Chapter 31
Thirty-One
Luka
I didn’t remember the drive from the Petrovs’s to my mother’s house. I remember climbing the stairs, barreling through the door, and yelling her name. Everything else before that was a blank space.
The servants scattered. The grandfather clocked chimed. The cook tried to bring me muffin and I screamed again.
“Where is she?” I gritted my teeth together.
“Would you stop? You are a bull in a china shop, Luka.” Anna Novikov glided down the stairs, shooing the cook away.
I yanked her by the arm and practically lifted her off her feet.
“Ouch,” she whined. I noticed her makeup was done. She was dressed. She didn’t smell like last night’s Chardonnay. Fuck. Katya’s hunch was right.
I released her inside my father’s study, and she rubbed her arm. “What is wrong with you?” she hissed. “Someone could call security on you. And I would have no reason to stop them.”
I pointed my finger in her face. “Don’t. Don’t you dare. The only things coming out of your mouth better be the goddamn truth.”
She walked backward. Her eyes wide. “What is this about?”
“You know what it’s about.” I took a deep breath. “Enzo Barone is dead.”
If I didn’t know her better, I would have almost believed how she gasped. Almost. God, she was a good actress.
“That poor kid. Just out of business school. I’ve seen him on the news. He worked at Amato Global.”
I stepped closer to her. “I said only the truth,” I reminded her.
“He has been on the news. That is true.”
“That’s all you know? Really?” I pressed.
She flipped her hair over her shoulder. “What’s your point?”
I growled. “I heard about your new friendship with the Lieutenant Governor. It’s not a coincidence that he and Amara have been on the opposite sides of the gambling permits. He has a vested interest in the laws not being expanded. I know exactly what he has stock in. If it passes, he will lose millions in donor contributions.”
She shook her head. “That’s interesting, I guess.”
I knew my face was red. I felt my temple throb with the anger. “You know more. You know all the story. And I need you to start talking.”
She shrugged. “I’m guessing you heard we had dinner last night. Is that what this is about? Some kind of defense of your father? Rushing in here to save his honor? I haven’t mourned him long enough for you?”
“I don’t give a shit about my father. You can start with dinner and work your way backward.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You can’t speak to me that way. You’re in my house.”
I huffed. “Actually, it’s mine. I’m letting you live here. I run this family now.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but she knew it was true. I inherited every penny and every inch of real estate my father owned.
“Unless you want to move out on the street, start talking.” I glared at her.
“You wouldn’t. I’m your mother.”
I grabbed her wrist. “How about I take you down into the Vieux Carre tunnels? I’ll show you where he died. Where your grandchild’s father died.”
She wrangled her hand away from me. “You’re being dramatic.”
“Am I? I watched him die. He died right in front of me.”
It was the first time she flinched. “You went into the tunnels?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
She reached for a chair and sat. “I-I—” She looked up at me. “You weren’t supposed to go down there.”
“What was your plan? Was it to put your daughter’s life in danger? Maybe the baby’s instead?”
She shook her head slowly. “No. Never. I would never let anyone hurt the baby. That’s absurd.”
“Then what? What fucking manipulative scheme did you come up with?”
“Anthony wanted to make sure she didn’t ruin everything he had.”
“Amara?”
“Yes,” she snapped, but her eyes closed. She regretted it. “Anthony Gardner and I met at a charity event. You know the masquerade ball I used to attend with your father.”
“But wasn’t that a few months ago? Papa was still alive,” I stated.
She shrugged. “He was. But Anthony and I started a friendship. We had mutual interests. Amara was squeezing us dry with the interest rates. Your father wouldn’t do anything about it. Nothing. He just stood there and let her steal from us. She was close to taking everything Anthony had too with her absurd glam casino resort. So, we formed an alliance.”
“To kidnap her?” I gritted my teeth together.
“To remove her from New Orleans,” she answered.
I had to steady myself. The anger was so thick it was beginning to take over.
“You have no idea what she was like when you were in France,” she argued.
“Believe me. I understand.” My jaw clenched. My throat tightened. “You and Anthony took the plan to the next level. You were going to kill her.” She wouldn’t meet my gaze. “Answer me!” I shouted.
“Yes. Hide her until we could take her out of the city. And then Anthony has resources. I don’t know what they are. Who they are. I don’t know the details. I don’t handle those things. He does that part.”
I exhaled. “What did you help with?”
“I pretended to be drunk. I listened. I eavesdropped on every conversation you had. I knew about Enzo and Katya. So I asked Anthony if he would add him to the plan just to scare him. Just scare him away from Katya. Make sure he left and didn’t come back. He wasn’t supposed to get hurt.”
“Only kill Amara.” My jaw was locked in place.
“Your sister was in real danger as long as she was with him. If the Petrovs ever find out about the baby, they will take it from her.”
“No, they won’t. I’ve handled all of that.” I glared at my mother with utter venom. “Your plan was vicious and hideous. You killed Enzo. Amara is the one taking care of Katya.” I shook my head. “What were you supposed to get out of this? What did Anthony promise you?”
“That my children would be safe. That I’d have control of my money again. With her and Enzo gone, I didn’t have to worry about you and your sister going down the wrong path. And everyone would thank me for taking out the queen.”
I laughed. “Power? Were you asking a politician to give you power? To make you the fucking queen of New Orleans?” I huffed. “As if you could dethrone Amara Amato.”
She nibbled on her bottom lip. “He did exactly what I wanted to do. Don’t you think that’s power?”
“To convince a man to commit a crime for sex and money? Doesn’t sound like a big power play, Mother,” I hissed. “It sounds pretty common and petty. Not much more sophisticated than what the whores on Bourbon Street do.”
She raised her hand to slap me, but I dodged her open palm.
“I’m still your mother.”
“Genetically, yes. Other than that, you’re no longer in this family.”
“You can’t do that.”
“I swore to Katya that justice would be served.”
“You can’t kick me out of the family. You’re upset. But you know how the families operate. We do what we need to do to protect our own.”
I clenched my fists. “I’m doing what I need to do to protect my own. That no longer includes you.”
I got up to leave the room. I would have to deal with Anthony Gardner later. I would not let Enzo’s death go unavenged.
“What are you going to do?” There was real fear in her eyes. Panic in her voice.
I paused in the doorway. “You have two days to pack up your things and get out.”
“Luka, don’t do this,” she begged.
“If you weren’t my mother, I wouldn’t give you another second. You should be thanking me.”
“I know what you did to her,” she cried.
I stopped moving. My spine stiffened. “What are you talking about?”
Her eyes lit. “Your father told me. You had Amara Amato kidnapped years ago, didn’t you?”
“Why the fuck would you believe anything Dmitry said about the Amatos?” I would never admit to her she knew anything. “Collect your things and leave.”
I walked out of the house, slamming the Novikov door behind me. The crest rattled in my wake.