Chapter 156

Konstantin:

I entered my underground office, knowing that he was waiting for me inside.

His eyes met mine and I smirked, watching as he tended to the cuts that I made on his face. 

His face was a little more bruised than I intended for it to be, but I knew that it was going to be healing soon.

“You just gave her to him as a prize?” Batrov asked, raising an eyebrow at me. He crossed his arms over his chest, putting the cotton piece down in the sink as he looked at me. “I doubt that it was the smartest thing to do.”

“Giving him a weakness would ensure his loyalty. He would have something to lose, and it is only a matter of time before I have seen whether or not he was actually loyal to me. The man looking at Elena is not something for me to depend on.” I said, and he raised an eyebrow at me. 

“Had it been anyone else, this would have been deemed a crime. What not him?” Batrov asked, watching as I looked at the camera of the woman leaning to kiss him. She did it so spontaneously that I could tell that it wasn’t the first time, and the love that I saw in both their eyes told me that I could use it for a lot more than just pleasing Vladimir.

“I didn’t need to tie anyone to something. But I know that even if I send Vladimir to the Ivanov Estate now, he would have something to fear losing here. I am going to be sure that he is tied to that and I am going to be sure that he knows that he is. Elena has gotten old for me anyway, and I have a lot to tend to,” I said, keeping my response vague. The woman wasn’t the reason behind my daughter’s death, but I knew that my nephew was, and I was going to be sure that I made him pay for it. Her blood wasn’t going to go in vain, and I knew how to teach him a lesson without making suspect that I had a hand in it. But I wasn’t dumb, nor was I foolish. I knew my daughter enough to know that she rarely ever got too drunk not to walk down the stairs, and even if she did, she would be unconscious long before she could reach them.

“We have work to do, and we are going to head off to Vegas tomorrow. There are a few meetings that we need to attend and I think that giving the man his privacy with his new ‘woman’ should be in order. I am going to start including him in the businesses too. He might be curious about my reasoning this time, but he would put it on Yigrette’s loss.” I said, and Batrov nodded.

“He knows that she is your daughter.”

“Even his bitch does,” I said, and Batrov frowned. “He said it out loud the second that he heard the news. The woman knows that she is my daughter though she doesn’t know who the mother is, Vladimir doesn’t either. I know that he is going to ask. But he is going to be forced to give me time to ‘mourn’ over my lost child.”

“How did she react when she found out?” Batrov asked, making something inside me stir. She was going to come here soon, and I didn’t know how she was going to react when she heard Elena’s name. She didn’t know what she looked like, there wasn’t a picture of her anyway, but I knew that Yigrette would have described her enough to put a figure in her brain. And I knew that it was going to be enough for her to hold on and relate to.

“Like any mother would,” I said, looking away from the screen for a second. I had been a fool to allow the man in the house without anyone looking after him. But then again, I didn’t expect Yigrette to make herself as obvious as she did, and I certainly didn’t expect the man to be messing with her. It was a mistake from my side, but I was going to be sure that it didn’t just go with no reaction. I just needed to have my hands securely tied around my traitor’s neck before I broke it. Nothing would be better than killing slowly, and I knew that revenge was often best served cold.

“And what are you going to do about Killian? You know that the Ivanov still keeps getting stronger and him losing Vladimir didn’t seem to cost him as much as we hoped.” Batrov asked, shaking his head. I scoffed, and the man raised an eyebrow, clearly curious about what I had in mind.

“I didn’t think that he would lose anything with the ‘death’ of the man that he chose to kill.” I said, and Batrov nodded, waiting for what I was going to tell him. “But when he sees that Vladimir is now alive, working with me, and that he missed the shot. However did he do that and how didn’t he catch the man’s heartbeat depends on me and what I will do, but I also know that no one knows Killian better than Vladimir. And it is about time that we start getting more information about the snake.”

“And do you think that Vladimir would be willing to give it? Don’t get me wrong, boss, but we all know that a man like him shouldn’t be easily trusted. He is an Ivanov, regardless of being killed by one, he still grew amongst them and he never bothered showing any interest in being loyal nor submissive to you.” Batrov asked, shaking his head. “And I doubt you trust him enough to not keep secrets. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have…”

“I trust no one, Batrov. You of all people should know that very well, but he is my blood, and I owe it to my sister, who sent him to me to legitimize my place as the family’s Pakhan.” I said, stopping the man. “As for the submissive, he is growing to be boss not to be a follower. I just need him to get at my pace, my way, and that doesn’t mean that I can’t get my revenge on the way, does it?” 

“As I just said, I am willing to be patient for it too. As revenge is often best served cold…”