Chapter 12Damir
12
Damir
I run my hand along the smooth marble countertop of the kitchen in the new property. This acquisition will make an excellent addition to my legitimate portfolio, adding another step in separating my public persona from my other activities.
My phone vibrates in my pocket. It’s Viktor. “What is it?” I ask, stepping away from the real estate agent, who’s giving me space to inspect the property.
“Sir, we’ve apprehended someone trying to enter the penthouse. Casey Harris.”
The name sends a flash of irritation through me. “Interesting timing. Hold him. I’ll deal with him when I return.”
“Yes, sir.”
I end the call and turn back to the agent with a practiced smile. “I’ll take it. Have the paperwork sent to my office.”
The woman’s eyes widen. No haggling and no further questions. That’s how I do business.
“Of course, Mr. Antonov. I’ll prepare everything immediately.”
I nod and walk out, my mind already shifting to the problem of Casey Harris. What game is he playing?
Three hours later, I stand in my study, swirling a glass of vodka as I wait. I take a sip, savoring the burn. The door opens, and two of my men escort Casey inside, positioning themselves at the door after pushing him forward. He stumbles slightly, clutching a manila envelope to his chest like a shield.
He looks like he’s walked straight into hell. His face is pale, and there’s a sheen of sweat on his forehead. His sandy blond hair is disheveled, and his hazel gaze darts around the room, taking in the expensive furnishings, the bookshelves, and the desk where I’ve laid out several files.
“Mr. Harris,” I say, my voice cool. “What an unexpected visit.”
He swallows hard. “I want to make a deal,” he says, voice trembling.
I take another sip of whiskey, letting the silence stretch uncomfortably.
“Her inheritance for her freedom,” he continues, holding up the envelope.
I chuckle, shaking my head. “That’s cute.”
I set down my glass on the desk, studying Casey’s pathetic attempt at bravado. The manila envelope he clutches is probably empty—a prop for his little performance. His hands tremble slightly, betraying his fear.
“Her inheritance?” I repeat, my voice laced with amusement. “You mean the inheritance you already spent?”
His face drains of color, and his Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows hard. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he stammers.
I walk to my desk and open the top drawer, pulling out a thick folder. “Let’s not waste time with denials, Mr. Harris. I know exactly what happened to Elena’s money.”
I flip open the folder and turn it toward him. Inside are bank statements, transaction records, and photographs of Casey at various casinos, at strip clubs, and meeting with known associates of Nikolai.
“Almost two hundred thousand dollars,” I say, tapping my finger on a particular statement. “Elena’s inheritance from her mother. Money meant to fund her medical education.” I flip to another page. “Transferred to your personal account in stages, then systematically withdrawn over a period of three weeks and funneled into outside accounts, minus the ten thousand you paid back at my casino.”
Casey takes an involuntary step backward. “That’s private information. You can’t?—”
“I can do whatever I want,” I interrupt, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “Including tracking exactly where that money went.” I pull out another document, this one showing a series of transactions through shell companies. “Interesting how the money moved through three different businesses before landing in accounts controlled by Nikolai Sokolov.” I look up at him. “Did you think I wouldn’t notice? Or did you think I wouldn’t care that you were funneling my wife’s money to my enemy?”
Casey’s gaze dart to the door where my men stand guard. There’s nowhere for him to run. “She wasn’t your wife then.”
“And that makes it okay?” I ask with a harsh laugh.
He flinches. “It wasn’t like that. I didn’t know who Nikolai was when I started gambling at his club.”
“And yet you continued after you found out.” I close the folder with deliberate slowness. “You stole from Elena, laundered her money through Nikolai’s businesses, and now, you have the audacity to come here offering me what? Nothing?”
Casey straightens his shoulders, attempting to regain some dignity. “I came to make things right.”
I laugh, the sound sharp and cold in the quiet room. “Make things right? You abandoned her. Left her destitute, with no way to finish her degree. The degree she worked for years to earn.”
“I made mistakes,” he says, his voice cracking. “I know that. I was weak. I got in over my head with gambling debts.”
“To Nikolai.”
“Yes.” He nods miserably. “To Nikolai. He threatened me. Said he’d break my legs if I didn’t pay. I panicked.”
