Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 97452 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97452 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Artur coughed and choked, spitting out the blood that accumulated in his mouth. He glanced up at me through swollen eyes. “You killed my father.”
Oh, I knew this was coming. There was only one reason why he would betray me.
His father betrayed my life, my father, and when I took over as Boss, I killed him. Without any remorse or even an ounce of guilt. I left him on the cold ground, bleeding to death. When I came back at night, his body was already gone and buried.
Artur had been kicked out of the house. He was seventeen. When I found him a few days later, he was starving. Homeless. And alone.
I brought him back into my house. We were friends, brothers not my blood, but still brothers.
I never thought it would come to this. But all this time, I was getting betrayed. For ten years, he betrayed me.
Shaking my head, I pulled away. With my hands behind my back, I glared down at Artur. He finally flinched under the weight of my murderous stare. I felt the corner of my lips twitch with satisfaction.
“You were the traitor all this time?” Viktor growled behind me.
Artur glanced at him and then chuckled. He broke off and whimpered in pain before replying. “Yeah. All this time…it…was me…but…you were too…blind…to see it.”
Nikolay’s face thundered, and he reached forward, punching Artur in the stomach. He doubled over in agony and wheezed through his broken nose.
“Fuck,” he muttered under his breath.
Rubbing my face in frustration, I took a deep breath. I couldn’t kill him. Not now. Not until I found Ayla. And I knew he wasn’t going to tell me easily.
My fingers itched with the need to kill him. But for now, I was going to hurt him until he would feel the weight of the pain he caused my Angel.
“Why Ayla? Your enmity was toward us…not her,” Viktor asked, coming to stand beside me.
Artur shook his head. “You are…right. My enmity was with you.” He broke off and gasped. Sucking in a deep breath, he continued in a low painful tone. “I didn’t even know who she was until the day we went to the beach. Alberto might have trusted me, but he was smart. I was never allowed into his house. Only his clubs. But that day, he called me to his house. I saw Ayla’s picture there. I put two and two together, and there you go. She was an Abandonato.”
“That doesn’t explain why you handed her over,” Viktor snapped. When I saw him moving forward in anger, I grabbed his arm, stopping him.
Artur continued speaking. “Alberto wanted her back, and I wanted to make you pay. It was easy. Two birds with one stone. The best way to bring you down was by hitting you with your weakness. And she was your only weakness.”
I stayed silent, forcing my anger into control. If I moved, I would kill him.
“For years I waited, planned. I looked for your weakness. You were a strong motherfucker. Your motto was kill or be killed. And then Ayla came into your life. It was almost too easy,” Artur said through his harsh breathing.
I saw his lip twitch in a small smile as he chuckled dryly. “You only made two mistakes. The first one was to trust me.”
He took a deep breath before delivering the final blow. “The second was falling in love with Ayla. So, you see, in the end…it was your…fault. You let her…become your weakness.”
Viktor reached forward and pummeled Artur with three furious punches. “You fucking bastard!” he roared.
He reached back for another punch, but Nikolay was quicker. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. When I heard Nikolay’s voice, my eyes snapped open.
“Did Alberto know I wasn’t betraying Boss?” he hissed into Artur’s ears.
Artur laughed through his pain. “Fuck…yeah…he knew everything. It was our plan. We’d make you think he believed you, while I was behind your back, giving him the correct information. How did you think he always knew your moves when Nikolay was giving him false information?”
“So it was all for nothing?” Viktor snarled, pulling away in frustration.
Artur nodded. “It…was…obvious. Nikolay was…too…loyal. Even when he was…close to…death…he never spilled…anything.”
He paused, taking in desperate air through his compressed lungs. “He…knew you…would never betray Alessio.” Glancing back at Nikolay, he smiled through his broken lips. “You are…like…a…fucking loyal dog.”
Nikolay’s eyes glowed fiercely with fury. “You little shit,” he spat.
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” I finally spoke. “Where’s Ayla?”
Nothing mattered. Why Artur betrayed me or how…only Ayla mattered. I fucking hated that I depended on Artur to find her, but there was no other way.
He raised an eyebrow at me. “Did you…really…think…it would be this…easy?”
This time, a smile crept his way across my lips. In no way was it a gentle smile. No, it promised only pain.