Chapter 27
Alexei
I had to leave in the afternoon for a board meeting at our headquarters. Contrary to popular belief, the Bratva held legitimate meetings during the day in our office building, just a stone's throw away from the Roman.
To the general public, we were nothing more than a close-knit group who ran multiple businesses spanning electronics, imports and exports, luxury hotels, and bars.
This has been our front for years, one that I've expanded and reinforced as a shield to the public eye.
The meeting's barely started and Maxim, one of our board members who worked along side my father has sauntered to the refreshments table, trying to chat up one of the secretaries. She moves to pour him some coffee and shifts uncomfortably when he stares at her cleavage.
I roll my eyes, wondering when he will step down. The old man is slowly losing it, and I can't wait to get rid of him.
A short girl enters the room, scurrying along the side like a mouse. She whispers into the CFO's ear, dark hair spilling over her face as she updates him on something that has his eyebrows raising.
She must be his new PA and she looks nothing like Daphne, but that girl has been slipping in and out of my thoughts since I left home, and now I'm reminded of her yet again.
I try not to think about how I left things with her.
Granted, it was the right move to lie. If she thinks I'm engaged, she'll stay away from me and at least one of us should do it. I've given up on my resolve when it comes to her, so this lie is all I have.
Still, no matter how hard I try to justify it, there's this gnawing feeling that twists and churns, chipping away at my insides whenever I picture her face and the way it had crumbled earlier today.
Sunlight spills into the boardroom and I sit forward, propping my arms against the sprawling marble table that spans the entire room.
"Shall we get started?" I ask, voice thin with impatience. The sooner we get through our quarterly financial review, the faster I can get back.
All twelve board members—father included—saunter languidly to their seats and our accounts manager starts his usual spiel.
All that matters is that the numbers are in the positive.
I run a hand through my hair, trying to smoothen the mess that I've created in the past half hour. There's a dull ache, lingering from the nightmare and headache from last night. I think of Daphne again and how her presence had soothed me to sleep better than the painkillers had.
Maybe she's right. Maybe I should get a brain scan done. I used to have them done regularly when the headaches first started, but they never showed anything, so I stopped bothering with them over the past year.
And yet...it seems to be getting worse.
I then remember Daphnes foot and how she had hurt it when she reached for me in the bathroom. I didn't expect such concern from her, not after everything I've done.
I sigh to myself. Why does this have to be so difficult?
My father makes a sordid joke at the corner of the room and a few of the older men laugh. I stare at their exchange. These were the men I grew up idolising. Back then they were large imposing figures that left a trail of bodies in their wake.
Maxim and Luther were my father's right hand men, his closest confidants. Maxim even took a bullet for my father back in the day. Now they live in their lavish mansions, sipping away at Russian whiskey and playing golf in the evenings.
I rub a finger over the pulsing vein at my right temple.
They don't even need to be here anymore, especially since they've never fully accepted my taking over.
I know what they're thinking as we sit in this boardroom that occupies most of the fifty-sixth floor.
Even as I sit at the head of the table, they still look to my father for direction.
The transition has been harder than I anticipated, despite me doubling the numbers and deepening their pockets. The Bratva still thinks Nikolai Romanov is in charge. Which is why he had the audacity to storm into my apartment unannounced.
Once the meeting is over, the board members start to disperse and Luther glances over at me.
"Alexei, son. When are you joining us at Karaoke?"
The word 'son' irks me. It's completely unnecessary, yet he never fails to ask, despite my rejecting him every bloody time.
Karaoke is his strip joint, where naked women sing and dance while men like him ogle them all night, getting pissed drunk and high on drugs. I've only joined once, and nothing about desperate men haggling over young women piqued my interest.
"I'm afraid I won't be able to join. I have business to attend to," I reply, straightening my tie as I get up from my seat.
"Oh yes, young boss is very busy these days." Maxim jokes with a lopsided smile, the jagged scar running from the corner of his mouth to his chin highlighted by the glaring sunlight.
I ignore his jibe, nodding at father before I make my way outside, eager to get on with the day.
I scan the line of bodyguards standing by the elevators. Not a Yuri in sight. I knew it! He could never be found when needed.
"Yuri!" I snap, the moment he answers my call. "Where are you?"
"Boss..." he mumbles, sounding like he's eating something. "I'm downstairs by the lobby."
"Weren't you supposed to be my bodyguard? What the hell are you doing down there? Get your ass up here before I light it on fire." I cut the call and wait by the lifts, tapping my foot impatiently.
To be fair, I never wanted him as a bodyguard to begin with, and these past few days without him have been blissful. Unfortunately, I need him today.
The lift doors open and Yuri almost jumps out, his disheveled hair falling over his forehead and chin littered with bread crumbs.
"Boss, I'm sorry. I thought you dismissed me."
"Shh." I lift a hand, silencing him. He follows me into the lift and we head downstairs, the sound of his panting filling the small space.
I can tell my silence unnerves him. The panic on his face grows by the second, turning him paler than the white lobby walls. It makes me want to smile and when we get in the car, he takes the wheel, his knuckles white as he holds on to it tightly.
"Boss, I can explain. I was only trying to protect Ms Daphne," he whispers meekly, referring to the day I caught him in the bathroom with her.
I lift a hand and he flinches.
"Please don't kill me."
I pat his arm, making him stiffen even further, going as rigid as a statue. "Now, now Yuri. It's too early for that. I need you to do something for me first."
