Chapter 195: Two Gay Men.

Spades – Point of View

Ace and I considered hiding our engagement, but it was impossible. Cateleya called it the second she saw us. Marie, Valentina and Irina arrived the next day, apparently, Cateleya had told them. We got calls from all around the world. Our friends were glad that we were getting married.

I was excited too, but dread started to seep in slowly because soon, I would be speaking to my father. I wouldn’t be doing it alone.

Moscow had reached a certain level of calmness now that the evil had been purged. Today, the fate of Lee Ivanov will be determined. It was to be determined by a council, which pissed the fuck out of me. Valentina, Irina and Armani believe this is the right way to go. Apparently, Sergei’s death and the chaos that followed had attracted attention, so we were to present our case before certain individuals from Northern, Eastern and Southern Russia. Moscow was in Western Russia, but particular people from St Petersburg would be present.

Times like this, I wished we’d blown off Lee’s head, but it was important not to. If we wanted Ace to rule without interference and external war, we needed to do this.

In about ten minutes, I would be walking into the room where they were holding Lee. Ace would be with me, but apparently, it could only be the two of us. I guess the meeting with the whole of Russia would be after.

“You look very sharp, Spades. You both do.” Irina smiled at me, fixing my collar. I nodded, silent. After this, I was going to see my mother. I missed her terribly.

“When’s the wedding?” Marie cut in, and I shook my head at her.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

“He is right. You shouldn’t be here.” Ace agreed, and we glanced at Caine, who scoffed.

“Do you really think I can stop Marie from doing anything? She has a mind of her own.”

I opened my mouth to say something, but was cut off when the door opened, and the guard walked out.

“Please come in.” He said in Russian, his accent thick. It made me conscious of how I might be losing mine. I would speak Russian to my kids all the time.

Ace and I walked in. He was holding on to the file. Lee was in a box. A really small box. He looked like he had lost a significant amount of weight. His eyes were filled with fear. He looked like a mess. He glanced at us as we walked in, and something flashed in his gaze.

“Hi, Lee. Cosy in there?” Ace grinned, leaning against the desk placed for us.

“Fuck you. You should have killed me. You think bringing me to these fuckers will change anything? You should have killed me. You will wish you did when they are done with you. You are children playing with something beyond your fucking thinking!” He snarled, face flushing in rage, and I watched him silently. He was losing his mind.

Ace handed the file to me, and I pulled out pages. This was the evidence Silas had compiled before his death. The evidence Lee tried to erase. These pages had the truth of his wrongdoings, of his kidnapping of Ace as a child, the wrongful murders he had committed, the lines he had crossed, the use of Cosmo crossing so many lines, like drug abuse and women abuse, as well as their mutilations. It was a lot. He knew he was fucked.

“This is not the throne you imagined, I assume?” I finally spoke, pushing against the knot in my throat.

“No, it is not.” He shook his head pathetically, and I nodded, pulling myself together.

“You were wrong for what you did to me, Lee. For what you did to a five-year-old Ace, for what you did to your supposed best friend, for what you did to those innocent women, for what you did to everyone. We were pawns, puppets on a string, yet here you are, caged within a small box. Isn’t that funny?” I exhaled, my chest growing lighter because this was very anticlimactic.

“This is the end, Lee, your end. All your scheming and lying, your cruelty has come to an end, and in a matter of minutes, your life will follow. There will be no one to remember you, nothing, not even your daughter.” Ace flashed him a depraved grin, and the blood drained from Lee’s face.

Nausea rushed through me, but I pushed it down and spoke, “Nina tried to rescue you. She stormed one of our warehouses that is currently being rebuilt and opened fire. Unfortunately, she was gunned down. It was self-defence. She and her mercenaries killed ten of our people and injured more. She is dead. I’m very sorry, Lee.”

Nina’s death had been a shock to me. I didn’t like her, but she didn’t deserve to die, not like that.

As expected, Lee exploded in profanities; his grief was overwhelming and blinding because, in his rage, he confessed to every charge against him.

“I was going to make Russia better! You are all fucking weaklings. None of you can do what needs to be done! I did. I made the hard decisions! Those people I killed had to go! The end justifies the means. I DID WHAT NONE OF YOU BASTARDS COULD!” He roared, and I inhaled slowly.

“Look at me, Spades. You are my son. My son. You will always be my son. You will always have me in you. Blood is thicker than water. You should be smarter. Open your fucking eyes. You think you are better than me? Fuck you. These bastards will keep you as their puppets for the rest of your lives; you will never be free! Do you think they are going to let two gay men rule the most powerful city in Russia? Wake the fuck up! You are just as imprisoned as I am.”

Suddenly, the walls disappeared and were replaced by glass. Beyond that glass sat the people we came here for.