Stepan had already thought about this. He had thought about it all night, staring at the ceiling and listening to his wife’s peaceful breathing.
“He doesn’t know that we know. The wedding is in three days. He’s confident that everything is going according to plan. We can use that.”
“You want your daughter to…”
“I want that scumbag to go to prison. For a long time. For everything he’s done.”
Saveliev shook his head.
“Stepa, this is dangerous. If he suspects anything…”
“He won’t suspect a thing. He’s too self-confident. You heard him, he thinks we’re all idiots.”
At that moment, the door of the house opened, and Daria stepped out onto the porch. She had washed her face, combed her hair, and changed her clothes. Outwardly, she was almost calm. But Stepan saw how her hands were trembling.
“I want to be involved,” she said firmly. “Whatever you’re planning, I want to be a part of it.”
“Dashenka, it’s dangerous!” Stepan began.
“Dad, he was going to kill me. Use me and kill me. Like those other women. I have the right.”
Saveliev exchanged a look with Stepan.
“She’s right,” the major said. “We can’t do it without her. If she suddenly cancels the wedding or starts acting strangely, he’ll disappear. People like him always have a backup plan. Backup documents, backup accounts.”
Daria came closer.
“What do I need to do?”
Saveliev sighed.
“For starters, act normal. He must not suspect anything. Not a single hint. Can you do that?”
Daria closed her eyes for a second. When she opened them, they held an icy resolve.
“I can. I lived with a man who doesn’t exist for eight months. Now it’s my turn to play a role.”
Just then, her phone rang. She looked at the screen, and Stepan saw her knuckles turn white.
“It’s him,” she whispered.
“Answer it,” Saveliev said. “Calmly. As usual.”
Daria took a deep breath and pressed “answer.”
“Hello, darling.” Her voice was perfect. Not a single false note. Stepan listened as she laughed, talked about wedding preparations, called him “my love” and “dearest.” And his heart broke with both pride and pain. “Yes, of course, come over this evening. We’ll have dinner together. Mom will make your favorite chicken. Kisses.”
She hung up, and her face instantly changed. The mask fell.
“He’s coming at seven,” she said in a dead voice. “What now?”
Saveliev took out a notebook.
“Now we get to work. Stepan, I need all the names from the recording. Everything he mentioned. I’ll pull the archives.”
“Already wrote them down,” Stepan handed him a piece of paper.
“Good. Next, we need to find this Zhanna. She’s an accomplice, at the very least. If we pressure her, she’ll talk. The recording has the place where he dropped her off. Part of a building was in the shot. I can try to identify the area.”
“Get on it.”
Daria listened to their conversation, hugging herself.
“And what do I do? Just wait?”
Saveliev looked at her seriously.
“No. You are the main part of the plan. We need him to expose himself. To confess to something in front of witnesses. Or leave clues. How? You know him best. What could provoke him? Make him lose control?”
Daria thought for a moment.
“Jealousy,” she said finally. “He’s very jealous. Once I was talking to a former classmate, just said hello on the street. Artem questioned me for three hours afterward. Who was he? What was between us? Why did he look at me like that?”
“We can use that,” Saveliev nodded. “What else?”
“Money. He’s obsessed with money. He’s always asking about Dad’s house, about my apartment. He’s interested in whose name it’s under, if there are any mortgages.”
“Now we know why,” Stepan noted grimly.
“And also…” Daria hesitated. “He doesn’t like to be contradicted. When I once said I didn’t like his friend, he… changed. For a second. His eyes became different. I was scared then, but then he immediately smiled and said I was right. I forgot about it. But now I remember.”
Saveliev was writing it down.
“Good. Very good. We need to develop a plan. But first, I need to check the old cases. If I find any connection…”
“Igor…” Stepan lowered his voice. “This has to stay between us. No reports, no official requests. Not yet.”
“I understand. He might have connections in the system. People like that usually make useful acquaintances.”
“Exactly.”
Saveliev left, promising to return in the evening with information. Stepan remained on the porch with his daughter.
“Dad…” Daria said quietly. “How did you know? How did you know something was wrong with him?”
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