Chapter 35: Mikhail

“What happened in the past, Father?” I give him a narrowed look.

He intensifies his stare and looks uneasy. “There’s a reason why Ivan has always been so abrasive and coldhearted toward you. It’s my fault.”

“How in the hell is that your fault?”

“Because of the bad relationship I had with Tatiana, and how I met your mother.”

Tatiana was Ivan’s mother. Her name is one rarely uttered by my father for the bad memories it unearths.

“It was my meeting with your mother that destroyed my relationship with his,” he adds.

As the confession falls from his lips, a stone drops in my stomach.

“I thought you met Mother after Tatiana died.”

“No. It was before. I knew her many years before. She was our maid.”

My mouth falls open. “What? What are you saying to me? I thought you met her at a business meeting?”

“No. She worked for Tatiana and me while she was training to be a dancer. I met her when she was sixteen. I don’t know what you’ll think of me after I tell you the truth, but I feel I owe it to you.”

“What happened, Father?” I think I know where this story is going, and I don’t like what my gut tells me. It would definitely explain a lot about my horrendous relationship with my brother.

“My marriage to Tatiana was a business arrangement because of the diamond company. That’s how it became a subsidy of Dmitriyev Ltd. It came from her family. So, to merge the wealth, my father forced me to marry her. I… never loved her, though.” He stops again. “All she wanted was for me to love her. I tried. It shouldn’t have been so hard. I’d known her my whole life. She and Sophia were best friends, and our families were so close it was a given we’d get married. When we had Ivan, I tried even more to fall in love with her, but I just didn’t. Then I met your mother, and I loved her from the first time I looked at her.”

“You… cheated on Tatiana, didn’t you?” I fill in.

“Yes. Yes, I did. There is no excuse, and nothing will make it right. Ivan was nine when he caught us together. He told Tatiana, and it drove her insane. I found out your mother was pregnant with you, so I asked Tatiana for a divorce. She wouldn’t give it to me. Instead, she killed herself. She slit her wrists in the bathtub. It was Ivan who found her.”

“My… God.”

That’s why my brother hates me.

This is why.

My mouth goes dry as everything starts to make sense.

I’m part of the reason his parents broke up, and he views me as part of the reason his mother killed herself. I was told she had a heart attack.

He would have blamed my mother, too, and hated my sister.

But, this is in the past, and wouldn’t explain why he would want them dead now.

It would, however, be a part of the reason.

My father is right. There are so many secrets and lies.

I rest my elbows on my knees and slouch forward as his words continue to sink into my head.

“Your mother and I got married a few months before you were born.”

“Who else knows the truth?”

“Just Ivan and Sophia. I’m sorry, Mikhail. I couldn’t take these secrets to the grave with me. I guess I might have seemed to favor him over you in some respects, but that wasn’t the case.”

“I have never thought that.”

“I guess you wouldn’t have been at the age where it might have mattered for you to think it. But you are now. When I decided to retire, I realized I couldn’t simply follow tradition. More than that, I didn’t want to. You work hard, Mikhail. Ivan does, too, but he took comfort in the fact that the oldest son usually gets to be the Pakhan. There’s a difference between what the two of you have done.”

Something pinches my heart. “Is this your way of telling me you’ve chosen him to be Pakhan?” If it is, I’d have a hard time laying down my own truth for him about Ivan. Especially when I have no evidence.

“It’s not, son, but I wanted you to be the first to know how I changed everything else, including my will. I changed everything for everybody.”

“Everything?” This might answer the big question.

“Everything. Unlike when the inheritance passed to me twenty years ago, I felt there was enough wealth to share equally. That means the controlling interest in the company wouldn’t just lie with the Pakhan.”

“What did you do?”

“I gave Sophia the diamond company and split the ownership of Dmitriyev Ltd. four ways. I split it between you, Ivan, your mother, and sister. So, it will be the first time the company would have equal ownership with a horizontal line of inheritance. Meaning if something happened to one party, their shares would then be divided equally amongst the remaining beneficiaries.”

And that’s reason enough to want my mother and sister dead.

And reason enough to want me dead, too. This is it. The answer.

It has to be.

With us out of the way, Ivan would have inherited all of it without any problems.

As it stands now, it’s down to him and me.

Shit.

