Chapter 219 219: Skeletons In the Belozerskys Closet

Dealing with the Belozerskys had been a headache, well, until they received an emergency alert.Though, by the looks on their faces, they were unwilling to let this go just like that.

But Irina was sure that they would be too busy dealing with the storm that had just descended upon them to focus on a broken engagement.

Ivan's phone vibrated first.

The sharp buzz cut through the tense silence like a knife. He frowned, clearly irritated, but when he glanced down at the screen, the color drained from his face almost instantly.

Belov noticed his expression almost immediately.

"What is it?" he asked quietly, his voice tight.

Ivan swallowed. "It's… one of our offshore accounts."

Belov stiffened. "What about it?"

Ivan's fingers moved rapidly across the screen, his brows knitting together as more notifications poured in. "It's frozen with the excuse of compliance lock. All transfers have been halted."

That alone was bad.

But the worst came when Belov's own phone rang.

At first, he dismissed it as something unimportant, or at least, not as important as what was currently going on.

By the third ring, he answered with an annoyed expression on his face.

"What?" he snapped.

Whatever was said on the other end made his face darken rapidly.

"That's impossible," Belov growled. "Those assets are untouchable. We made sure to bury them through five intermediaries."

There was a pause as he listened to the person on the other end.

His jaw tightened. "No. No, shut it down. Shut it down now."

He ended the call and slowly looked up at Alexis.

"You wouldn't," Belov said, his tone sharp, accusatory. "This is business between families. You wouldn't escalate this so crudely."

Alexis looked genuinely puzzled.

"I have done nothing," he replied calmly.

Irina watched carefully as realization dawned on Belov's face.

If it wasn't the Romanovas… then could it be one of their rivals? No, no one would dare do this, not with how much strings the Belozerskys pulled.

Ivan's phone vibrated again, and this time he didn't even bother hiding his panic.

"Father," he said quietly, "Interpol flagged the logistics subsidiary. They're reopening the Novgorod investigation."

Belov's breath hitched.

That case had been buried over a decade ago. Evidence destroyed, witnesses had been silenced with either money paid in full or making them permanently disappear.

The case was all but dead.

Or so they thought.

The Romanova brothers exchanged uneasy glances.

"What's going on?" Damian muttered under his breath.

Irina leaned back slightly in her chair, crossing her legs with deliberate calm.

She said nothing.

Belov slowly stood up, his earlier arrogance evaporating, replaced by something far more dangerous, fear.

"This is your doing," he said, his eyes snapping toward Alexis again. "If you think this will intimidate us—"

"I told you," Alexis said, cutting him off, his voice firm now, edged with steel. "I did nothing."

For the first time, Belov hesitated.

Because Alexis Romanova was a man that was not known for lying.

Ivan looked at Irina again, this time with something close to dread in his eyes.

"You," he said quietly. "What did you do?"

Irina put in a mask of confusion as he looked back at her, "whatever do you mean."

"Don't give me that," he said, his frown getting darker, "I know you're involved in this."

Alexis' eyes narrowed and the temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.

"You will choose your next words very carefully," he said, his voice low, controlled, and far more dangerous than shouting, "before you accuse my daughter of crimes you cannot even prove."

Ivan stiffened. Belov's jaw tightened, but neither of them spoke immediately.

Alexis rose from his seat.

The simple action was enough to draw everyone's attention. The Romanova brothers straightened unconsciously, years of conditioning forcing them upright.

Even the Belozerskys felt it, that oppressive weight that came with a man who had ruled his family for decades through sheer will alone.

"You come into my home," Alexis continued, taking a slow step forward, "you insult my family, and now, when misfortune befalls you, you point fingers like frightened children."

Belov scoffed weakly. "Patriarch Romanova, this is far too convenient to be coincidence."

Alexis' gaze snapped to him.

"Convenience does not equal guilt," he said coldly. "Nor does your desperation grant you the right to slander my blood."

Irina watched her father from the corner of her eye.

She had seen him mad before but this seemed different, this was about his pride as the head of the Romanova family and he wouldn't allow such insults towards them.

She wondered what he'd think if he found out that she really did have a hand in it.

He probably wouldn't care either way.

Belov's lips parted, then pressed together again. He knew it was true. The Romanovas might have fallen from the throne, but they were still predators who had survived the purge that devoured their peers.

Ivan clenched his fists. "Then explain the timing," he said, unable to fully restrain himself. "This happens the moment you reject our proposal."

He stepped closer, close enough that Ivan had to tilt his head up slightly.

"You want an explanation?" Alexis continued. "Here is one, your family grew carless, you thought you stood at the top of the world just because you happen to be the closest to Vladimir Vladimirovich , so someone decided to remind you that you're not."

His violet purple eyes seemed to glow as he looked at Ivan who was trembling a bit now due to the pressure released on him.

"Now, it's either you fuck off and go deal with your problems," Alexis voice got dangerously low, "or you continue accusing my family and allow me to remind you why our family ruled Russia for over 300 years."

Belov cleared his throat and stood up before saying, "I apologize for the accusations, we'll properly investigate this matter."

He walked closer to Alexis, showing that they stood roughly at the same height, "but know this, if your family is involved in any way, then I'll remind you exactly why our family is the closest to the president."

With that, he stood up, his son and wife following behind with the Romanova servants showing them out.

Alexis then turned to his two sons who had been silent all this while and said, "start explaining yourselves."