"Of course," he squeaks. "Where to, boss?"
I look down at my phone and type in the address that has my toes curling. I can't believe I'm doing this.
Fifteen minutes later, and here we are at an Anime convention.
Yuri parks at the valet, and I pull out my gun, pressing the barrel into his side. He winces, a bead of sweat sliding down his neck.
"You're going to point out all of Daphne's favourite comics and games, and we're going to buy them. Understood?"
The surprise on his face flickers as I press the nozzle further against his ribs. "You did a sweep of her room. You know what she likes, right?"
He swallows hard before nodding. "Yes. I have the pictures in my phone."
"Good." I nod, satisfied. "Get anything wrong and I won't hesitate putting a bullet between your ribs."
"I know," he mutters miserably as we get out of the car and walk into the crowded convention centre.
It looks like we've stepped into an alternate reality where cartoons adorn the walls and everyone is dressed so bizarrely. I stick out like a sore thumb in my Tom Ford suit, while Yuri looks like he's been through hell next to me.
We need to make this quick because people have started to stare.
"Oh my God, he looks like Toji." A girl with pink hair points at me, smiling unabashedly and her friends nod in agreement, giggling like a flock of geese.
I tug at Yuri. "Which ones does she like?"
He looks just as lost as I do, until his gaze zeroes in on the crowd by the back of the hall. "That one. That's Ms Daphne's favourite."
He grabs his phone and scrolls through his pictures. "She doesn't have the latest three volumes."
"Alright, let's get those then." I say, eager to get away from the girls calling me "Toji." We walk ahead, pushing past the crowd to what looks like one of the most popular series in the room.
There's a group of girls dressed in skimpy outfits that resemble medieval war outfits and numerous men snap their pictures hungrily. I frown at them, wondering if Daphne's into this whole cosplay thing as well.
I imagine her in one of these outfits with hundreds of men snapping her pictures and almost crush whatever I grabbed hold of.
A chubby boy with big round spectacles rushes over to me. "Hey, hey. Woah, man. That's a limited edition you're ruining right now. It's worth a fortune."
"How much is it?" I seethe, still not over the thought of other men staring at Daphne inappropriately.
"That's ten thousand dollars." The boy announces loudly while raising his hands theatrically, like this is the most important thing he's said all day.
"Is this the latest one?" I raise an eyebrow and look at his name tag. "Greg?"
He scoffs at me proudly. "Like duhhh, why do you think we're all here dude?"
Yuri steps forward and confirms this.
"Alright, I'll take it."
Greg stops moving and his eyes bulge, looking like they're about to pop out of his head. "You want to buy...this? For ten thousand dollars?"
"Yes," I say flatly and then I point at the other two Yuri claimed was new. "Those too."
Dollar signs shine in Gregs eyes as he gestures me past the crowd, further into the pop up store.
"Can I offer you our supernova drinks? They're from the ancient times when Sorrow fought the Garden monsters." Greg pours us both a drink and sets the plastic cups on the table in front of us.
I resist the urge to point out that there were no plastic cups in ancient times and look at the swirling orange liquid that looks and smells like orange juice.
"Would you like to buy the game as well?" Greg asks hopefully as he carefully wraps each book in brown paper and places them neatly in a bag.
"Sure," I shrug. I know Daphne likes to play games on the computer. If she's going to be stuck at home doing nothing, at least this will keep her company. A small swirl of excitement fills my chest when I think about her reaction to seeing these.
I hope she'll like them.
Once we've paid, Greg escorts us out personally despite my repeated attempts to stop him.
"Thank you, sir. Please come again," he waves at me happily, smiling from ear to ear. "Also did anyone ever tell you, you look like Toji."
Who the fuck is this damn Toji?
I muster up a smile and shut the door in his face. "Let's get out of here, Yuri. Now, please."
Yuri pulls out of the driveway while I place our purchases carefully on the back seat. I pull out my phone, googling this Toji character and Yuri chuckles to himself.
I want to ignore him so badly but the question slips out before I can't stop myself. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing, boss."
"Tell me," I instruct, tone lethal.
"Nothing," he smiles and when I glare at him, he raises a palm in surrender. "It's just, I suppose I don't have to worry about Ms Daphne's safety anymore."
He has a knowing smile on his face that I want to wipe off with acid.
"You shouldn't be worrying about her in the first place. After all, she's a prisoner," I say, eyebrows raising when images of some Anime character named Toji fill my screen. I suppose he's good looking for a cartoon and his suit is nice.
"Yeah, she sure is," Yuri answers and I scowl.
"Just shut up," I grunt, settling into my seat. "Also I need you to get all her essentials for me, shampoos, body wash, toothpaste. Everything that she's used to using."
And anything that will help make her feel at home.
Yuri nods, the knowing smile still on his face.
"And stop smiling."
He forces his face into a neutral expression as we reach The Roman. I grab the stuff from the backseat, trying to keep my excitement at bay as I head for the private lift. I knew Daphne liked this stuff, hopefully this would put a smile on her face after I wiped it off this morning.
The lift doors open to a familiar space but the air is so cold, the room so silent that somehow I know deep in my gut that something is wrong. I drop the comic books and video games on the couch, rushing to the back to Daphne's room, only to find it empty.
My heart spikes, beating faster and faster as I cover the entire house, looking everywhere as the sinking pit in my stomach turns to molten panic.
Daphne's no where to be found. She's gone.