Chapter 14 – Danil
The air in the meeting room was heavy with the scent of old leather and expensive cigars.
The room itself was a relic—a circular library at the heart of the estate where generations of Yezhov leaders gathered to discuss the affairs of the Bratva.
Today, it was filled with familiar faces.
The old guard, Lidia among them, were seated around the large, polished table.
Konstantin and my other Yezhov brothers were present. And of course, Feliks Durov.
The meeting was a formality, an operational discussion about the recent resurgence of our enemies after the whole Sivella Holdings scandal.
Everyone believed it was a reaction to the public news of my marriage to Katria and the official transfer of her assets.
They saw it as an opportunity to weaken us, to test our strength.
But I knew the truth was something else entirely. My primary purpose for this meeting had nothing to do with external threats. It was about internal ones.
I had a single objective: to watch Feliks closely.
I hadn’t told anyone about the video on the thumb drive Katria had found. It was a secret I intended to keep until I had all the pieces of the puzzle. It was a single piece of evidence that could either prove her father a liar or expose a traitor in my own ranks.
The video showed Feliks. Feliks, the man my father had trusted, the man I had trusted, being accused by Katria’s father of laundering money.
My mind kept going back to the way her father had looked in that video, the dare in his eyes.
And then I remembered the way Feliks had looked at Katria at the party, his smile just a little too fake, a little too strained.
I played along, acting casual and nonchalant, my face a perfect mask of bored authority. I greeted everyone, my voice calm and even. I even thanked Feliks again for the party, the words feeling like ash on my tongue. He just smiled, a thin, knowing expression.
My eyes went to Irene, who was standing beside Konstantin, a silent battle already brewing between them.
They had always been at odds, a cold war between two people who could not see eye to eye on anything, not even a sunny day.
The only Yezhov Irene had ever been friends with was me, a silent ally in her feud with my cousin.
The meeting started, and I sank back in my chair, listening as the reports were read, my mind elsewhere.
I was watching Feliks, noting every subtle shift of his weight, every glance, and every movement of his hands.
I was looking for a sign, for something, anything that would tell me he knew the thumb drive was gone.
The meeting continued, everyone giving their reports. I listened with half an ear, my focus a sharp point on Feliks. My mind kept relaying the image of the thumb drive, the video of Katria’s father’s. I was waiting for him to make a move. And he didn’t disappoint.
In the middle of a discussion about our current financial standing, Feliks spoke up. “Danil, if I may interrupt? I have a proposal.”
“Speak your mind, Feliks,” I said, my voice even.
He leaned forward, his smile confident. “To generate capital for our new operations, I propose we sell one of the other shell companies to some foreign investors. A clean sake. No ties to the Bratva. It’s an easy way to get some cash flow without dipping into our main accounts.”
My blood ran cold. The words were a red flag waving in front of me.
Selling one of the older shell companies wasn’t about making money; it was about covering tracks.
On the trail, I felt a chill run down my spine.
This was it. This was exactly what I had suspected.
The man was a rat trying to clear his own name.
I kept my face a perfect mask.
“And where did you get this idea?” I asked, my tone casual, as if the thought had just occurred to me.
Feliks’s smile didn’t waver. “It’s a standard move. We’ve done it before, when we need to generate quick cash. The company is old, hasn’t been used in years.”
“That’s exactly my point,” I said. “It’s old. It’s a ghost company. Why sell it now? We’re not short on funds. Why not just fund operations from our main accounts, as you said?”
Feliks’s smile tightened just a fraction, a crack in his face. He was getting nervous. “It’s about perception, Danil. It’s a statement. The Bratva is so rich, we’re selling assets just for fun. It keeps our enemies guessing.”
I looked at him, and for a second, I thought I saw a flicker of panic in his eyes. A man like Feliks, who had been with my family for decades, did not panic. I knew then, without a single doubt, that the thumb drive video was real. That he was the traitor.
“Matvey,” I said, turning to my brother. “What do you think of this idea?”
Matvey, ever the pragmatist, shook his head. “The Bratva is rich enough to fund operations without selling pre-owned assets. I don’t see the need.”
His words fueled Feliks. He leaned forward, his voice a little too loud now, a little too strained. “It’s a smart move! It’s a strategic move! Why not take advantage of an opportunity like this?”
I just watched him, my mind already ten steps ahead. He was desperate. He was arguing too much. He was trying to push this through. And I wasn’t going to let him.
“I agree with Matvey,” I said, a dangerous calm in my voice. “The Bratva is rich. We don’t need to sell off our assets. We can fund our operations from our main accounts.”
Feliks looked at me, his face a mask of disappointment. “But Danil—”
“I said I agree with Matvey,” I repeated, my voice now a chilling command. The room went silent. Everyone knew that was the end of the discussion.
The meeting continued, the tension from my disagreement with Feliks still hanging in the air. The conversation turned to how to handle the new threats.
“We need to be careful,” Luka said, his voice grave. “Our security has been increased, but there was a breach. We still don’t know how it happened.”
Irene spoke up then, “We should still be careful in terms of both external and internal security. Kat is definitely still in danger.”
Konstantin scoffed, cutting her off. “I literally already said that, Irene.”
Irene’s eyes flashed. “You think my contribution is insignificant? At least I’m not—”
“Enough!” I slammed my hand on the table, the sound echoing in the sudden silence.
I looked from Irene to Konstantin, my voice a low, dangerous rumble.
