Chapter 24 —Lev
The front door opened, and Yakov walked inside with a file in his hand. Quietly, he shut the door behind him and approached my desk, his shoes scuffing against the floor.
At first, I didn’t lift my head from the lit laptop screen in front of me—I’d been distracted by thoughts of Ravyn and had decided to focus on work a bit. But his lingering gaze and towering height were too pronounced to ignore.
Yakov didn’t say anything; he just stood there like a statue, waiting for his presence to be acknowledged. I knew the man all too well; whenever he came around me with such deafening silence, it was because he was about to drop some news I might chop someone’s head off over.
My fingers rattled across the keyboard, my brows knitting together. “Did you find something?” I asked without raising my head to look at him.
He hesitated for a moment before replying, his voice deep and raucous. “I did. And you’re not gonna like it.”
I knew it—bad news.
I drew a deep breath, willing to let him ruin my mood; it was part of the job description anyway. “Lay it on me.”
“I don’t think you’re ready for this one, Boss,” he said, his tone laced with a hint of skepticism.
My gaze flicked toward him, eyes squinting at the flat expression on his face. Whatever this was, it was even more serious than I’d thought. He’d gain my attention now—my full attention.
“I’m listening,” I said, leaning back in my chair, eyes fixed on him.
“Ever since the recent attack on your life, I haven’t been able to shake the feeling that it was an inside job,” he began, his gaze unwavering. “The way they moved, the timing…it all stank of something closer than a rival guessing our routes.”
My jaw tightened, but I said nothing. Like I didn’t already know this. Still, I was impressed by his observations. I let him continue.
“So, I started digging, profiling every man we’ve got—every guard, every driver, errand boy, et cetera. I tracked their calls, their messages, and their movements when they weren’t around the house.”
“And?” I asked, curiosity flickering in my tone.
“They all checked out,” he answered. “They’re clean—every last one of them.”
My head tilted subtly to the side. “I’m confused. What’s the big news?”
“I’m getting to it,” he continued. “It didn’t make sense at first because I was certain that one of us was the mole.” Yakov paused, his eyes narrowing. “But then I realized that maybe I hadn’t fished them out because I was looking in the wrong direction.”
I drummed my fingers over the table’s surface as I paid rapt attention, anticipating where he was going with this.
“I spent so much time focusing on those down the chain that I ignored those higher. Closer.” He swallowed hard, his voice lowering. “So I turned my attention to you, Boss. Or rather, to those around you. Family.”
My expression darkened, fingers curling into a fist as I shot him a stern glare. My scowl deepened, and my voice turned low and venomous. “Choose your next words carefully, Yakov,” I warned him, and he understood I wasn’t kidding.
Yakov nodded and continued, “I followed the trail as quietly as I could. Payments laundered through shell accounts, burner phones logged in places they shouldn’t have been.” He paused, as if letting his words sink in. “And that’s when I found this.”
My eyes dropped to the open file he set on the table, and I skimmed through the banking statements and several photographs laid out in front of me.
“On the next page, you’ll find calls traced to the night before the ambush,” he said.
I flipped to the next page, my eyes narrowing at the familiar digits that appeared throughout the entire log.
“Do you recognize that number?” Yakov asked me. “Because I do.”
I locked my jaw, my blood boiling with fury. I hoped this was all just some made-up evidence to discredit him.
“The surveillance camera in the street placed him at the scene just five minutes before the ambush.”
That was when my eyes located the grainy still from the CCTV footage.
It was him. It was Viktor.
The camera captured him speaking with the assassins exactly five minutes before the attack.
My brows drew together, fingers clenching fists. “This could’ve been doctored for all we know. The image could’ve been altered. Someone must’ve edited my brother into the scene.” I was clearly in denial.
“I thought so too, Boss,” Yakov pressed on, his voice steady but grim. “But I double-checked—triple-checked—because I had to be sure.”
I leaned into my chair, wiping a palm over my face, furious at what I’d just found out. Based on the evidence against him, Viktor had been feeding this gang intel about me for months.
But why? Why turn his back on me? Why betray his own blood?
Then it hit me.
Ravyn.
This was the only logical explanation for his betrayal. Perhaps he was trying to get back at me for marrying his ex-girlfriend. He’d endangered both our lives, and all for what? Jealousy?
He never really cared about her in the first place, so why the big fuss that I decided to make her mine?
If he hadn’t screwed things up between them, I never would’ve looked in her direction.
And besides, I didn’t marry her to spite him; it was a strategic move to destroy her family without raising suspicion.
I was punishing her because of him, and this was how he repaid me?
The second I remembered Yakov was still here, I dismissed him immediately. Without wasting any more time, he nodded once and excused himself. After the door shut behind him, I rose out of my chair, seething in silence.
I paced back and forth, unsure of what to do with this piece of information. My fingers combed through my hair, a million and one thoughts tugging at my mind.
Viktor’s betrayal hit differently because he was family—he was my brother, for Christ’s sake! When I put the pieces together and concluded that someone around me was behind the attack, I never imagined it would be him.
A knot tightened in my chest, and my blood wouldn’t stop boiling.
I’d figured Viktor wasn’t cool with the marriage, but I didn’t think he’d take things so far.
