Chapter 10 - Fyodor
The call came before noon, exactly when I had expected it.
I had anticipated the exact hour, in fact, because I knew Kliment did not tolerate surprises, and I had delivered him the largest one possible.
My phone vibrated once on the desk in the study, and I stared at the screen for a full second before answering.
“Kliment.”
Silence greeted me first. It was not hesitation but control instead, even though I knew none of it would work in front of my brother. I could already sense his anger even before he had uttered a single word from the other end of the line.
“Tell me this is a rumor.”
His voice was calm. Too calm.
“It isn’t.”
A sharp exhale followed my confession, and I knew I had sensed it right.
“So you are telling me that you went ahead and married the Chernykh girl rather than listening to my orders and simply using her as leverage.”
“Yes.”
The line went quiet again, but when he spoke next, the disbelief that had laced his voice earlier was completely gone. The only thing that remained now was a quiet fury that I could sense despite the distance.
“Have you completely lost your mind?”
“No, Kliment. I haven’t.”
“Then what the fuck were you thinking, Fyodor. You know damned well marriage was not part of the plan.” He was shouting now, no longer containing his anger.
“I adjusted the plan.”
“You do not adjust my plans.”
There it was. Not our plans. My plan.
“I do when they become inefficient,” I replied evenly.
“Inefficient?” His voice rose sharply. “She was leverage, Fyodor, and was supposed to be temporary and disposable.”
The word tightened something low in my chest.
“She is not disposable.”
“She was never meant to become a Romanov, and you went ahead and tied her to our name. What do you think that paperwork makes her loyal to our family and us? She will always be a Chernykh, and she will always hate you for doing this. She will never be a wife.”
“I don’t need her loyalty.”
“What exactly do you think you need?”
“Balance.”
He went silent again, reminding me how his silence was far more dangerous than his shouting.
“Explain,” he ordered.
“Elisse Chernykh was an external asset,” I said calmly. “Things like kidnapping her, threatening her, and using her would have eventually escalated outward. They would justify Chernykh's retaliation, which would eventually lead to war.”
“That was the whole point.”
“No,” I said. “The point was pressure and not open war. Never open war. We should not forget that we are the ones without allies or support in Miami, not the Chernykhs. They have the Morozovs and Aslanovs backing them up, so if we go up against them in an open war, we are quite practically asking for death. ”
“We are already at war with everyone, no matter how much we try to ignore it, Fyodor.”
“Not publicly.”
He didn’t respond.
“Marriage changes the board,” I continued. “She is no longer a hostage. She is family.”
“She will always be enemy blood.”
“She is Romanov by law.”
“You bound us to a Chernykh.”
“I bound them to us.”
The quiet that followed was razor thin.
“You have made her a weakness. Your weakness,” Kliment said finally.
“No. If they strike her now, they might think they are striking us internally, but that won’t be true. They don’t gain leverage, but instead they create mutual destruction for both themselves and us.”
“You assume they will hesitate because she is their blood?”
“They will.”
“You place a great deal of faith in sentiment.”
“It isn’t sentiment. It’s optics.”
He scoffed.
“Optics? You sound like a politician.”
“Strategy requires adaptation.”
“Strategy requires obedience, and you failed to do that.”
There it was again, the real issue. It was not the marriage itself but the fact that Kliment felt as if he was losing control over me.
He had always been one to practice rigid control, and whenever he began to lose parts it, he began to lose his mind.
One of the reasons he wanted Ilana back was to bring her under his control again as well.
“You gave me an order,” I said evenly. “And I fulfilled it as best as I could.”
“You were told to use her.”
“I did.”
“Not like this.”
“This is more permanent and far more dangerous for everyone who is involved in the game, and you understand that better than anyone else, Kliment. A marriage to a Chernykh is what solidifies our position in more ways than one.” I leaned back in my chair, one hand running through my hair as I felt a headache coming on.
“You think this is about your pride?” he snapped. “You have attached yourself to a liability.”
“She is not a liability.”
“She is leverage turned inward.”
“She is insurance.”
He exhaled sharply.
“You have always had a problem with restraint,” he said.
“And you have always had a problem with obsession.” The air between us hardened instantly. I respected Kliment with everything I had, but it didn’t mean I would sit in front of him and tolerate disrespect. If he had the guts to say harsh things, he should also have the guts to listen to them.
“You’re being na?ve if you believe this is going to work, Fyodor.”
“I’m being realistic.”
He laughed again, short and cutting.
“Please don’t act all high and mighty and try to shape this as a noble sacrifice.
You think I don’t know what is going on here?
You only married her because you wanted her, not because of anything else.
It was never about Ilana or strategy for you, but only about your own desire.
So, for once, do not insult me by pretending this was purely strategic and you have only been thinking about what’s good for this family.
“It wasn’t. You are right.”
“Ah.”
There it was. The opening he had been waiting for.
“So you are agreeing that you let your desire dictate policy.”
“I adjusted policy around reality.”
“No, Fyodor. You compromised the family and everything we stand for by marrying this girl.”
“I secured it.”
“You compromised yourself.”
“That is my decision.”
