Roman Dragunov

In ordinary families, funerals were the end of sorrows. In the Dragunov family, however, they were merely the beginning of disasters. Just two months ago, Vivian was living a relatively peaceful life. A loving husband, a lively little boy filling the house with noise, and a second pregnancy she was eagerly awaiting despite its challenges. She never imagined that all of that could vanish in a single day. A car accident. A brief piece of news arrived at midday, but it was enough to shatter an entire world. Anton Dragunov was dead. A massive truck had crushed his car, leaving nothing of the man who had promised to spend his life with her but a name on a tombstone. From that moment on, Vivian was no longer afraid of death as much as she was afraid of the living. She returned to the Dragunov family mansion carrying her baby in one arm, her other hand resting on her pregnant belly. Everyone showered her with attention and care, but this did not bring her comfort; rather, it made her more anxious. Because every time she raised her head, she found Roman Dragunov in front of her. The eldest son. The family heir. The man no one knew if he even had a heart. His quiet voice was more terrifying than anyone else's screams, and his cold gaze was enough to silence an entire room. She had not a single piece of evidence against him, yet she was certain that he was the reason for Anton's death. Who else has the motivation? Who else but him lived for many years watching his younger brother achieve what he was denied? Ten years of marriage without a single heir to carry on his name, while Anton had a child within a few years and his wife was already pregnant with a second child. She could see jealousy in his eyes whenever her son's name was mentioned. She could see it in his silence, in the way he looked at her small family, and in his coldness that increased day by day. But Roman wasn't the only problem. Victoria, his wife, watched everything silently. Every word of comparison, every look of pity, every bit of attention Vivian received because of her pregnancy, ignited a new fire within her. As her mother bombarded her with cruel comparisons, the hatred slowly grew until it became something almost uncontrollable. And so Vivian found herself trapped inside a single mansion with a man she believed had killed her husband, a woman she hated from the bottom of her heart, and an entire family who viewed their children as the future of the Dragunov name. Little did she know that the worst was yet to come. For death was merely the first stone to fall; the true collapse was still to come.

After Anton Dragunov's mysterious death, Vivian finds herself a pregnant widow within one of Russia's most powerful and dangerous families. Everyone surrounds her with protection and attention as the mother of the family's first grandchild and the bearer of a new heir, but this doesn't bring her any sense of security. On the contrary, with each passing day, her conviction grows stronger that Roman Dragunov, the cold, powerful, and driven older brother, is responsible for her husband's death.

Roman, the family heir and eldest son, spent over ten years in a marriage that yielded not a single child to carry on his name, while his younger brother had already given the family an heir and was expecting a second child. Amid whispers about his inability to father children and relentless pressure to uphold the family name, he finds himself trapped between his obligations and the suspicions of everyone around him.

As for Victoria, his wife, she lives a different kind of hell. Every attention Vivian receives, every comparison, every look of pity or contempt she endures for not having children, ignites a new fire in her heart. A fire fueled by a family that never stops comparing, and a mother who sees grandchildren as more important than anything else.

Amidst the infighting, jealousy, suspicion, and secrets, the boundaries between protection and control, between truth and lies, and between love and hate begin to blur. And in the Dragunov Palace, the person closest to you might be the most dangerous of all.