“Is my stepfather among them?” Spartacus asked.

“Yes, he is.”

Spartacus raised his head, stunned.

“You’re serious?”

“Unfortunately,” Dmitry replied grimly. “I’ll tell you more—he was the one who called your father-in-law the day after you got married.”

Spartacus’s mouth fell open in disbelief.

“That can’t be…”

“I even found out what motivated him. Want to hear?”

Spartacus nodded silently, too stunned to speak.

“There’s a woman in your village—Klavdia Dyankova.”

At once, Spartacus recalled the young woman he’d had several heated nights with.

“What does she have to do with anything?”

“Don’t you get it?”

“No.”

“Your stepfather was in love with her. It’s all very simple.”

“So how was I getting in the way of a man who was married and in love?” Spartacus asked, incredulous.

“He wasn’t married. But as long as you were single—or divorced—you were a threat.”

Spartacus covered his face with both hands, pressing his fingers against his eyes, and let out a muffled groan.

“What a nightmare…”

Dmitry silently nodded, watching the stunned man across from him.

“Does my mother know about this?”

“Yes,” the lawyer replied quietly. “She knows everything, unfortunately. Though even if we hadn’t told her, it would’ve come out. You know how fast gossip spreads in small towns.”

Spartacus stood in silence for several minutes, trying to collect himself. He walked over to the wall, leaned his forehead and palms against it, stood that way a moment, and then returned to his seat.

“I understand, everything hit me all at once—and it’s insane. But I’ll pull myself together,” he finally said. “My mother’s staying at Valeria Igorevna’s house, right?”

“Yes. She’s taking good care of her, don’t worry. But she needs you.”

“Please thank Valeria for me,” Spartacus said sincerely.

“I will. She wanted to come visit you, but she’s afraid.”