“You do not make decisions that affect us alone.”
“I just did.”
The tension in his breathing sharpened, and I could see anger replacing it. He was mad at me, and a part of me was glad we were doing this over the phone rather than in person. It had never been easy for me to handle Kliment’s anger, but right now, it felt as if I no longer had a choice.
“You forget who built this,” he said.
“I remember exactly who built this. I know you see her as a weakness,” I said quietly. “But I see her as leverage they cannot control.”
“She will never be loyal to us.”
“She doesn’t have to be.”
“She hates you.”
“I can live with that.”
“You think hatred makes for stability?”
“No,” I said. “But marriage creates visibility.”
“You are gambling.”
“Yes.”
“With what?”
“Myself.”
A long pause.
“You always were reckless,” Kliment said.
“And you always were rigid.”
“I will never forget how you defied me based on nothing but a pure whim, and you think others won’t see it as a weakness on your part?”
“They will see it as consolidation.”
“They will see you as compromised.”
“Let them.”
“You are ready to sacrifice authority for a woman?” he shouted from the other end.
“I sacrificed nothing.”
I stood from the desk slowly, pacing toward the window as my frustration grew with every passing minute. I had already known it would be impossible to reason with Kliment, but I certainly hadn’t expected it would turn out to be so difficult.
“You think this is about attraction,” I said quietly. “But it isn’t. It’s simply about control because through this message, I control a very important part of the Chernykhs in my hands.”
“Do you remember when we were boys?” he asked suddenly, but I stayed silent, knowing he would go on himself.
“You followed me everywhere and believed I knew best. Even after I had to make some hard decisions to bring the family to where we are now, you stood beside me through everything. You allowed me to handle the situation with calm precision while you always supported me.”
“I was a child back then, Kliment, but you know damned well that I still support you through everything.”
“You chose to marry a Chernykh over following my orders, so I am not sure about that anymore, Fyodor.”
“I chose a woman who was about to become a weapon.”
“And is choosing her, you turned her into your weakness.”
“No. I didn’t. You underestimate her and what she represents.”
“And you overestimate what marriage accomplishes.”
We were circling now. Years of hierarchy and unspoken tension surfacing in sharp fragments.
“I have a feeling you are beginning to resent me,” Kliment said quietly.
“I respect you.”
There was silence between us, heavy and unforgiving. It was filled with questions neither of us could answer and things neither of us could properly name. I didn’t know what Kliment was thinking anymore.
“You forget,” he said finally, voice colder than before, “everything you have is because I held the line.”
“And everything you hold will collapse if you refuse to adapt.”
“You speak like a rival.”
“I speak like a brother who understands the game. Coming to Miami and establishing ourselves here was a joint decision, and I will stand by you through everything, Kliment.”
“You no longer sound like a brother to me.”
That landed deeper than I expected. Loyalty was not something I treated lightly.
Never had been. And suddenly it felt as if years of loyalty and being a part of the Romanov world were being tested because of this one decision I had taken by standing against Kliment.
It would be an understatement to say it hurt, but I was not going to let Kliment see it.
“I did not betray you, but I simply prevented escalation, and you know that, Kliment.”
“You accelerated it and undermined me. You will regret this,” Kliment said quietly.
“Perhaps.”
“And when she turns on you?”
“She won’t.”
“You’re certain?”
“Yes.”
“You’re blinded.”
“No.”
“You think you can manage her.”
“I don’t need to manage her.”
“You think she will not influence you.”
“She already has.”
That admission slipped out before I could filter it, and Kliment seized on it immediately.
“There it is.”
“I am not compromised.”
“You are. You are distracted and sentimental already. I don’t know what it is that you expect of me any longer.”
“Acceptance.”
He laughed.
“You mistake me for someone who tolerates deviation.”
“And you mistake me for someone who fears consequence.”
There was silence once again.
“You chose her, and now you will have to live with the consequences of your choice forever,” Kliment said finally.
“I chose a solution.”
“You chose a woman.”
“Yes.”
The word hung there, heavy and irrevocable, and I knew I could not take it back.
“You forget,” he said softly, “blood is not replaced by vows.”
“I didn’t replace blood.”
“You diluted it.”
That one lingered because it was closer to the truth. I refused to believe it, but a part of me knew that the fracture had already begun. It hadn’t started with Elisse, but it had begun with Ilana. With obsession. With control.
“This conversation is no longer productive,” I said evenly.
“You do not end this call.”
“I just did.”
“You will answer for this.”
“I always do.”
“You will regret defying me.”
“Maybe.”
The line went dead, and I stared at the dark screen for several seconds, once again remembering that the fracture had happened.
It had not been explosive or loud, but extremely real, and for the first time in years, I had not aligned completely with Kliment’s vision.
For the first time, loyalty had bent even if it had not been broken.
I slipped the phone into my pocket and left the study, realizing that the penthouse felt different now.
Heavier. Elisse stood by the windows in the living room, staring out at the city like she was measuring escape routes, and I once again remembered she was my wife.
My gamble. The person that Kliment saw as my weakness.
The one person who had dominated my thoughts since the moment she had removed her mask, and I had not been able to look away.