I also don’t think he’d be that worried about the diamond company as he would Dmitriyev Ltd. Dmitriyev Ltd. makes billions a year. That fucking contract was just about it, nothing else, so Sophia should be safe.

Who knew this was going to happen? Father would have only told someone he trusted.

“Did you tell anyone you were going to do that to Dmitriyev Ltd.?”

“Your mother. No one else, not even the estate lawyers. They’ll see my wishes after the leadership changes. I also didn’t tell Sophia because I didn’t want her arguing about the diamond company. She’s very humble and wouldn’t want to keep something like that to herself, but she deserves something she can call her own.”

So Mother must have told someone about the plans for Dmitriyev Ltd.

“As for the leadership, one of you will be the next Pakhan. The Pakhan gets everything else.”

Which is nearly the same value as the company.

“I guess we’ll know next week.”

“You will. If I don’t pick you, please forgive me. If I do pick you, forgive me also for the repercussions you may face from your brother. I’ve tried my best to fix the past, but I can’t, and I hope you won’t hold it against me too much.”

“I… don’t,” I tell him, because I see no point in doing so when we only have months left together.

I don’t condone what he did, and it doesn’t matter that he loved my mother, but I can’t change the past any more than he can.

“Then that’s more than I deserve from you. That’s all I have for you, son. In a week and a half, you’ll know who will be the next Pakhan.”

“Do you still know who you’re going to choose?” I’m curious.

“Yes, but I’m still waiting. My heart and mind need to tell me the same thing. I’m going to come here the night before the big day so I can feel your mother’s presence. She’ll guide me in accepting my answer. I’ve invited Sophia to come here on the morning. She will know first. My sister deserves to be the first to know something this important to me. You both love her, and I suspect she’ll play a big role to whoever I choose.”

“She most definitely will.” I nod, agreeing.

Rising to my feet, I dip my head with the respect I always show him.

He nods too with the same respect but stops me before I walk through the door.

“One more thing. Maybe another bit of wisdom from an old fool.”

“What?”

“You don’t have to be afraid to love your wife. There is no need for it, and no one would fault you for it. I don’t.”

My lips part to tell him that’s not a problem, but when I look at his face, I know he can see straight through me. There’s little point bullshitting a person who can do that, so I nod and leave.

It takes me a few hours to digest all I was told this morning. After I get back from my first meeting, I find José outside my office waiting to speak to me.

He should have a report for me on things at the house and cartel business.

“What would you like me to start with first?” he asks.

“Cartel business.” I lean back against my chair and try to focus. I need the easy stuff first.

“Everything is done. All Raul’s assets have now been transferred over to you. The lawyers completed the last transaction yesterday. Everything is now in your name, and things can basically run on autopilot in some respects,” he explains. “I may need to go to Mexico in a week or so to continue discussions on a project that was in progress before Raul died. Of course, with your permission.”

“Yes, that’s fine. You can go.” Controlling the cartel is my biggest accomplishment and something I’ll be remembered for, but I’m glad that part is over. It’s easier on my mind to focus on one thing at a time. Right now, that’s not the most important thing. It never was. It was more of a side quest.

“What about your report?” I ask.

He looks uneasy. “Sebastian and your men at the house seem to be clean. I don’t think you have to worry about them, but I’m still keeping my eyes open. I did notice something weird at the docks yesterday to do with your brother though.”

I straighten immediately. We have a shipping company located at the docks. I sent José on an errand for me. “What did you learn?”

“Ivan met with a guy who used to work with Raul when he needed to import goods. I don’t know the guy’s name. Raul worked in secrets to keep a tight handle on things. He’s a guy like Tony, a middleman. I think he might just be his replacement. What I didn’t know is why he was meeting with your brother.” He eyes me with suspicion.

José is no fool. I’m sure he’s already put two and two together.

“Let me worry about that.” I’m not going to talk to him about Ivan. “What time did you see them?”

“Late last night, about eleven. They were in the alleyway at the back.”

Dammit. There are no cameras in the fucking alleyway, which is probably why Ivan met the fucker there.

“Thanks. Keep doing what you’re doing and if you see my brother with that guy again, call me straightaway.”

“Sure will. You be careful, Señor. Blood is thicker than water for a reason. Blood can drown you quicker.”

Don’t I know it.