Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 103656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
She swings around and pushes me away. “They already were, and so are you. Everyone in this godforsaken place is my fucking enemy.”
“Kara…”
“Don’t call me that!” Tears rim her eyes. “You lost the right to call me that the day you left me running after your car in the rain.”
I purse my lips. “I couldn’t take you with me. You were too young.”
“Fuck you. I hate you.”
“If you hate me so much, why did you vote for me to stay?”
“Well…I want you to suffer here where I can see you.”
“Did Sasha, by any chance, have something to do with this?”
“That asshole couldn’t affect me in any way. You should kill him, Kirill. He looks useless.”
And yet he managed to get you out of your room without any form of threat.
“I’ll think about it.”
Her eyes bug out. “Really?”
“Yeah. You might be mad at me, but I will keep my promise to protect you, especially from my own men.”
“He…is not that bad. I guess we can put him on probation, and if he does anything fishy, we’ll slice his throat.”
I ruffle her hair. “As you wish, my lady.”
She pauses, chin trembling, but then she pushes me away and runs to her room shouting, “I still didn’t forgive you!”
My lips pull up at the corners as I watch her flying back to her room as if her life depends on it. She’ll probably remain there for a week after all the unwanted exposure she’s had to the outside world.
Karina had no reason to come down just now and face the mother she’s intimidated by, but she chose to help me.
I wait for Sasha to show her face, but she flat out ran away.
She can’t run for long, though.
I check my watch as Viktor appears by my side like a ghost. “We’re ready.”
“Go.”
It’s one word, but he knows exactly what to do.
The game is starting.
Two hours later, I’m sitting in my father’s office, which I took as my own the day he died.
I’ve been going through all of his files, records, and archives. I’m the only one who can, because he left me his passwords and keys. Yes, actual keys—he was old-fashioned like that.
The old fool trusted me to continue the Morozov legacy.
In going through his assets, files, and everything in between, I come across a nice tidbit.
There’s a little black book in which my dear papa transcribed every shady transaction he did with higher-ups here, in Russia, in South America, and all over the world.
He did it in detail, too, highlighting people he’d already received a favor from and putting stars by others he hadn’t.
The heinous crimes and great lengths he went to in order to achieve power are spelled out one by one in this little gem.
Something I’ll certainly make use of in my future endeavors.
On the side of my desk, I’m slowly building a large house of cards. The geometrical shape and the amount of effort I put into this task helps in opening up my vision for all sorts of scenarios.
My phone vibrates on the desk, threatening to destroy my creation. I carefully grab it and lean back in my office chair to check it.
Viktor: Operation phase one is completed.
Kirill: Remain on standby until further instructions.
Viktor: Copy that.
I’m about to place my phone in my pocket when the door barges open, and Sasha appears on the threshold. Her shirt is disheveled, and her face is sweaty.
“Don’t you know how to knock?”
She breathes heavily before she blurts, “Your…your mother was kidnapped.”
“Is that why you decided to stop avoiding me?”
She strides inside, her brow furrowed. “How can you be so calm? Your mom…she was taken in the middle of the road.”
“Were you following my mother, Sasha?”
She swallows. “Is that important right now?”
“Maybe.”
A dark shadow falls over her eyes, making them appear somber. When she stops in front of my desk, her lips roll forward in a strangely adorable pout. “I know your mother isn’t the best person out there, but I’m telling you right now that her life is in danger. I saw it with my own eyes when the masked men hit her car, eliminated her bodyguards, and kidnapped her. So you have to do something. Now.”
I slowly place two cards at the top of my house. “Why should I? She wouldn’t have done anything if the roles were reversed.”
“Then how are you any different from her?”
“Who says I am? She’s my mother, after all.”
Her expression doesn’t change, neither in surprise nor in shock. Instead, she announces in a calm tone, “I don’t believe that.”
I stand up, and she flinches back slightly. It wouldn’t have been noticeable to an outsider, but I know the exact reason behind the gesture.
She prefers to avoid me.
Interesting.
“I might take action if you tell me why you were following my mother.”
“I was…trying to figure out who she was going to meet.”