CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Fyodor
This is happiness, or at least this is what it looks like to me.
After Anastasia and I made up, I felt alive, along with this huge sense of peace.
A part of me can't help but wonder why we did not talk things out first. Now that we’re united, we can both combine our forces to look into what really happened to Alexei.
Getting to the bottom of the event of that day is the only way the two of us can move on.
Luckily for me, Luke has been doing his best to get to the truth of the incident.
When I get his call telling me to meet with him, I know that the time for us to get the true account of what happened that day has come.
Anastasia is busy in the room we decided we’d make our nursery.
Now that she’s almost six months along, the checkups to the doctor are frequent, and they are telling her to take things easy.
In only a couple more months, our children will be in this world, and I will be a father.
Anastasia and I are now a true couple, though there are still a number of things for us to settle.
Now with Anastasia finally giving us a chance to be a couple, I have been chatting with the twins, an act I hadn’t really been able to do apart from the times she had fallen asleep after our lovemaking. I have read how important this is for the babies, and I have no intention of missing out on it.
I have been contemplating if I should bring up the fact that Luke seems to have an update. There is no reason for me to hide this from her, so I tell her about it.
“Luke is a good friend of mine, and if there is anyone that I trust to get to the bottom of what truly happened, he’s the one.”
“And are you sure you really found out what happened to my brother?” she asks me.
At the moment, I do not have the full information, and not wanting to raise our hopes, I tell her that I can't give an answer until we manage to speak with Luke, who is waiting for us in a café. As we walk in, I notice Luke look up, his eyes taking the both of us in before he continues his drink. The act is deliberate, as is Luke’s protocol for meeting.
When meeting with Luke, he has a protocol of waiting at least ten minutes before we establish contact. Anastasia and I move over to a seat as one of the staff comes to take our order.
I order black coffee, my usual drink, while Anastasia orders a milkshake. Once we’re alone, she continues to ask questions, and I provide answers to the best of my ability while looking at the door to check if anyone tailed us. So far, there doesn't seem to be any trace of us being followed.
Five minutes later, Luke stands up from his seat and makes his way over to us.
He leans over, pulls a chair, and sits down. Anastasia looks at him in confusion, not sure exactly what is going on.
“That's no way to greet a friend,” I tell him, and Luke flashes a smile.
“It's been a long time, Fyodor,” he answers, slapping me on the shoulder, the two of us smiling at each other. Anastasia still doesn’t get what’s going on, and I explain to her that this is Luke, the man I entrusted to get to the bottom of Alexei’s death.
Luke introduces himself before apologizing for her loss.
“Please, there’s no need to apologize. It’s been ten years since my brother passed,” Anastasia tells him, managing a smile.
“So, Luke, what do you have for us?”
Getting to business, Luke sits up. “You gave me a very difficult task, Fyodor. Finding the truth about what happened that day looked almost impossible. You wouldn't believe the number of people that wanted to keep the events of that day a secret.”
“But you managed to get the truth, right?” I ask him.
Luke flashes me his usual confident smile. “Of course. You should know that I don't give up until I get to the bottom of the matter.”
I look at Anastasia, who seems to be a bit overwhelmed. I reach for her and hold her hand as Luke dives into exactly what happened. He mentions that everything actually started eighteen years ago.
“Apparently, the FBI were interested in your father's actions.” He looks at Anastasia, who seems surprised.
It isn’t exactly something new for the FBI to take an interest in the mafia's business. The cartels, Bratva, and every other criminal organization have occasional run-ins with law enforcement agencies, but this doesn’t sound like the usual run-in.
I myself have brokered deals with FBI agents before, so that doesn’t sound exactly crazy.
“I know you want to say that’s no different from your usual stuff, but this isn’t brokering a deal. No, the FBI wanted solid dirt, and your brother, Anastasia, was willing to give it.”
That can’t be good, as we all know how betrayal is rewarded, no matter who you are. Anastasia becomes pale as she processes what Luke just said.
“My brother was planning to work with the FBI?” she asks, her voice choking up.
“Not planning; he was already working with the FBI,” Luke refutes.
Anastasia and I look at each other, not sure of what to make of this revelation. This is something huge, and Alexei’s position wouldn’t have protected him.
“What do you mean?”
He takes a deep breath and tells me that he managed to get his hands on classified documents from a friend in the Bureau, who told him that they had a file on Alexei Federov, who was willing to turn witness for the FBI.
“He was planning to reveal everything his father and his men had done, and at that point in time, they feared for his life. The trip to San Francisco was to meet with his handler, and if the meeting had gone successfully, Matteo Federov and a number of high-ranking people would have gone to jail.”
This is overwhelming information, and I am not sure what to make of it.
“Are you saying my father killed Alexei?” Anastasia manages to find her voice.
“No, that’s not the case.” Luke quickly assures her that at the moment of the incident, Matteo wasn't even aware of the fact that his son was talking with the FBI.
“Your father had no idea because he was entrusting Alexei with even more responsibility, prepping him to take over. The only people who knew about what was going on were the agents who were in charge of the whole situation.”
This is very serious, I realize.
