58
The secret Weapon
S
eeing me so agitated, my father didn't hesitate to accept my request. San Juan, who was guarding the door, wanted to intervene on behalf of Don Giuliano, but my father stopped him, leaving him outside.
My mother-in-law appeared like one of those old Hollywood actresses, wrapped in a feathered satin robe and with an expression of surprise.
"Has something happened to Nikita?" she asked, descending the stairs.
"We'd better go into the office; this conversation is delicate."
She clutched her chest, visibly affected. My father guided her, placing his left hand on her waist. Once inside, he asked her to sit in one of the chairs while he poured three glasses of whiskey.
"Yuri is alive."
I dropped the bomb without hesitation, watching her expression closely. Her face could have been faked, but not the pallor that spread over it.
"What?!" she exclaimed, distressed. Jelena looked at me as if I had sprouted three heads. Could it be that her infamous son had kept all the women in the family in the dark about his plans?
My father offered us the glasses, and she emptied hers instantly. I asked her not to interrupt my story, knowing my father wouldn't, so I could study her body language. There were things you couldn't fake. My father was an expert in that.
When I finished, dropping the final bombshells about Nikita's pregnancy, Yuri's threat to kill her if I didn't let them escape, and my subsequent loss during the taxi chase, Mother Koroleva's expression was a sight to behold.
"It can't be! It can't be!" she exclaimed, downing her second glass of liquor and standing up. "How could he do this to us?!"
She paced back and forth like a caged lioness.
"Tell me you know where your son might be hiding!" I exclaimed, exasperated.
Jelena Koroleva, usually cold, distant, and haughty, had an expression unlike any I had ever seen before.
"How would I know if I didn't even know he was alive?!"
"Has he not tried to see you in these two years?" She looked at me, horrified.
"No! Never! I mourned his loss more than anyone! I never knew he was still alive! I don't know how to take all this, honestly." She was angry, hurt, and then she seemed to realize something. She turned her gaze to my father.
"Is that why Irisha and I have had bodyguards in recent days? Did you know my son was alive and suspected that Nikita was behind everything bad happening to your family?" she accused my father. He rewarded her with a forced smile.
"I only found out very recently. I won't deny that recent events have led us to keep an eye on you. You can't blame me for being cautious."
"For God's sake! We've been sleeping together!"
"Pleasure has nothing to do with this."
"Clearly, men will screw anything, even a wasp's nest," she accused. Then she looked at me with all the venom she could muster.
"One thing I'll tell you, Romeo Capulet, the women in this family can be many things: cold, mean, ruthless, calculating, but if you manage to make one of us give you her soul, it's forever.
"Maybe my daughter wanted to destroy your family before she met you, even during. However, everything changed when her heart started beating for you. I know my daughter perfectly, and I know she has fallen in love with the man she thought was her enemy. If it weren't so, I guarantee you'd already be dead.
"She might have been confused when Yuri appeared on her horizon. I can't even imagine how she must have felt; she always adored Yuri. She even married you to avenge his death, but she didn't count on her mind and heart being torn."
"I'm not so sure she changed her mind," I complained. She laughed sardonically.
"That's because you feel hurt by her. Let me tell you something. You have no idea what it's like for women in the Bratva in Russia. There, we're just vases, ornaments at the service of our husbands. But Nikita was different. She never settled for that. I knew she would suffer. My husband already had his heir; he would never have considered Nikita an equal to Yuri, no matter how much she proved herself capable.
"She spent her whole life proving it. She didn't care about swimming against the tide or that the Bratva didn't accept female vory v zakone. Now I understand why our president accepted it. Because he probably knew my son was still alive while we were dying of grief.
"I didn't give birth to a perfect daughter, but one with a lot of guts and loyal to her ideas. You said she spent three days giving you her word that she wasn't lying, and if that's true, I guarantee she didn't deceive you. Nikita can lie, but she never swears in vain. It's her own code of honor."
