they would be connected to you."
Anya's eyes filled with tears. "My mother left them. For my father. For love. She left all of it behind."
He looked at her, his stormy eyes full of a terrible mix of love and rage. "Anya, my family and the Zhenya family have a long, terrible history. My father, my grandfather... they fought a war with them. A war for power, a war for the city. And your uncle, Damian... he's a monster. He tried to kill my father. He tried to kill me. He wants to take everything I have. And now... he has you."
Anya shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "He doesn't have me. I'm not a part of them. I'm with you."
Lex took her in his arms, his body a safe, warm cage around her. "I know. But he doesn't. He thinks he can use you. He thinks he can get to me through you. He thinks he has a secret weapon."
The car ride back to his house was silent. Anya was lost in her own mind, a world of new, terrible truths. Her mother's family, the Zhenya family, was a world of power and danger. A world her mother had left for love. A world that was now coming for her.
Back at the house, Lex's face was a hard mask of concentration. He was a king who was now fighting a new kind of war. A war not just for his kingdom, but for the woman he loved.
"We have to be careful, Anya," he said, his voice low. "Damian is not like Kravtsov. He's smarter. He's more dangerous. He's been waiting for this moment. For years."
He looked at her, a long, serious look. "And he's going to use you. He's going to find a way to get to you. He's going to use your family, your past, against you."
Anya looked at him, her eyes full of a new kind of fear. "What about my mother? The woman said she died of an unknown illness. But what if it wasn't natural? What if my father, or my stepmother... what if they were a part of it?"
Lex's eyes went cold. "We'll find out. We'll find out everything. But we have to be smart. We can't go to your father yet. He might be a part of it. He might be on their side. We need to find the truth, a real truth, before we make a move."
The next few days were a blur of work and love. They were a team, a dark king and his queen. They worked on the Zhenya files, on the history of the war between their families. They read old news, old reports, old secrets. They found a terrible history of murder, betrayal, and hate. A history that was now their own.
They also found a new, deep love. A love born of a terrible night, a love that was now their strength. The sex was a mix of passion and comfort, a way to forget the world, a way to be together. He was a king, and she was his queen, and their bed was a safe, warm castle in a cold, dangerous world.
One evening, working late in his office, Anya found something. An old report. A medical report. A report about her mother's death. She clicked on it, her heart pounding. The report was from a hospital. The name of the doctor was Dr. Ivanov. The cause of death was "unknown illness." But there was a small note, a small, handwritten note at the bottom. The note said, "The husband and stepmother were a part of this. They wanted the family's money."
Anya's breath caught in her throat. Her father. Her stepmother. They were a part of it. They had killed her mother. For money. The terrible, dark truth was now in her hands.
She looked at the name. Dr. Ivanov. A man who was a part of the truth. A man who might know more.
She looked at Lex, her eyes full of a terrible pain. "They did it," she whispered, her voice full of a broken grief. "My father and my stepmother. They killed my mother. For her money. For her family's power."
Lex's face was a mask of cold fury. He looked at her, and then at the report. "We'll find him," he said, his voice low and serious. "We'll find Dr. Ivanov. We'll find out the truth. And we'll make them pay. All of them. Your father. Your stepmother. And your uncle. They will all pay for what they did to you. For what they did to your mother."
He took her in his arms, holding her close, a king holding his broken queen. "You're not alone, Anya. I'm with you. We're in this together. We're going to fight this war. And we're going to win. For you. For your mother. For us."
Anya looked at him, at the dark, powerful man who was now a part of her family's war. The war was no longer just about him. It was about her. Her mother. Her family. Her life. She was a queen in a world of darkness, and she was ready for war. She was ready to fight for the truth, for her mother's honor, and for the man she loved.