Chapter 16 – Val
I stood by the floor-to-ceiling glass window, eyes fixed across the cityscape sprawled out in front of me. The smell of aged paper wafted through the air, mingling with the harsh scent of vodka.
A siren wailed in the distance, accompanied by a roll of thunder. Another flash of lightning streaked through the thick dark clouds outside, and it soon began to pour.
Even with my back against the four men seated in the room, I could sense their tension—their unease. And that alone fueled my suspicion. But I hadn’t said anything yet, I just stood there, gazing outside, so they would wonder what this meeting was about.
They whispered amongst themselves, deliberating on why they were summoned.
My silence was intentional, designed to keep them in the dark until I was ready to address the situation.
The whole room had been quiet for the past five minutes, and none of them had summoned the courage to ask what was going on.
Finally, someone spoke and broke the silence that had lingered long enough. I recognized the speaker’s voice; it was Anton.
He began by clearing his throat, as if bracing himself for whatever was about to happen. “Boss. We’ve been here for a while now, and you still haven’t said anything.”
I hesitated, then answered without looking back, “When I was a kid, my father told me a story of a shepherd who caught a wolf wearing sheepskin.”
Silence.
I continued, eyes still fixed outside. “You see, the wolf disguised itself as a sheep so well that the shepherd never noticed it. He fed the beast, treated it with the same care he treated his flock.” I paused, a soft chuckle escaping my lips.
“As time went by, the wolf devoured the sheep one by one from within the flock.”
They murmured for a second, then kept quiet again.
“The shepherd, oblivious to the danger right under his nose, scoured the forest, searching for the beast that’s killing his sheep.” I paused, letting the words sink in before continuing. “Poor guy, he didn’t know that the enemy wasn’t far away, but right…under his roof.”
I turned around with my hand in my pocket, my eyes drifting over their faces. These were my most trusted lieutenants, aside from Luka, who was standing by the door with a pistol in his hand.
“One night, while the flock slept, the wolf revealed itself from amongst them, thinking it was business as usual. However, what the wolf didn’t anticipate was that the shepherd would be watching tonight.”
They watched me in silence, wondering where I was going with this.
“Filled with rage, the shepherd didn’t just slit its throat. No, he gutted the beast slowly and painfully so everyone could see what happens when you hide teeth behind a fuckin’ smile.”
They exchanged glances, a glint of fear flickering in their gazes.
“Wh—what’re you saying, Boss?” Dmitri asked.
“Which one of you is the wolf?” I asked, blunt and straight to the point.
“What?” Sergie’s eyes widened behind his wire-rimmed glasses.
“I have reasons to believe that the attack on the mansion was done with the help of someone from the inside,” I answered, watching them closely.
“Boss, that’s preposterous,” Yakov said, disbelief flashing in his gaze. “It’s betrayal, and no one in this room is capable of that.”
“He’s right,” said Anton, “and I thought the guard, Mikhail, was killed because he was the one in cohorts with the assassins.”
It turned out that Mikhail wasn’t working alone. I received an anonymous tip this morning with the information that one of my most trusted men was behind the attack. But that’s not all; according to the intel, I wasn’t even the target that night. Wren was.
Apparently, her presence in the estate had sparked a lot of mixed reactions from other Bratva officials. Her existence in my life was now a window to make this whole thing political.
According to the information on the email I received earlier, Wren was now a bargaining chip for a rival Bratva faction aiming to weaken my standing and force me out of power.
The first person that popped into my mind was Elder Akim. The man hated me for opposing his proposal and going ahead to marry Wren. He wasn’t exactly known for his forgiving spirit, and rumor had it that he’d always had an ax to grind with me.
He might be behind this.
“Mikhail wasn’t working alone. He had an ally, and that ally is still walking free,” I said.
They all looked at each other, suspicion creeping into their gazes.
“I don’t get it.” Sergei rubbed his forehead. “Why would any one of us want you dead?”
“Who said anything about anyone wanting me dead?” I shot a quick glance at him.
He tilted his head, confused.
“Okay, I think you lost me there,” Anton said.
“I wasn’t the target that night,” I replied. “My wife was.”
Again, the room fell silent, the hovering tension thick and uncomfortable.
“So, you think one of us in here is responsible for the attack on your wife?” Dmitri asked, his voice laced with a hint of disappointment.
“I don’t know. You tell me,” I answered, looking straight into his eyes.
