AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Alena is the only person who can soothe all the tensions that exist between the inner Families, don’t you see? She deserves to be with her mother, where she is loved and cared for, and her union will join together Families. And then her child will do the same!”
My lip curls in disgust. “You speak of Alena as if she is some sow meant for nothing more than soothing the bad choices of those in charge.”
“You have no vision.” She spits at me. “Family and tradition are more important than your thoughtless fling.”
Suddenly, it painfully makes sense, and tension snaps in my chest. The urge to strike her once more rises, but this time, I refrain and instead, I feign upset.
Easy to feign when staring down my mother figure as she speaks so casually about betraying me.
“Is that why you did it?” I ask, making my voice softer. “Your loyalty to Aleksander and the Orlovas is stronger than your loyalty to me? You have your heart and faith in the Family rather than in me, the man you raised like your own son?”
“Loyalty to the Family is everything, you stupid boy. Are you so disillusioned that you do not see this?” Her empty laughter resumes. “Loyalty to the Family is why I didn’t let you and your siblings die in the gutter after your mother passed. Did you really think I wanted to raise brats who weren’t mine? Did you really think I did that out of the goodness of my heart? No!”
My breathing quickens.
“I did it because the Family saw a debt to be owed to your parents, and I paid it by raising you,” she continued. “But now, Kristof, you’re standing in the way of a stronger, more successful Family, all because you think with your dick and not your head!”
My heart breaks.
In the hours I spent debating Alyona’s reasons for betraying me, I never once considered that I never had her loyalty to begin with. Where I saw a motherly warmth and a strong, stable support at my back, she saw me as nothing more than an obligation.
An ashy taste washes through my mouth, and I press my lips together, keeping my face as impassive as possible. The last thing I want to do is reveal the broken shards within. I won’t give her the satisfaction.
“For the first time,” I say slowly, “I’m glad Ivan and Nastja aren’t here to see this.”
Alyona’s glare falters and her non-swollen eye darts back and forth. “What? What do you mean?”
“It would break their heart to know that the woman they loved, the woman they praised so highly, was the one who betrayed them to their deaths.”
“D–Deaths?” The hard look on her face finally cracks, and her gaze falls away. “No, that’s…”
“That’s exactly the truth. They died. Aleksander killed them because you betrayed us, and I am relieved that I can save them the pain of knowing the woman who raised them saw them as nothing more than an obligation to a pathetic higher calling that kills more people than it saves.”
“Kristof!”
* * *
The door to the basement slams closed behind me. I take a single, deep breath and ascend the stairs while wiping hot blood from my hands with a towel. At the top stand the two guards who ripped Alyona from her bed.
“Take care of the body.”
They both nod and descend into the darkness I just left.
My steps are heavy all the way back to my bedroom. Everything I thought I knew now lies in ashes at my feet. Alyona betrayed me, although she didn’t see it that way since she was never loyal to me in the first place. It’s a small mercy that I didn’t have to break the news to my siblings, but at the same time, I would willingly take that painful task over this hollow alternative.
My family is… gone.
This house feels suddenly cavernous, and my steps falter at the top of the stairs.
Ivan and Nastja are dead.
Alyona is dead.
My numbers dwindle, and the future teeters on an uncertain edge.
Only one single thought remains true in my mind—I’m going to kill Aleksander Orlova, and I’m going to enjoy it.
I reach the bedroom and gently open the door. Andrev reacts with impressive speed and only lowers his weapon when he sees it’s me. I dismiss him with a nod and approach the bed.
