Nikolai Vetrov
~•~
The estate was too quiet when I arrived.
No ambulance lights. No frantic staff. Everyone was acting the way they would when everything was normal. That was the first indication that I was walking into a lie.
I found him in his room. He was sitting on the bed, propped up by several pillows reading the newspapers like he didn’t just convince half the family that he was dying.
Or maybe that was just me.
He looked up when I walked in. There was no sign of discomfort on him. He looked perfectly healthy. I immediately felt stupid for believing he was sick just because he was old.
“Sit,” he said.
I remained standing. “You’re not sick.”
“But you came, didn’t you? Do the details really matter?”
I bit down on my tongue to stop myself from lashing at him. Health was never