I was listening to her intently because there was nothing I wanted more in this world than to believe her. The problem was that she had hurt me so much that I couldn't trust her.
"For now, I've already said that your daughter's word is on thin ice," I clarified.
"I can't blame you; I understand she's made it difficult for you to trust anything she or anyone in my family says. So don't believe us, rely on the evidence. You mentioned Andrey has obtained some that exonerate her from several incidents."
"Not all," I countered.
"You just have to find the rest," she said confidently. "Tell me, hand on heart, what would you have done if the roles were reversed? Have you considered that?"
"Yes, several times. And I might have acted like her in some ways, but I would have been unable to hide that Yuri was alive. She knew what her son meant to me!" I exclaimed.
"Yuri is her brother. The man she's adored and admired all her life. Her reference point. You have no idea how much his loss shattered her."
"I can imagine."
"As much as you thought he was your friend; it wasn't the same. Nikita only ever had eyes for him, since she was born. For her, he was the one who got my husband to accept her into his world. No matter how much I tried to get Nikita closer to Irisha or Sarka, I failed. It was blind adoration she felt for him. And what I'm about to say may sound harsh, but now I understand why he left her." Jelena sighed heavily and sat down in the chair with a thud. "Nikita was the secret weapon of Vladimir and my son. A woman with my daughter's characteristics can bring down an empire."
"Are you telling me or just sharing?" I asked, annoyed. "She made me look like a fool in front of my family."
"Don't hold it against her; she was raised for this, just like a dog for illegal fights. My husband trained Yuri to be a charmer and Nikita to execute the coup de grace, I'm convinced. If anything characterized Yuri, it was that he doesn't stop at anything or anyone."
"Not even his family?" I asked. She looked at me with sorrow.
"Not even his family. If you want Nikita, you better find her before it's too late."
"What about this picture? Is it your daughter?" I showed her the photo Segarra had given me, and she laughed.
"Are you joking? Of course not! Nikita would never wear Chanel; she says it's archaic." She didn't seem to be lying, but I saw something in her eyes that I didn't like.
"Do you know who it is?"
"What is she accused of?"
"Of being the person behind the resale of Mentium," I clarified. "We know it's a woman who had access to Korpe. Look, the warehouse door was open, and it can only be done from the inside with the security codes." She looked at me intently.
"Then it must be Irene. Yuri could have given her those codes."
"Irene is a redhead," my father intervened, "and she doesn't have those breasts."
"There are wigs and minimizer bras; there are many garments that can shape the figure. I would bet on her. They probably tried to make her a poor copy of Nikita. I swear to both of you that isn't my eldest daughter, and I never swear in vain."
There was a possibility she was right; I couldn't rule it out. Irene had tried to make me see my wife in those images when I already suspected it wasn't her.
"Are you going to help us?"
"Are you asking if I'm capable of choosing between my daughter and my son? I'm not a fool; I know what will happen once you find Yuri."
"And what will that be?" my father asked, probing her. She exhaled softly.
"Everyone is responsible for their own actions and destiny. I adore all my children, but I can't prevent each from choosing their path. If I think of where Nikita might be, I'll tell you."
"And Yuri?" I inquired. She tilted her head.
"I stopped knowing everything about Yuri a long time ago. Can I go back to my room, or are you going to kill me? I need to be alone to digest what has happened."
"Go ahead." My father extended his hand, and we both stood up to see her out.
She stopped at the door and turned to me.
"Find her; I want to see my daughter become a mother. I don't want to miss that for the world." Her eyes sparkled slightly.
"I'll do everything in my power." She nodded.
The door closed behind her swaying figure.
"Do you believe her?" I asked my father once she was gone. He kept his gaze fixed on the photograph Jelena had left on the desk.
"I think it's true she didn't know anything about her son. But something tells me she's not telling us everything she knows. We need to stay vigilant."
"Do you think we should watch the video Segarra gave me?"
"Yes, but let me call San Juan first to alert all the men. We'll comb every last grain of sand on the Costa del Sol; I want to see my grandson's face too."