Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 93506 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 468(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93506 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 468(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
“He’s not like that.” And I mean it. Kirill might be ruthless, but he cares about Karina and Anna. He wouldn’t hurt children, no matter what the agenda is.
“Sasha,” my uncle starts. “You are in denial, and that won’t only be a threat to your life but to ours as well. I need to kill Kirill while he’s alone and defenseless. We’ll never have a chance like this one again.”
“No.” The word comes out too raw and guttural, and definitely not in the way I’d usually speak to the two most revered members of my family.
“What did you just say?” Babushka asks in an incredulous tone.
“I said no. You have no proof. Besides, Uncle, didn’t you say the one who ordered the hit was a higher-up in the military? Didn’t I enlist to find him?”
“The one who executed the hit was in the military,” Uncle says. “I didn’t know his name at the time, but I found out from trusted sources after Roman’s death that he was General Abram Kuzmin. But here’s the thing. Before I could get to him, he was found mysteriously murdered in the streets of Moscow not long after Kirill became the head of the Morozov family. Do you think it’s a coincidence that the lone witness to Roman’s deeds was killed after he died? The only one who could’ve ordered that hit is Kirill. Roman has no reason to hide information after his death. His son, however, is going to great lengths to cover up his tracks.”
My mind is about to explode from the onslaught of information, but I still shake my head. “He has nothing to gain from eliminating a witness to a murder when he thinks the entire family was killed, which means your source is unreliable. You don’t know Kirill, but I do. He’s not the type who does anything unless there’s some sort of gain.”
“How dare you defend him in front of my face, you preposterous child!”
“I’m sorry, but I won’t allow you to hurt him, Babushka.”
“Go do your thing, Albert.” She hits me with the cane on my other side and pushes. “Move out of the way.”
I seize hold of her cane for the first time in my life. My hand trembles, but I lift my chin and continue to stand tall. “I said no.”
“Sasha, don’t make this harder than it needs to be,” Uncle says.
“If you want to kill Kirill, you’ll have to kill me first.”
“Sasha!”
“Aleksandra!” Babushka screeches, pulling her cane from my fingers and stomping it on the ground. “I should’ve known a girl would be good for nothing. You’ve fallen for the monster, haven’t you?”
“N-no.” I clear my throat. “He’s my savior, and I refuse to betray him.”
“If you don’t move out of the way,” she warns. “Mark my words, Aleksandra Ivanova, I will disown you.”
I pause, my fingers shaking and my heart thumping so loudly, I can hear it in my ears.
Sweat breaks out on my temples and upper lip as I stare at my grandmother.
The thought of being a stranger to my family rips my chest open, but no more than the mere thought of losing Kirill.
So I stand there, unmoving.
“Sasha,” Uncle pleads, but I shake my head.
“You are dead to me,” Babushka says with another stomp of her cane. “I will think that you were killed that day with everyone else.”
Then she turns around and leaves, hitting her cane on the ground all the way. Tears fill my eyes, but I don’t let them loose.
“It’s not too late to fix it, Sashenka,” Uncle says gently, pleadingly almost. “Do the right thing.”
“Killing my savior is not the right thing. Far from it.”
“This is not over even if I walk away right now. I will come back for Kirill’s life. It’s my duty toward this family. If you decide to stop me, be ready to kill me.” His eyes soften, and he releases a long sigh. “I wish I’d never sent you to the army.”
Then he follows Babushka out.
As I watch their retreating backs, a part of me rips through my chest, spills out in front of me, and dies a slow death.
The worst part is that I can’t do anything about it.
I’ve always thought I’d be with them for the rest of my life, but now, it feels like everything was for nothing.
I don’t pause to wallow in misery for too long, though. I need to get Kirill out of this hospital. Now.
If Uncle said he’ll come back, he means it. And this time, one of us really has to die.
I run to the hospital’s public phone and dial the number I learned by heart.
“Who is this?” Viktor’s gruff, tension-filled voice sounds from the other end.
“It’s me. Sasha.”
“Lipovsky, you fucking fucker! What happened to Boss? I knew he was following you after your impromptu visit to Russia. I went searching for him, and although it took me hours, I only found traces of blood. That blood better not be his, or I swear to fuck—”