Chapter 27 Episode 27

He tuts. “The thing is, Anton, I knew my daughter better than anyone. She was not the type of woman who would ever take her own life. She was far too strong for that.” He isn’t wrong on one front: I remember just how strong she was. It had taken an iron will to cow that woman. Even then, I couldn’t truly break her. “She killed herself. Accept it.” “Or it was made to look that way,” he says. “Not that I can say so definitively. After all, I never saw her body.” “I was her husband. It was my job to bury her, not yours.” A shadow flits over Lev’s face. Deception upon deception. And I’m the puppet master of them all. “Considering the state of your marriage,” he growls, “I would have thought you’d be happy to pass along that responsibility.” “The responsibility of burying my own wife?” I ask. “No, Rodion. I take my duties seriously. I don’t delegate the things that are mine to uphold.” Even as I say it, I recognize the irony of the statement. I squash that thought as soon as it arises. “Very honorable, Anton. I’ve always thought that of you, you know. That you are a man of honor.” “Then I hope you’re not giving any real credence to these filthy rumors.” “Who would hope to benefit from them?” Rodion asks. “Isn’t it obvious?” I ask. “Someone who wants to drive a wedge between our Bratvas. Someone who seeks to divide and conquer.” “We both have enemies,” Rodion says thoughtfully. He’s quiet for a moment. “My Bratva was promised to you, Anton.” “But the condition was that you would be my wife’s husband, my son-in-law, the father of my grandchildren,” Rodion says. “Now, I have no son-in-law. I have no daughter. I have no grandchildren.” Lev’s eyebrows rise. I can tell from his face that I’m not displaying the appropriate amount of regret. If that’s anyone’s fault, it’s the b***h who took her own life just to spite me. She made it hard to love her. She made it impossible to mourn her. “You can understand why it would be hard for me to pass over my legacy to you now.” I tense. “Are you calling to tell me you have another successor?” Rodion hesitates. “I haven’t made up my mind yet. I’m going to need to be sure before I decide.” “I told you I didn’t kill her, but you’re saying I did. Which means you’re calling me a liar, Rodion. I don’t like being called a liar.” He may be the elder here in terms of age and experience. But I’m a don just as much as he is. He has a fine line to walk. The fact that he’s called me at all tells me he’s worried that the trouble brewing in the underworld is going to come to a head. He wants to be prepared. That makes two of us. “I could give you the answer you want to hear, Anton,” Rodion demurs. “But I’d rather be honest. Marina came to see me days before her body was discovered.” “She told me about the state of your marriage. She told me about the baby.” Anger courses through me, thick and unyielding. It rivals the regret I feel when I think about the innocent life that was lost in the midst of all the chaos. “That was an unfortunate accident, Rodion,” I say. “But… it happens. It happens all the time.” “I know she did,” I admit. “Losing the child destroyed her,” Rodion continues. “I saw the look in her eyes. She was distraught.” “Distraught enough to drive her to suicide,” I suggest. “It makes sense.” “Does it?” Rodion ponders. “Or is it simply a convenient alibi?” I wait for him to accuse me, but he doesn’t. He stops just short of it, trying to tamp down his anger and remain businesslike. I wonder how much longer that restraint will last. “It is not good for our enemies to think we’re divided, Anton,” he says, breaking the pregnant silence. “We must meet soon. Hash this out.” Hash this out. The words are significant, and I don’t miss the weight they hold. “Of course, Rodion. I think that’s a good idea. I will set something up and let you know. I want nothing more than to put all this behind us.” He doesn’t answer immediately. When he does, he sounds wary. “Take care of yourself, Anton.” But I can read between the lines. It is a talent I developed at an early age, when I realized that my father was a dangerous man who liked to speak in violent riddles. Watch your back. That’s what he’s really saying to me. The moment I hang up, Lev leans in. “Well?” “He’s trying to act like all this trouble brewing isn’t coming from him.” I nod. “But insofar as we can get him to the table, we need to play along with that narrative.” “He wants to meet?” Lev asks. “And you trust that he’s not going to open fire when you show up?” “I’m handling the meeting arrangements.” Lev’s eyes go wide. “And he agreed to that? Well, I’ll be damned.” “We’ll all be damned, probably,” Yulian chimes in suddenly as he swings the door open and struts over to us. “Where were you?” I ask impatiently. “I asked you to be here forty f*****g minutes ago.” Yulian checks the time and shrugs. “s**t, sorry. Didn’t realize.” I glare at him, but he only smiles sheepishly at me. “I’m sorry, bro. Got caught up.” “Sit down,” I growl at him. “And when I give you an order, I’m not your f*****g ‘bro.’ I’m your don. Is that understood?” His smile falters for just a moment. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.” “It better not. What have you got for me?” He straightens up a little and I can tell he’s trying his best not to piss me off further. “The word underground is that there are factions forming. No word on which side they’ll fall toward.” “I think that depends on how this meeting goes,” I say, glancing at Lev. HIs jaw drops. “Seriously? f**k. What did he say?” “He was sussing out the situation. Kept his cards close to the vest.” “Did he threaten you?” Yulian asks. “Not explicitly, but I can read between the lines. He’s leaning towards the rumors, but he knows there’s a lot at stake if he chooses to break with us.” “So… we need to convince him that you had nothing to do with Marina’s death?” Yulian suggests. I narrow my eyes at my brother. “We needed to do that from the moment it happened. It doesn’t help that no one but you saw the body.” Yulian matches my stare. “I was trying to protect you.” “Because you thought I killed her?” Yulian stops short. He struggles for a moment and then exhales tiredly. “Alright. Okay… yeah, I thought you killed her. I knew that I needed to get rid of the body. If Rodion got his hands on Marina’s body, then I thought he would have realized—” Yulian falls silent. “Nothing. It’s not important anymore. She’s gone.” “She’s gone, but she left behind a big f*****g mess for me to clean up,” I say. “As per usual.” “We just need to make nice with Rodion,” Yulian says. “Make peace and this will all blow over. No one’s going to challenge either one of you if they know that the Stepanovs and the Ivanovs are on good terms.” “I’m not sure there are terms anymore,” I admit. “Now that Marina’s gone, Rodion has no real reason to name me as his successor.” Yulian frowns. “You’re still his son-in-law.” “Was,” I correct. “An ex-son-in-law who gave him no grandchildren. He’s not going to give me his legacy if it means I marry another woman and pass down that empire to a child that has no relation to him.” “His daughter couldn’t even give you a child,” Lev snarls. “It was the least she could do, and she didn’t even do that.” I used to feel that way. But it’s been a long time since I thought having a baby would bridge the divide between our families. There are only two ways to make this end now. “This meeting with Rodion has to happen,” I tell both of them. “We need to figure out where his head is at.” “What if it’s a trap?” Lev asks. “Not a chance,” Yulian says, still the naïve little boy that Otets used to shield from the world. “Rodion would never go against you so blatantly. He may have seniority, but you have the lion’s share of the power.” “He’s been in power far longer than Anton has,” Lev points out. “And Rodion fights dirty. Always has.” Yulian turns to me. “You really believe he’d put up a fight? For what?” “For revenge,” I say simply. “If he really believes I killed Marina, then all bets are off.” “We just gotta talk to the guy. He’ll see reason. He’ll believe us.” I stare at my younger brother, marveling at how young he seems right now. Despite growing up in this world, he’s innocent, gullible. Part of it is our father’s fault. Part of it is just who Yulian is.