The son of a bitch sent some men to kill me—to kill her, too.
I wasn’t sure which one of us was the target that night, but the point was that he wanted one of us dead. Or maybe even both of us.
That night at the family dinner, when I saw him in the ladies’ room pulling Ravyn toward himself, I warned him to stay away from her.
I asked him, as his older brother, if he still had any feelings for her.
Viktor looked me straight in the eyes and said whatever he felt for her was dead.
I didn’t see the pun in that statement until now.
Son of a bitch!
He was the one who had sent that package to the house—the one with the bloodied knife and the illegible note. My brother’s been working behind the scenes, planning my demise.
Coward!
He should’ve just faced me like a man; he should’ve confronted me about my decision. And perhaps, we could’ve reached an agreement. But no. He chose to make himself an enemy of mine; he chose to turn his back on me and plot my death.
Because of him, Ravyn was entangled in this crazy world of mine—one where her life was constantly in danger. She didn’t deserve this harsh punishment, nor did her father. All of this for a man who sought my death?
The betrayal cut so deep that I was bleeding on the inside. It would’ve been a lot easier if he weren’t my flesh and blood. But unfortunately, he was.
Guilt coiled in my chest, sharp and unrelenting, as I recalled the look on her face the day I dropped the marriage proposal on her like a bombshell. It didn’t erase the fierce possessiveness that had only grown stronger by the day.
Maybe I should let her go now that it appeared that she was just a victim of Viktor’s manipulation. She didn’t deserve to be punished, especially when she didn’t do anything wrong. However, the mere thought of losing her made my throat tighten.
I didn’t think that I could ever let her go—not after I’d already tasted her and enjoyed every bit of it. She belonged to me and me alone; I couldn’t stand the thought of another man laying his hands on her. It infuriated me just thinking about it.
Letting her go was not an option. I’d already claimed her, and there was no way in hell that I’d allow her to walk out of my life.
Ravyn wasn’t just my wife; she was peace—the only woman who’d stirred up the humanity in me.
She was my better half, the light in my dark.
I could never let her go. Not in a million years.
She’d earned her place in my life and occupied a space in my stone-cold heart. Letting her walk would be stupid because I’d just chase after her again and bring her back to me. We might not talk all the time, but the few short conversations we’d had still lingered on the fringes of my mind.
I enjoyed her company more than I cared to admit, and honestly, her presence in the house brought warmth and peace. The place felt more alive than dead with her around.
Quite frankly, I wasn’t ready to part with the woman who had spoken at a Bratva meeting and left everyone stunned by her wisdom. Ravyn was different from the regular girls her age; amongst other things, she was industrious despite being born into wealth.
She was a woman with her own mind and a desire to build her own brand outside her father’s business. She wanted to make a name for herself. The girl had such big dreams and ambitions, which had been cut short because of me.
I’d screwed up when I messed up an innocent girl’s life. But letting her go wasn’t the right call. I’d fix it without letting her out of my sight; it was the only way to kill two birds with one stone.
***
Later that evening, I watched her across the dining table, her eyes fixed on the plate in front of her. We ate in silence as usual, even though deep down we both knew we were thinking about the same thing. The sex.
Neither of us had said anything about the incident at the library—no reviews whatsoever. But the change was evident; Ravyn was more comfortable around me now, and I no longer noticed the tension in her shoulders. It seemed she was beginning to accept her fate—her new reality.
She looked beautiful as always, her honey-blonde hair cascading in effortless waves down her back. Her skin glistened in the chandelier’s warm glow, and her blue eyes had the same sparkle as they had in the library.
“You’re awfully quiet,” I said to her, initiating a conversation for the first time.
She lifted her eyes and met my gaze, chewing gently. “Funny, I was about to say the same about you.”
“I’m always awfully quiet.”
She hesitated. “True. But it’s different this time.”
“Why do you mean?”
Ravyn dropped her cutlery and let out a soft sigh. “Well, for starters, you’ve been distant since….” Her voice trailed off on the last word, a subtle hint at the sex in the library.
I raised my brows, waiting for her to say it, but she didn’t; instead, she avoided it like a plague.
“Something’s on your mind,” she said, looking right into my eyes. “And whatever it is, it’s eating you up.”
“What’re you—a psychologist now?” I teased, a faint grin playing on my lips.
“I don’t need to be one to know that you’re haunted by something,” she added, her gaze unwavering.
Have I become so transparent that she can easily see right through me? What else does she know?
She speared a slice of crispy bacon with her fork. “Is there something you wanna tell me?” She brought it to her lips and took a bite.
My heart skipped a beat, but I maintained my composure. She asked the question like she already knew what was happening, but just needed to hear it from me.
Her expression was blank, so there was no telling whether my assumptions were true. But I wasn’t about to play her game.
“It’s nothing I can’t handle,” I replied, reaching for the half-empty glass on the table.
Ravyn stared at me for a moment, almost unconvinced by my response, but she didn’t press on. “Okay.” That was all she said, and she went back to focusing on her food.
She was too good, too smart, and I wasn’t letting her go. Ever. In that moment, I decided to make sure her loyalty was cemented by any means possible.
As for Viktor, I’d deal with his treachery decisively. This was a family matter, and it would be resolved as such.