47. Resign
Jolie sat on her borrowed bed in the Morozov household. Her cats lingered around her, rubbing against her back, but she felt nothing except emptiness. Three days ago was the worst day of her life, brought on by her stupidity and ignorance. After mourning, she had to face her choices and try her best to undo them. There was no way to continue on here, in this place.
It was over. The moment Alexei stood in front of her on the boat instead of Adrik, she knew.
Adrik blamed her. And instead of facing her and telling her how stupid she was, he chose silence. She felt guilty enough for leaving the safe room; she didn”t need his passive-aggressive anger.
Underneath the guilt was the desperate need for comfort. She had gone through something traumatic, and Jolie needed Adrik. Instead, she got Alexei. She wasn”t dating his brother. She didn”t want Alexei to comfort her. Even if Adrik was so pissed at her for coming out, he could still hold her and gripe her simultaneously. If she was going to live in this hellish world, then she at least needed to know that Adrik would be there with her.
But he hadn”t been. Maybe he was too much his father”s son. Something that Katia kept hinting at during their endless days together. She knew Adrik”s weaknesses better than anyone, and Jolie was foolish not to listen to her.
With a letter in her hand, Jolie stood with a straight back. She wore black, mourning the lives that would never be spoken about. Even villains deserved justice, but this family took it upon themselves to be judge and jury. And Jolie had enough.
At the breakfast table, the family sat. Yakov at the head, with a son on each side. Katia was next to Adrik, a place that would never be hers. And Tatianna on the opposite end, eating and chatting, unburdened.
Jolie approached slowly, shaking. She no longer guessed what they were capable of. Now that she had seen what they could do. They were perfect for each other, this family of murderers.
She would never belong.
Yakov greeted her with a smile. ”I”m so happy you”ve joined us.”
Adrik shifted, his head to the side, but he didn”t look at her. He was a coward, and she despised it about him. All the confidence and pride trying to cover up his most obvious flaw.
It”s why Jolie handed Yakov the letter. Since he was clearly in charge.
”What”s this?”
”My resignation. I”m sorry, but I cannot continue on here.”
She turned to go, but Yakov called her back. She wanted to refuse but knew better. Yakov got out of his chair and instructed her to follow. Alexei stood, suddenly nervous, but she gave him a small smile for reassurance. Adrik continued to ignore her, and her gaze lingered on the back of his head, begging him to turn around.
But he didn”t.
Jolie entered Yakov”s office, and he sat in a wingback leather chair and gestured to the opposite one. Jolie hesitated.
”Indulge me for a moment, Miss Bell.”
With a clenched jaw, she sat.
”I”m sorry about what happened. I can”t imagine what that was like for you.”
Despite the empty words, it was more than Adrik had given her. It brought tears to her eyes, but she didn”t want to cry in front of him. She sniffed and hardened her gaze as she stared at Yakov.
”Can I ask what you were doing on the ship? I”m a little taken aback by your presence.”
”I went for Helina.”
”Ah. Teaching even on vacation? Such dedication.”
Jolie crossed her legs, unwilling to be intimidated by him anymore. She was too numb to feel anything.
Yakov smiled. ”Do you know when I realized you weren”t courting Alexei, despite the efforts you went through to deceive?”
Jolie felt a little jolt to her heart.
”After the pen incident. Alexei was too desperate to calm Adrik, when they both should have wanted some retribution. But Alexei does have feelings for you, doesn”t he, Miss Bell? How you managed to ensnare both of them is a curiosity, since they typically have different tastes.” Yakov watched her, waited for a response, and was annoyed when he received none. ”Adrik normally obeys me; he knows what I want is best and follows my rules. So, you must understand that your presence on his yacht was disturbing. Now, his disappearance these last couple of weeks is beginning to add up. And I wonder if I were to look back on all the security footage and the documents, would you happen to ”disappear” at the same time?”
Jolie didn”t care. It didn”t matter. She was leaving. She remained impassive. After the boat, nothing he said could affect her. Not when she was still trying to get the blood out of her hair.
”It may not seem like it to you, but I am very protective of my children. I cannot have some young slut try to come between them. This is why I will not only take your resignation, but I implore you to leave this state. Get as far away from here as possible. Because if I see you again near my sons, planning an accident is one of the main things I learned to do before I was ten.”
His threat woke something in her, set her heart back to beating, and pulled her from the coma she”d been in. It wasn”t fear. It was adrenaline.
She found herself without a filter. ”You”re a horrible man.”
He smirked and shrugged. ”Yes. I am. But I get what I want. Adrik and Alexei needed a little reminder, and now, things should return to where they were. All that”s messing up the equation is you. I didn”t know it before, but now it”s very clear. Nothing makes a man fight harder and more desperately than for family. Whatever they saw in you sparked that rebellion. But without you, they”ll fall back in line.”
Jolie clenched her fingers around her dress. She didn”t know what kind of person Adrik and Alexei had to deal with, and now it was slowly coming to light. Yakov was a terror, and though he was portrayed as a good father, he was a manipulating narcissist. What had he done to Adrik and Alexei to ”remind” them of their place?
Alexei”s bruises. Would Yakov physically harm them?
It was an easy answer.
The phone rang, and Yakov held up a finger as he answered it. It was all in Russian. When she got out of this hellhole, she never wanted to hear another person speak the harsh language. Jolie wondered if she could leave, but she was sure she needed to be dismissed. But what did she care about his rules? She was never going to see him again. Jolie stood.
The door burst open. ”Yakov!” An old black man in a black suit entered. The soldiers at his side were constantly trying to pull him back, but they were clearly trying not to upset him. ”Yakov, where are my sons? The last time I spoke to them, they said they had a job from you, and that was days ago.”