“Your brother was planning to expose the names of very powerful people. People in the Mexican cartel, the Italian mob, and the Bratva,” Luke continues. “There are a few agents who work for the mob, and he was also planning to mention their names.”
“Basically, you are saying that my brother had a lot of people who wanted to hurt him,” Anastasia summarizes.
“Yes, he had a lot of people gunning after him. His true killers are believed to be members of the Italian mob, but the truth is that it could have been anyone who wanted him out of the equation.”
This is far more than I was expecting, and I am not sure what Anastasia will make of this news. One thing Luke clarifies is that the Bratva never had any involvement with Alexei’s death, which greatly relieves me.
“In fact, it wasn't until after his death that they realized what he was up to.”
I notice that Anastasia lets go of her breath, almost as if she is relieved to hear that her father wasn't involved in the slightest.
“But do we know who really killed him?” I bring myself to ask.
Luke admits that he really has no idea. “I know you want me to name a killer, but the truth is that we’ll never get to the bottom of who truly killed Alexei Federov,” Luke finally says.
It isn’t the answer Anastasia might have wanted, but it’s sort of an answer, and I hold her hand, determined to help her process this.
“Thank you very much,” she tells Luke. “You don't know how much this means to me.”
“Please, I'm just doing Fyodor a favor. Besides, I’d like you both to think of this as a wedding gift, even though Fyodor failed to send me an invitation.”
“Aw, come on, man, don't be like that.” I laugh. “I would have invited you if I knew you would come, but I know someone like you never likes hanging with mobsters.”
Luke chuckles, telling me I’m right. He places his hands on the table and says, “Well, now I have to call it quits. I have a life to return to, but maybe I will see you again.”
He hugs the two of us before he walks out of the café, leaving Anastasia and me alone. I look at her. She’s been awfully quiet, and I ask her if she is all right.
“Thank you so much, Fyodor.” She hugs me tightly. “Thank you for helping me get the answers I needed.”
Somehow, I feel unworthy of her thanks, mainly because we do not really have the truth as to what happened to Alexei. Luke only suggested a number of people it could be, but someone specific definitely had to have killed Alexei, and I already have an idea of who it might be.
Yuri definitely knows more about this, and the only way I can get the truth is by meeting with him. However, I won’t bring Anastasia to that meeting; not when everything is pointing toward her father.
Luke might have been convinced that Matteo knows nothing about his son's betrayal, but a man like Matteo is not someone who would allow something like that to happen.
He must have had an idea, and my meeting with Yuri will help me confirm whether Matteo truly knew about his son's betrayal or whether the man was blind to his son's faults, just like everyone is blind to the faults of the people they love.
* * *
Once Anastasia is back home, I decide to pay a visit to Yuri, who isn't surprised to see me.
“I knew you were going to show up,” he tells me as he opens the door, letting me into his apartment, which is filled with origami papers and caricatures.
“I never pictured you for the artistic type,” I mention as Yuri offers me a seat.
“Please, when you are my age and with nothing to do, you find yourself developing unusual interests.”
I laugh at his statement, insisting that it’s still difficult to believe.
“So, boy, why are you here?” Yuri asks as he clasps his hands.
“You know the truth, Yuri. I need to know what really happened to Alexei.”
Yuri sighs, telling me that he has already made it clear that he doesn't want me sniffing around this. I told him that I had employed someone else to do the sniffing for me, and I just met with him.
“Alexei was planning to betray his father and everyone around him, and a lot of people would have rather eliminated him than have him spill all their secrets.”
Yuri looks at me for a moment before saying, “So, if you know the truth and you know how we operate, why are you asking questions?”
I let out a sigh. It turns out that I was right, and someone among our own people killed Alexei. The big question now is who, specifically, was behind Alexei's murder. Was it his father, or was it someone else?
“Who did it?”
Yuri asks what I plan to do with the information, and I tell him that, at the moment, I really have no idea. The only thing I want to know is what really happened to Alexei Federov. He looks at me and finally lets out a sigh, telling me that I already know the answer.
“So, Matteo had his own son killed,” I finally say the words I’ve been dreading to say.
“Yes. He knew about his son's involvement with the FBI, and he was planning to get him killed right from the start. Matteo is not a man you mess with,” Yuri explains as he picks up a paper.
“Once he realized what his son was up to, the only thing left was to get him out of the equation. The one thing Matteo did not expect was that Alexei would take his sister out with him, and if not for you, she would have died that day.”
Matteo had come very close to losing both his children, and I wonder how much that would have devastated him, but maybe it wouldn’t have. A man who doesn’t mind killing his own son might not have grieved for Anastasia.
“That’s the reason why Matteo has always looked after you. You should have known there was a very good reason why I asked you not to dig into this.”
This is something I would never be able to tell Anastasia. I would never be able to tell her that her father was behind her brother's death. I really don’t like the idea of keeping secrets from her, but this is one secret I will have to take to my grave.
“And the hit on her?” I look at Yuri.
“That was a mistake. A move to scare her off, but the bodyguard you appointed was way too damn efficient and almost messed things up,” Yuri answers me, annoyance in his voice. “Matteo was furious when you told him. But don’t worry, no one will come after her again.”