“If Theo did something like Fedor has done, I wouldn’t sweep it under the rug. I would force him
to suffer the consequences of his actions. It’s the only way he would learn his lesson.”
“Is that what you think I’m doing? Sweeping it under the rug?” Viktor asks.This question is not rhetorical. I know he wants an answer, but I’m afraid to say anything. I’m
afraid to say the truth.
Yes.“I could have paid off a judge,” he says. “Months ago. I could have paid someone to track downthe witness and kill him before he could take the stand. People think the justice system is morepowerful than money and power, but people are wrong. I could have had Fedor freed … but I didn’t.”
“Why not?”He leans back on the edge of his desk, his shoulders slumped forward, and I