He paused for a second. “Do what you must. But I can tell you for free that I had nothing to do with it. I might be stupid—but I’m not that stupid.”
“Me neither,” Anton said. “I have nothing to hide and I know where my loyalties lie…with you.”
Sergei and Yakov also claimed to be innocent, and they even encouraged me to do a background check on all of them just to confirm their innocence.
Trust had always been dangerous in this world, and after what’s happened, it’s even more dangerous now. I had no idea who sent me that email, nor could I confirm that whatever was in there was true and not some elaborate prank.
But the fact that I felt this way long before the email was enough to let me know that something wasn’t right.
The message was specific; one of my most trusted men had betrayed me. So, it was either that the email was false, or one of these men looking right at me was the Judas amongst us. Either way, I wouldn’t stop until I got to the bottom of the situation.
They had better watch their backs, because now they had my full attention.
“Lock down the estate,” I ordered. “No one leaves or comes in without my permission.”
They didn’t say a word, just stole hidden glances at each other.
Sergei looked up at me. “If there’s a mole that’s after your wife, shouldn’t we double the security around her?”
My brows knitted together, my expression darkening ever so slightly. Did he really think that I’d trust any of them with my wife’s safety after now? Until proven otherwise, they were all guilty.
“Leave that to me,” I answered, cool and easy. “That’ll be all.” I turned around and faced the window again.
They hesitated briefly before standing up. Chairs scraped against the floor, and shoes clicked as they filed out of the room one by one.
Luka stepped forward and joined me by the window. “Do you believe them?”
I lit the cigarette between my lips, dragged on it, and released a puff of smoke. “Somebody in the room was guilty.”
“Who do you think that is?”
I paused, eyes still fixed out the window. “Not sure yet.”
“My money’s Anton,” Luka said. “He’s been acting weird lately.”
I looked at him. “How weird?”
“Secret phone calls, late-night disappearances without an explanation. Yesterday, I caught him whispering over the phone in the garage. As soon as he saw me, he was startled, said it was his sister.” Luka scoffed. “Anton doesn’t have a sister.”
My eyes narrowed. “You’re certain about that?”
He nodded. “Positive.”
The smoke curled around my face as I took another drag. “Keep an eye on him. On all of them.”
“Got it.” He waited for a moment, and when I wasn’t saying anything anymore, he turned around to leave.
That’s when I called him. “And Luka.”
“Yes, Boss.”
“You’ll be in charge of the house tomorrow. I have a private meeting I have to attend.”
“Copy that.” His footsteps retreated, and soon after, the door closed behind him.
This threat was bigger than I thought, and to beat whoever was behind this, I must be smarter. My plan was already in motion, and not even Luka was aware of it. I would definitely catch that mole, even though I already knew it was.
Yes. The email mentioned the suspect. I wasn’t sure at first, and that was why I called this meeting. No one agreed to being the mole, but from my little interaction with them, I found the answer I was looking for.
Anton was Luka’s first suspect. But I knew who the real culprit was.
***
Later that evening, I found Wren seated by the fireplace in the living room. She was reading a book as the chair rocked back and forth, the flames crackling beside her.
I walked down the stairs, quietly strolling toward her until she sensed my presence and raised her head. I paused mid-stride, holding her gaze, calculating how much damage her affiliation with me had already cost her.
“Are you okay?” she asked, a glint of concern flickering in her eyes.
My stone-cold heart melted at her words and that expression she wore. No one had asked me that in a really long time, and it cracked something open in me.
I maintained a straight face, sat on the nearest couch, and replied as calmly as I could, “Yes, I’m fine.”
She stared at me in silence, almost unconvinced, but she didn’t push further. She didn’t pry.
“And you?” I asked her. “How are you?”
“Other than the feeling of being in prison, I think I’m fine,” she replied, a small grin tugging at the corners of her lips.
It wasn’t broad or elaborate. But that smile was just what I needed to make my dark day seem bright. Seated across from her, we held each other’s gaze and said nothing for a while. A moment later, she broke eye contact and returned to reading her book.
I placed my legs on the coffee table before me, leaned into the couch, and drew a deep breath. Wren was mine, and I’d be damned if I let anyone take her from me. She was my wife, my responsibility. It was my duty to keep her safe—to protect her at all costs.
That was exactly what I intended to do—protect her. It didn’t matter who I had to put down to keep her safe. I was willing to do so—to go the extra mile for my family.