“So you stole from the woman who loved you.”
Casey flinches at my words. “I never meant to hurt her.”
“Yet you did.” I walk around the desk, moving closer to him. “You hurt her deeply, and now what? You think you can waltz in here and take her back?”
“She doesn’t belong with someone like you,” he says, finding a spark of courage. “Elena is good. Pure. She deserves better than a criminal.”
My hand moves before I can stop it, grabbing his throat and pushing him against the wall. His eyes widen in terror when I move closer.
“You know nothing about what Elena deserves,” I hiss. “You forfeited any right to an opinion when you betrayed her.” I release him, and he slumps against the wall, gasping for air.
“Elena needs to be free,” he croaks, rubbing his throat. Casey’s hands curl into fists, crumpling the envelope slightly. “It’s her choice.”
I lean forward, my voice turning lethal. “She signed a contract. If she wants out, you’ll have to kill me.”
Casey pales further. He’s too stupid to realize Elena could leave anytime. She’s not a prisoner. The contract has provisions for dissolution if she truly wants to end our arrangement, but she hasn’t asked, and I’m enjoying every second of this. “Sit down,” I say, gesturing to the chair across from my desk.
He hesitates, then complies.
I press a button on my desk, activating the digital display on the wall. Our prenuptial agreement appears, with specific clauses highlighted in red. “Do you see this?” I ask, pointing to section 8.4. “Elena is free to leave our marriage at any time, provided certain conditions are met. She’s aware of these terms.”
Casey stares at the document, confusion crossing his face.
“She doesn’t need your rescue, Mr. Harris.” I reach into my desk drawer and pull out a thick file. I open it and turn it toward him. “What’s more interesting is your relationship with Nikolai Sokolov’s organization, dating back three years before you even met Elena.” I arch my brow. “Would you care to revise your assertion that you only gambled at his establishment, implying it was a recent issue, and desperation rather than precalculated planning drove you to drain Elena’s account?”
His eyes widen, and he starts to sweat profusely.
“You’ve been working for him for quite some time. First as a courier, then handling money. Small jobs. On the side, you met Elena and saw an opportunity.”
I flip through the pages, showing surveillance photos of Casey with known associates of Nikolai. “You’ve done this before,” I continue, pulling out another set of documents. “Angela Jude, 2018. Mary Otterman, 2019. Both women with substantial inheritances and savings. Both women who trusted you, and both women you stole from.”
Casey’s mouth opens and closes, no words coming out.
“Most interesting of all,” I say, pulling out a hospital record, “Is how you met Elena. You were treated in the ER after being beaten by someone’s debt collectors. Elena was the student assigned to your case. You saw her kindness as weakness. An opportunity.”
Casey’s expression shifts from fear to shock. “How did you know about the other women?” he asks, confirming my intelligence is accurate.
“I make it my business to know everything about people who threaten what’s mine,” I say, my voice steady. “And Elena is mine now.”
I close the file and settle back in my chair. “Let me explain your situation clearly. If you interfere with my marriage again, there will be legal consequences. Fraud charges for starters. The evidence I have would put you away for years.” I take another sip of whiskey. “However, your connection to Nikolai elevates this from a personal dispute to something far more serious. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Casey nods slowly, his face ashen.
“Good. Now, I suggest you leave and reconsider your associations. Nikolai is using you, just as you used Elena. The difference is, his games end with people in the ground.” I don’t bother to enlighten the worm yet that I intend to make him long for death as recompense for what he’s done to Elena. I promised her he wouldn’t die but would suffer, and I never go back on my word.
Casey stands on shaky legs. “I just wanted to make things right.”
“No, you wanted to manipulate Elena again. That opportunity is gone.” I nod to my men, who step forward to escort him out. “One more thing,” I say as Casey reaches the door. “I know Nikolai has given you more responsibility now that you’re connected to me through Elena. Tell him I said hello.”
The color drains completely from Casey’s face as he’s led out.
Once he’s gone, I call in Anton. “Continue monitoring him. I want to know every communication he has with Nikolai’s organization. Every meeting, every call, every text, and let me know when there’s an opening to enact my own revenge against him, on Elena’s behalf.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And alert the security team on Elena. If Casey approached our building, he might try to reach her at the hospital.”