“I don’t care about your silent battles.
We’re here to talk about the security of my wife and the future of the Yezhov Bratva.
You will both focus, and you will both contribute. Or you will leave.”
They both fell silent, their eyes drooping.
I leaned forward, looking at the men around the table.
“I want to remove these threats entirely. I don’t want us to just be careful. I want us to go on the offensive. If we have to conduct operations to dismantle other Bratva factions, I am ready to do that. Are you?”
Matvey nodded. “It’s a bold move, but it’s the right one. We show no weakness. We show we’re still in control.”
Luka agreed, and Eduard and the others followed. Feliks was the last to speak.
“A wise decision,” he said, but his voice was strained. He looked at me, and I could see the anger in his eyes. He knew I was looking right through him. He knew I was setting a trap.
The meeting was dismissed. Everyone rose, chairs scraping against the floor, and started to leave, but I remained in my seat, pretending to organize my papers, though my eyes stayed on Feliks.
I watched him as he moved toward the door, his motions just a little too stiff, his smile just a little too forced.
He was talking to Eduard, but his eyes kept flicking back to me. He knew I was watching.
I stood and walked out of the library and into the hall. As I headed to the main entrance, I saw him through the large glass doors. Feliks was in the garden, on the phone. He was speaking in a low voice, his back to the house. I stopped, concealed in the shadow of the doorframe, and watched.
He finished his call, and as he put his phone in his pocket, he turned to leave. He saw me standing there, but he didn’t seem surprised.
“Danil,” he said, his voice casual. “The meeting went well.”
“It did,” I replied calmly. “You made a very interesting proposal, Feliks.”
He smiled, a thin, knowing expression. “It was just an idea. To help the Bratva.”
“Of course,” I said. I walked out into the garden and stood facing him, the night air cool on my face. “I was just thinking about my father, actually. About how he was so careful, so deliberate. He never made a move without thinking about every possible outcome.”
Feliks’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Wolfe was a great leader. He was a force to be reckoned with.”
“He was,” I agreed, stepping closer to him. “But you know, he trusted the wrong people. He believed that blood and loyalty were the same thing. And he was wrong. He was betrayed.”
Feliks’s expression didn’t change, but I saw the muscles in his jaw tighten. “We all make mistakes, Danil.”
“Some mistakes are bigger than others,” I said. “Some mistakes cost people their lives. My father was very clever, but he was too predictable. The traitor was the wrong person.”
Feliks looked at me, his eyes now hard and cold. “You’re not like him, Danil. You’re sly and unpredictable. You’re clever, but you’re not like your father. You’re what he should have been.”
I laughed, but it was a humorless, empty sound that held all the bitterness and rage I was feeling. “You have no right to talk about what my father should have been,” I said, the words a raw, low growl. “You don’t get to talk about what kind of man he was.”
He held my gaze, his face a mask of fake calm. “I have every right to. I was his friend. I was his advisor.”
“You were a parasite,” I said, my voice thick with emotion. “You’re a traitor, Feliks. And you’re going to pay for it. I don’t know who else you’re working with, but you will give them up. And you will give them up to me.”
He just looked at me, his mouth a thin line. He didn’t deny it. He didn’t need to because he knew I knew.
I left Feliks standing in the garden, a cold promise of revenge hanging between us.
The anger was a fire in my blood, a raw fury I hadn’t felt since my father’s death.
But it was a controlled fury now. I wasn’t going to let it consume me.
My mind was strategizing. Feliks thought he was so clever, so sly. He had no idea what was coming.
I walked back to the estate, my thoughts consumed by the betrayal. The years of loyalty, the trust my father had put in him, were all a lie. And Katria—she was a part of it now. A pawn in a game she didn’t even know she was playing.
I found her in the living room, fast asleep on the sofa. She was curled into a small ball, her hair a wild halo around her face. My anger melted into a sharp, possessive ache in my chest. She was so damn fragile, so breakable. And completely unaware of the dangers she had just walked into.
My eyes fell on her lap. My breath caught in my throat. Ticked into the side of her jeans, resting in her lap, was a loaded pistol.
I stared at it, a mix of shock and pure exasperation rushing through me. Where in the hell did she get that? I knew exactly who had given it to her: Sava. That damn fool. I knew he was close to her, but this? This was a line. A line I’d have to draw for him later.
A small, humorless chuckle escaped my lips.
She was absurd. She was a little mouse with a loaded gun, and she was going to get herself killed.
I walked to the sofa and stood over her, looking at her sleeping face.
She looked peaceful, so innocent. So different from the fiery, defiant woman who had challenged me hours ago.
I reached out and gently removed the pistol from her lap, taking care not to wake her. It was a small, heavy thing in my hand, a useless toy. I placed it on the coffee table.
I took the blanket from the back of the sofa and covered her, tucking it gently around her shoulders. She shifted in her sleep, a small, quiet sigh escaping her lips. I leaned down and kissed her forehead, a soft, deliberate touch.
“You’ll never leave me, Katria,” I whispered, my voice a low, possessive murmur. “And you will always be mine.”
I stood up and moved to my study. The thumb drive was still in my pocket—the physical proof of Feliks’s betrayal.
I took it out and headed to the hidden drawer in my closet.
It was a small, unassuming item, a key to a much bigger game.
I placed it inside and locked the drawer with a key I always kept on me.
The thumb drive was a new kind of power.
A new kind of leverage. A way to control the game. And now, I had it.