Chapter 21
CHAPTER 21
TITUS
W hile Tatiana heads to her room to freshen up for our meeting with Russian Life, I head to my den and an urgent meeting with Simeon.
“I don’t like it.” I add, as I finish explaining the officer’s visit and he nods in agreement.
“He was executed.” He says simply, and I lean back in my seat and sigh heavily.
“Carry out our own investigations into the matter. Visit his apartment, lean on our contacts in the department and ask your informants. I don’t buy that a man heavily sedated after surgery would wake and understand enough to unhook the line keeping him alive before he had all the facts.
“I agree.”
Simeon frowns. “Any ideas?”
“Several.” I rub my thumb against my chin and think hard. There are several possible suspects, but no firm facts.
“Tell me about Nadia Solomin.” I park Leo’s murder to one side and lay out all the cards in play and Simeon sighs. “No trace. The transmitter in the ring must be faulty because we aren’t getting anything. Her apartment is empty and the neighbors haven’t seen her for days. There are no records of her boarding a plane as we studied the cameras at the bus depot and the train station, although she may have slipped through because the cameras are old and not the best.”
“So, if she attempts to sell the ring?”
He shrugs. “I’ve alerted the usual channels to inform me if the ring comes up for sale or is valued. Unless she attempts to sell it by other means, we should be able to trace it.”
“I don’t like it.” I state the fucking obvious because events are spiraling out of control around me.
Simeon nods his agreement.
“I’ve briefed the others and we are collectively working on it.”
The others are my brother’s men who act as a consigliere if you like. We are not the mafia but operate as such and there is a definite order of things that has always served us well in the past.
Simeon asks casually, “Do you know what is expected of you yet?”
He references the reason Boris Fedorov set up this engagement, and I shake my head.
“All I know is we are to embark on a public relations exercise to become the darlings of Russian society. To appeal to the country and bring them firmly on our side.”
“He has a reason for that?” Simeon adds and I shrug.
“Boris always has a reason for everything and I will await instruction. Meanwhile, it works in our favor.”
I fix him with a dark glare, my next question obvious.
“My wedding.”
His cunning smile reassures me.
“It is arranged. The men are briefed and your brothers informed. By the time you walk down the aisle in the Kremlin, it will only be a matter of time.”
A rare smile ghosts my lips, but I won’t celebrate until the plan is executed.
Simeon checks his phone and sighs. “I arranged a meeting with the florist.”
I raise my eyes and he grins. “Any preferences.”
“Yes.” I lean back in my chair and whisper huskily. “Blood-red roses with their thorns intact and nothing else.”
He grins, my meaning perfectly clear.
“Consider it done.”
As he leaves the room, I take a moment and caress the heavy ball of hatred I drag with me everywhere. I open the drawer and remove the file marked ‘Top Secret’ and, as I flip the pages, I find what I’m looking for.
The entire reason I am going along with Boris’s plan and the revenge I am seeking for the murder of Andrei Romanov. The letter my brother Valentin discovered in a dusty English attic.
Andrei
I write this letter with a heavy heart and as always ask you to trust nobody with this. You must know the facts, but I am relying on you to take care of the evidence.
Two days ago, D suffered a catastrophic stroke. It couldn’t have come at a worse time.
We are negotiating for Russian oil to replace the current contracts the US have with the Middle East and I don’t need to tell you what that would mean for our country. Any break down in the chain would end the deal, prompting me to take steps to avert the crisis.
D is currently safe, being cared for by my personal medical staff, and has been placed in a coma for his own recovery. We are unsure of the effects as of this moment but can’t rule out he is no longer fit for office. Early indications show the left side of his brain is paralyzed along with the left-hand side of his body and you will know how serious that is for our country.
We arranged for his replacement while we work behind the scenes to restore him to full health. The body double is well aware of our requirements and is under close scrutiny. I am controlling him to control the country.
My reason for bringing you into this is if anything happens to me, we are vulnerable. Charles Kenricky must become President of the United States and you are the only man I trust to make that happen. The three of us must finish what we started all those years ago, and Denislav’s sudden incapacity must remain undetected.
We are so close to world domination and ensuring our two countries prosper. I will play my part in that and I am relying on you to do the same.
Your comrade
BF
My head spins as my thought process takes over and I think of my father, caught in a web of intrigue he was unable to escape from. Our entire life has been built on a lie. His wealth grew quickly because of his connections and he sacrificed his soul to the devil to help change history, in return for great riches and a misguided sense of patriotism.
I still can’t believe our search uncovered their organization and watched helplessly as each founder member was removed from the game.
First my father, then his mistress, Veronica Scott-Stanley. Marsha Steele soon followed, along with Adele and Charles Kenricky.
Two men remain, one living and breathing and yet undergoing his own health problems and one barely alive, being impersonated to keep the country from descending into chaos
Our mother was also dragged into the viper’s nest and inflicted the final dose of poison to remove our father from life when he expressed his desire to leave her for Veronica. My blood boils as I reflect on the past and the lengths those men and women went to for money and power.
Boris isn’t stupid and knows he doesn’t have long and I’m guessing he is preparing for me to be his successor due to the fact Denislav has no natural one. I am their last hope to realize their dream, and my marriage to Tia is the catalyst to bring about change. We will rise as the unofficial King and Queen of Russia and he is hoping I will continue their good work long after they are gone.
I have another plan and unbeknown to Boris Fedorov it is already firmly in place.
I no longer wish to continue what they started all those years ago. There is only one thing driving my desire to see this through and it’s revenge on the people who dragged my family into secrets and lies and stripped my father of a happy life. He existed solely on the promise that when his sons were of an age to take over from him, he could finally enjoy the life he wanted with the woman he really loved. I will never forgive them, even though none of us would be here today, but I’m aware that to be controlled is not living at all.
The only reason I am allowing myself to be controlled by the same man is to seize the opportunity to end this, and when I walk away, life in Russia will be changed forever.