Yakov slowly stood, tucking his phone back into his pocket. He pointed a finger at one of his soldiers and said, ”Please take Miss Bell out. And help her pack.” The soldier latched onto her bicep, pulling her out of the room. She stumbled as she watched the older gentleman. There was something familiar about him that she couldn”t pinpoint. His face was familiar.
The intruder kept yanking his arms out of the soldiers” hold. ”Where are they? Where are Luke and Mic?”
The door shut, and the floor beneath her feet faded. She floated as the soldiers dragged her back to her room like a tethered ghost.
Mic. The name of one of the soldiers on the boat. Why would Yakov know them? Unless he was the one who hired them.
A hand pressed against her mouth. It was only a theory; she had no proof, but it was too much of a coincidence. Should she tell Adrik? Would he believe her?
The soldier shoved her on the bed. Jolie tried to make a run for it, but he tossed her back on the mattress and dared her to try again.
Esfir came in to delegate the packing, ordering a bunch of servants around. This time, they were less than gentle, taking a drawer and dumping it in a box. They took armfuls of clothes from the closet, shoved them in, and then dumped her shoes on top.
Yakov betrayed his son. He put the lives of his wife and granddaughter in jeopardy for what? To prove a point? He was mentally unhinged, and if she didn”t help get Adrik away from him, what other horrible things would he do to keep his sons in line?
Box after box was stacked against the wall. When it was over, a soldier stood at the door. ”Yakov has given you until tomorrow morning while Esfir finds you a place to live. I will be back at seven in the morning to take you.” The door shut, and she was sure she heard it lock.
Jolie got to her feet. Her cats meowed in concern, jumping from box to box, sniffing around. Her fingers reached out for the doorknob, but it didn”t move. They had locked her in. Her head pressed against the wood.
The moment Yakov had disappeared down the hall with Jolie, Adrik got to his feet. He wasn”t going to sit there and torture himself over some woman. Jolie made her decision. He wasn”t raised to be a simp; if she expected some emotional plea, she was an idiot.
Everything he imagined for his future was gone. If he couldn”t have it with Jolie, he wouldn”t have it with anyone. Accepting this life was the only thing that was left. Accepting the fact that his daughter was going to be used for the family, going to be auctioned off like some fucking animal, was becoming more realistic than not. There was no hope left. His father had been hinting at it for years, and now, Adrik stopped fighting it. His father was right about everything.
Alexei was on his heels. ”You okay?”
”Fine,” he snapped back.
”Because you don”t look okay.”
Adrik kept going down the stairs, ignoring his brother. They twisted through the bottom level of the house, typing in a password to get into the deepest floor. A guard was on the other side, tracking who was coming and going. Down here, there were no cameras. There would be no evidence that could ever be leaked.
When they turned the corner, Adrik faced Alexei. ”She wants to go; she can go. I”m done.”
”Have you even talked to her?”
”I don”t need to. I can see it.”
”Oh, well, that”s a talent.”
”I don”t need your shit right now.”
Alexei snatched Adrik”s arm, but Adrik retaliated with a quick fist, punching his brother hard in the face, and he fell back against the wall, holding his cheek. Adrik cursed and ran his hands through his hair, pacing for a minute.
Alexei clenched his jaw; the pain was nothing new. He didn”t know why he was putting up a fight about this. He should be happy. Relieved even. But here he was. ”All she wanted was you. When she saw me standing in front of her, it devastated her. Why can”t you live for yourself for once? Why do you have to do everything Papa says?”
Adrik stepped up to him with a finger in his face and screamed, ”That”s what I”ve been trying to do! But you don”t understand. He”s everywhere, Alexei. I can”t escape from him.”
”Then, stop trying to. Face him.” Alexei watched Adrik turn away, scoffing, as if the very idea was impossible. And then words escaped him. ”Kill him.”
Adrik snapped his head toward his brother. He stared at him, observing Alexei trying to piece together the statement, processing the words as if they were foreign. They repeated in his head like echoes in a cavern, but instead of getting distant and quieter, they got louder and deafening.
Adrik leaned around the corner, finding the man still sitting at the front entrance. He had earphones plugged in as he watched TV on his phone. Adrik turned his attention back to Alexei. ”What did you say?”
”You heard me.”
Once more, the words replayed, and Adrik shifted on his foot, fear creeping into him. And underneath that fear was a slim ray of hope.
”How long have you thought of that?”
”Years,” Alexei admitted, daring to look at him. ”I don”t have the same love for him as you do.”
Adrik backstepped, and Alexei reached for him, but Adrik put a hand out to stop him. It wasn”t that Adrik never thought about killing their father, but it was a stupid fantasy. Like running away. Like faking his death. They were thoughts that were better left unsaid. Because speaking them aloud gave it potential, and nothing good could come from killing Yakov. If anyone found out, they”d be hunted down by cousins and uncles. Their own grandfathers wouldn”t be able to look away.
And if they somehow made it appear like an accident, they would be looking over their shoulders every day for the rest of their lives, praying no one figured it out.
There was no peace in murdering their father.
Despite how much they wanted it.
Adrik didn”t understand. ”You always stop me.”
”Because it shouldn”t be you,” Alexei whispered. ”All you have to do is tell me yes. You won”t know anything else. Not when, or where, or how. You”ll be safe.”
Adrik knitted his brows. Alexei was serious. But there was no killing Yakov. How could he think that would ever be a possibility? And then to assume that Adrik would let Alexei handle something so horrible on his own? It was too much. Adrik backstepped further and further. Alexei begged him to stay, but he couldn”t. The world was crumbling beneath his feet; he needed some control. And that control came from violence.