Chapter 1 #2
“Zhukov was a friend of your brothers. We always knew he was a bad influence, coming from a family of lower-class workers the way he did. We thought he could be trusted… but we should have known better than to believe scum like him.”
My father’s face takes on a faraway look as he gets into the rhythm of his story. I struggle to piece it together. I’ve never heard about this person before, not ever.
“There was a whole group of them that I never should have trusted. They were hard workers, made their way into the most trusted levels of the docks, handling our most precious artworks and shipments. And then those slimy fuckers started scheming against me.”
I have never heard my father swear like this before. This is something different, I realize. My father is angry.
“Maksim… This is our daughter you’re speaking to. Remember your manners.”
That is it.
I wrench my hands out of my mother’s bone-crushing grip and pace around the room. I feel like screaming at her, or throwing something.
“I know what swear words are, Mama. For fuck’s sake, someone just tell me what happened!”
“See what you’ve done?” My mother hits my father with the magazine again, but he doesn’t seem to notice. “Our daughter is swearing like a sailor because you are, Maksim.”
My father continues speaking, every sentence unravelling another lie they’ve told me.
“Your brothers were old enough to learn how the port worked. I wanted to make sure they would be able to manage it when the time came for them to have power. Zhukov and his gang weren’t happy about that…
They believed they could run their own affairs without outsiders like us telling them what to do. ”
My father scoffs. “As if the docks would have gotten anything done if we weren’t running the show! They had no idea how to handle the books and make sure everything was as efficient as possible.
“I should have seen their plan coming. They weren’t just greedy, they were determined to gain power. Zhukov was the worst of them. Absolutely willing to do whatever it took if it would land him a little closer to power. There were no limits to what he would do.
“It was late at night, but your brothers were such hard workers, malyshka. They wanted to inspect a large shipment. The second they entered the secure facility, the bomb exploded. Zhukov had set them up. He’d rigged the ship’s fuel tank to explode as soon as the door opened.
Your brothers. $500 million worth of irreplaceable, rare artworks.
All destroyed in a single second. One single act of greed. ”
The understanding stops me in the middle of the room. I slowly turn to face my father, watching the strange anger burning in his eyes.
“They were murdered?”
“Murdered by someone they thought they could trust. And the worst thing was, he tried to blame them for their own deaths. Said that they were somehow involved with the explosive and that it had gone wrong. When all the evidence showed that he’d been the only one in the secure facility that day, the only one who could have possibly rigged the explosive. ”
Murdered.
Assassinated.
My brother’s didn’t die in an accident, they died as part of a plot against my family.
“I don’t understand.”
My father’s face softens, his anger falling away.
“I know, malyshka. It’s hard to imagine what must have been going through the mind of a psychopath like that.”
“Not that. I know people can be greedy, the whole Bratva is full of people like this Aleksandr. What I don’t understand is why you didn’t tell me.”
“You were so young, Natalia. We didn’t want to scare you.”
He tries to approach me but I back away, across the room.
“Who else knows?”
Papa shoots Mama an uneasy look.
“Well, of course we had to seek justice for your brothers. We took the case to the Council of the Bratva for a fair sentence to be handed down.”
Father is a Council member, one of the leaders who decides how to resolve disputes within the Bratva. Everyone would have heard what had happened, how the sentence was handed down by the Council.
Absolutely everybody knew what happened to my brothers except me.
“I thought they died in an accident! My whole life!”
I’m shouting now, but I can’t help it. My brothers were murdered and my parents hid it from me, when everybody else knew.
“Malyshka, calm down. This is exactly why we didn’t tell you. We didn’t want to upset you with what had happened. We know how fond you were of your brothers.”
“Oh but everyone else could know? Even though they were my brothers?”
I spin around to face them accusingly as I gather up my notes on my paintings and my pens. I don’t want to spend another minute in my parents’ company.
My father shoots my mother a look, widening his eyes. It’s like they think I can’t see them.
“Natalia, you need to calm down. Your wedding is next month. We are announcing your engagement tonight. Focus on the good things. We cannot change the past.”
I pick up Dasha from the couch, perching her on top of the pile of books.
“I’m not going to the dinner with the Romanovs. I don’t want to see a single person who has lied to me about this. And don’t send them my apologies or make an excuse for me.”
Mama is shaking her head at Papa, looking at him as if he’s the one who’s ruined everything by telling me. Her eyes gleam with tears.
“Natalia—” My father tries to use his most authoritative voice, but it only makes me more angry with him.
“I’m. Not. Going.”
Mama looks heartbroken, like missing the engagement dinner upsets her more than what happened to my brothers.
As if I can be expected to think about ridiculous, insignificant things like whether the color of my dress matches Anton Romanov’s tie right now.
There is one more thing I have to know.
“This man… This murderer… What happened to him?”
“The Council exiled him to Siberia. Where he couldn’t target us or stir up trouble any longer.”
“He’s back, isn’t he? That’s what you said before.”
My father’s face goes blank, but my mother nods, her face whitening.
“Yes, malyshka, he’s back.”
I slam the door behind me as I leave.