61. Kaz
Dedushka’s dressedin a tailored suit, his gray hair slicked back from his face, a slight hint of a comb-over. His face is etched with wrinkles, and his cheeks and chin are prominent. Over the past hour, he has been frowning, his stormy blue eyes fixed on me. The silence between us stretches uncomfortably.
Finally, after what feels like an eternity, he speaks. His words are slow and deliberate. “I thought you knew better than this.”
I’ve spent the past hour listening to him talk about expectations, the importance of respecting our elders, traditions, and the consequences. His voice is like granite, filling the room. I stand silently, choosing not to defend myself. I observe his every movement and every word with a heavy heart. He’s losing himself. It has been happening for some time now, but I was too consumed by my desire for revenge to notice. If Dedushka were still the man he used to be, Sevastyan would never have dared to try to kill me. It’s only a matter of time before someone else seeks to claim his place, and then there will be war. Within our family and beyond.
He has been the head of the business since he was thirty, building everything from the ground up. Only recently did he retreat to the outskirts of Moscow, to the estate he purchased for Babushka. She tried to keep him away from the business and gave him hell for every second. She passed away when I was still a child, but I have fond memories of her.
“I shouldn’t have gone behind your back,” I admit.
I doubt he will remember this conversation tomorrow. Guilt washes over me as I realize he needed me, and I wasn’t there for him. At least Vanya has been there for him. I will stay for a while. I need to speak with his staff and doctors to determine what is happening.
“No, you shouldn’t have. You’ve started a war over nothing. Ermanno Benedetti didn’t kill my son, and I would have told you this if you had bothered to ask,” he says, his voice filled with weariness.
I trusted my uncle because the events he described were too far in the past for me to find any helpful information in the present.
“Then who killed him?” I know the answer, but I want to gauge what Dedushka knows.
“Take a seat and stop pacing around, Kazimir.” He points at the empty chair on the other side of his desk.
I take a seat, although my body refuses to stay still. I need to move. I need to kill someone. I need to go to sleep.
“My other son,” he replies with a sigh.
“So you knew all along that Sevastyan killed Alexei and did nothing about it?”
“I couldn’t bring myself to kill my son. Alexei was already dead. If I did that, I would have been left with nothing.”
Fucking family. It blinds you. It softens you. It makes you look the other way willingly, making you a bystander.
“But I can.”
“I know you can,” he says, his expression softening as if he is proud of my cold-blooded statement. “But not while I’m still alive. I don’t want to witness you and Sevastyan trying to kill each other.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that you’re not allowed to harm Sevastyan while I’m alive, Kazimir. It would be best if you went home. Spend time with your wife.” He wrinkles his nose at the thought. “Give me great-grandchildren.”
“You can’t be serious.” I raise my eyebrows. “Sevastyan put a hit out on me. He had a hitman shoot at my wife while she was in the hospital. He kidnapped Fiona, trying to provoke me.”
He places his hands on the desk, intertwining his fingers. I can’t discern the state of his mind. One moment, he seems lucid; the next, he utters nonsense. It pains me to see him like this, barely clinging to his sanity.
“I’ll talk to him. This war will not continue while I’m alive.”
I am about to argue, but at the last moment, I change my mind. His explanation is not enough for me. He knew the truth and did nothing about it. He allowed Sevastyan to run my father’s business until I was old enough to claim what was rightfully mine. My uncle and father had worked under Dedushka, but my uncle was always a screw-up, always relying on my father to clean up his messes. Instead of building something from scratch, he relied on handouts from Dedushka and my father. It’s a miracle that he didn’t ruin my father’s business during the years he ran it.
“I want a meeting with him. I’ll agree to your terms, but I must speak with him.”
“Then you will understand why it has to take place on neutral ground and why you must come unarmed. You can bring two men with you.”
Yeah, I’m not falling for this crap. I won’t place my trust in my family again. However, I nod in understanding.
“Set it up. I’ll be there.”
Sevastyan is on the run. Dmitri is still searching for Fiona. My grandfather isn’t as much help as I had hoped he would be. At least I have Mattia. I regret ordering my men to kill Ludovic so swiftly only after a week of torture, but I wanted no more surprises. Mattia will have to pay for his brother’s sins as well.
“Now tell me, is Russian pussy not good enough for you?” I narrow my eyes, knowing he won’t let it end there. “You could’ve married anyone, Kazimir. Why bring back a foreign whore?”
There it is. I was wondering when he would bring up Caelia.
“That’s my wife you are talking about. You won’t disrespect her like that. I am not like you, Dedushka. I won’t hesitate to kill my own family to protect the woman I love.”
I need to sell this convincingly. I need him to mind his own business and leave her alone. I wouldn’t be surprised if he attempted to take her out of the picture.
Surprisingly, the admission doesn’t feel strange coming out of my mouth. The words don’t burn my tongue as I had expected. They are real.
“You have more of your father in you than you realize.” He smiles.
It sounds like a compliment, so I’ll take it. There’s nothing more to be said. I realize just how alone I am in all of this. There is no help where I anticipated it, and there is nothing I can do except fight against my family and my blood. The thought of Dedushka’s death doesn’t thrill me. Even though it would mean I could kill Sevastyan once he’s gone, I don’t want him to die. I want to get him the help he needs, not leave him alone in this estate to wither away. He’s a proud man, and he won’t accept my help. But I need him at his best for as long as possible while figuring out how to take his place once he’s gone. I would rather die than see Sevastyan follow in his footsteps. I’ll need his associates on board with this. I hate everything about this plan, but I know where I stand.