Chapter 171

Chapter 171
Rico. 

We are led to a huge room on the second floor that I never knew existed. A conference room. 

There are a few people already sitting including Fabio, Alessio, and the infamous Nikolai.  

"Where is Mia?" Fabio enquires, expectantly looking behind us " Maxim will be here any minute from now" He adds and I nod, pulling out my phone. Mia picks up on the first ring and her pretty voice speaks up making me happy. 

"Rico" She murmurs,  

"Are you coming yet? Fabio says Maxim is already here"

"Urg, Fabio again. A girl needs her time, Rico. It's men's job to wait" She chuckles and I slightly smile. So she is doing this on purpose. 

"Take your time, baby, I love you" I turn to Fabio and find him scowling at me. 

"What?" I shrug with a chuckle. 

"Thank you for helping, Rico" He sarcastically mumbles, and I turn to Alessio who is frantically typing away on his laptop. 

"Sup, friend?" I say, gently bumping his shoulder. 

"You owe me drinks, Rico. Friends don't forget friends" He stops typing and faces me with a playful glare. 

"Yeah, how about the day after tomorrow?"

"Sounds good. So, how are you preparing to meet the man who erased your memory?" Alessio smirks and I groan. As much as I hate to face him, I can't let my anger ruin Mia's plan. It's been a long and tiring journey for her. 

"He is here. I will go bring him in" Fabio pulls back his chair and walks out of the room. The guys around the table stop whatever they are doing and sit upright. I have no idea who the other two guys are, but like Nikolai, they are in dark suits with their dark hair gelled back. 

Only Carl and I are wearing normal outfits. 

The glass door slides open and the air in the room instantly thickens. As much as we don't want to admit it, Maxim holds a tangible power that demands respect. He is older and has been in business longer than anyone in this room. 

The large build Russian with a head full of greying hair remains in the doorway as his green eyes slowly scrutinize every presence in the room. 

"Where is my granddaughter?" His voice is deep and commanding and it's accompanied by a thick Russian accent.  

"She is on her way, sir. She had some errands to run and got delayed, unfortunately," Fabio explains glancing at his watch and without saying a word, Maxim walks in and takes the head chair in the room. The chair that is meant for the boss. 

Three of his men in dark suits sit beside him in silence. Well, I guess it is business time. 

The room remains awfully quiet. Apart from Fabio who keeps looking at the door, no one makes a move or talks. 

After a few minutes of waiting, clicking heels on the floor are heard and everyone inaudibly sighs in relief.  Sitting in the same room with the enemy is like having a ticking bomb among you. Just a matter of time and it blows. 

Mia walks into the room accompanied by Kay and Alessio's girlfriend beside her. She is still in the clothes she wore this morning, black ragged shorts and my black sweatshirt that hides her stomach. 

"Take your seats, ladies" She smiles at her friends and directly walks to Maxim. "Grandfather" Mia mumbles kissing Maxim's cheek and the man instantly gets up to embrace her. So much Pretense. 

"Hello, Mia. I thought you stood us up" He mumbles pulling away and gently pats her head.  

"I wouldn't dare, Grandfather. Sorry for keeping you, gentlemen" She smiles at us and winks at me. 

"You wouldn't mind if I sat here, would you?"  Mia faces the guy sitting next to Maxim and after confirmation from his boss, he gets up letting her take his chair. "Thank you" 

"So, I got your letter and I want to say, I am impressed" Maxim goes straight to the point and Mia brightly smiles. She hates this man and it astonishes me how she can act so unaffected and free around him. Worse, her smile isn't fake, but rather her happy genuine smile. 

"You are my only family now, Grandpa. And it's pointless if we kept fighting. Blood doesn't kill blood, the death of my mother opened my eyes" Just like a switch, her smile fades and it's replaced by teary eyes. Her eyes sadly stare into Maxim's and the old man sighs pressing a kiss on her forehead. 

" I know sweetheart, for a long time I wanted to have a son. But got a daughter instead. My wife never got pregnant again and I settled for the only child she gave me. I trained your mother to become what I wanted but she never got anything right" He shakes his head in disappointment. 

"Andre Vulcan was once my best friend and, he made me realize that in this business, we can't trust even our own shadows. Your paternal grandfather took something precious from me that caused enmity between our two families. When your mother was of age, I sent her to retrieve it through your father but like the failure she was, she preferred fucking him than doing the actual job as she was supposed to" The loathing in his voice is intense, I now understand why that woman hated her daughter. 

"I got so angry when I found out she was pregnant, and she had been lying to me. I then sent Ryan, her betrothed husband to befriend Sebastian and retrieve that disc for me but he failed too" 

"Wait, a disc?" Mia exclaims with widened eyes. " All this time we have been fighting over a disc?" She mumbles staring at Maxim in shock. 

"Yes, a disc that holds all my secrets and can end my life in a snap of a finger. That disc holds the location of a billion dollars gold and accessories Andre and I made during our youth. He refused to surrender it even at his death"

"So you killed him?" Mia mumbles, sadly shaking her head. 

"Yes, and I went after his son who was as smart as his father. Then there was you, my only grandchild, who I had to hate not only because you were my daughter's mistake, but also because your father was Sebastian, the son of my backstabbing enemy" His thick voice booms in the quiet room. 

"I don't think a billion dollars gold and accessories is worth me losing my kids and my current family for. So, today I am giving them up and I hope from this point onwards, you won't be on my back, right?" She stares at Maxim and he hesitates just a little before nodding. 

"Good. The contract, Fabio" Mia takes a bunch of papers from Fabio and after keenly going through the contents, she nods in approval and hands them to Maxim after writing down her signature. 

"Is this necessary? I mean we can just drink on it and call it new beginnings" Maxim shows his reluctance by not accepting the contract. 

"We will do that tomorrow when I introduce you to my family, but now, we have to sign the agreement with everyone here as the witnesses. After that, everyone will walk away with their copies just in case someone forgot in the future"  

"I wish your mother was as smart" Maxim finally takes the papers and Fabio slightly smirks, Nikolai too. This means it's a trap. 

Maybe like his daughter, Maxim is not smart at all. She probably got her brains from her dad. Unlike Mia, he doesn't peruse the document and just goes straight to the signature part. 

"So, this means I am getting what is mine back, right?" He hands the papers back and everyone on the table starts signing them. 

"Of course. I always keep my word, Grandpa. Nik will take us there but before that, don't you think we should celebrate? I mean this is like a dream come true for me. I have always wanted to have a relationship with you" Her sweet smile returns and Maxim reciprocates it with a smirk. 

"You are right. It is finally refreshing to look at my grandchild without seeing her as my enemy" Once again, he pats Mia's head and she happily chuckles. 

'So, Fabio will bring us copies, and then, we will go to my strip club and party all night" She exclaims, and Maxim laughs softly without taking his eyes off her. 

I don't think the long-time feud is ending with these mere copies of a signed contract.