Anton nods and leaves to carry out my orders.
That night, I enter the kitchen to find Elena making tea. She looks up as I approach, looking tired from a long shift at the hospital.
“You’re home late,” she says.
I pour us both a glass of vodka instead of tea. “We need to talk.”
She takes the glass, her eyebrows raising at my serious tone. “What happened?”
“Your ex paid me a visit today.”
Her fingers tighten around the glass. “Casey? What did he want?”
“To make a deal. Your inheritance for your freedom.”
Elena stares at me for a moment, then laughs without humor. “My freedom? I’m not a hostage.”
“That’s what I told him.”
She takes a sip of vodka, wincing slightly at the burn. “What else did he say?”
“Nothing of value, but his visit reminded me we need to talk. I meant to tell you the other night, but then the feds approached you.” I lead her to the living room where we sit across from each other. Over the next few minutes, I reveal everything I know about Casey, including the previous two women he defrauded. She seems somewhere between devastated and enraged when I’ve finished.
“You’re still going to destroy him, right?”
I nod. “You still want me to let him live?”
She hesitates for a fraction of a second before nodding. “As you said, dead men don’t learn lessons.”
I smile at her, warmed inside by a surge of pride. “Indeed, and speaking of the feds, they think I run a criminal empire,” I say, my voice calm but edged with frustration. “Contract killings, money laundering, trafficking—all of it.”
Elena’s stomach visibly tightens. “Do you?”
My gaze flicks up, sharp. “Yes and no. I don’t deal with human or drug trafficking, and I don’t kill for hire. I have hired contract killers to settle issues with rivals, but I’m not an assassin. I launder money and sometimes broker information. It was always my specialty.”
She watches me carefully. “So, they want to arrest you?”
“They want to bury me, but they don’t have proof. Yet.”
Elena hesitates before asking, “And what happens if they find it?”
I lean forward. “Then I go away for life.”
I can tell by the look in her eye that she accepts I’m telling her the truth. There’s no point in lying to her now. She’s too deeply in this world.
“Then we make sure they don’t,” she says firmly.
My lips twitch into something almost like a smile. “Good girl.”
She takes another sip of vodka. “And you said Casey is working with Nikolai?”
“Yes. For years, apparently, before he even met you.”
Elena shakes her head. “I was such an idiot.”
“No. You were trusting, and his association with Nikolai had nothing to do with you back then, but I’m sure his focus will change now that you’re my wife, and he’s in deeper than ever with Nikolai.”
She sets down her glass. “What do we do now?”
“We prepare. Casey’s visit wasn’t random. Nikolai is making a move, and he’s using Casey to do it.”
“Using me, you mean… against you, I guess?”
I nod. “Casey has been given more responsibility in Nikolai’s organization because of his connection to you. To us.”
Elena stands and walks to the window. “I hate being used as a pawn.”
“You’re not a pawn,” I say, joining her at the window. “You’re my queen.”
She turns to face me. “Then let’s play this game together. Tell me everything I need to know about Nikolai.”
I nod. “Nikolai, Anton, and I grew up together. We were brothers in everything but blood. We fought our way up through the ranks together.”
“What happened?”
“Power. Money. The usual corruptions. Nikolai wanted more than his share. He convinced almost two-thirds of my men to join him, leaving me to rebuild from nothing.”
“And Anton?”
“Nikolai tried to turn him against me. When Anton refused, Nikolai shot him.”
Elena’s eyes widen. “The gunshot wound when I met him...”
“Yes. Nikolai’s work.”
She takes a deep breath. “And now he’s using Casey to get to you through me.”
“That’s my assessment.”
“Then we need to be smarter than both of them,” she says, her voice steady.
I smile and nod my approval. “We will be.”
Elena leans into my touch, surprising me. Our arrangement started as a business transaction, but something has shifted between us that neither of us anticipated. “I should warn you, the FBI might approach you again. They’ll try to use you against me.”
“Let them try. I know which side I’m on now.”
I pull her closer, my arm around her waist. “And which side is that?”
She looks up at me, her expression resolute. “Yours. Ours.”