CHAPTER 63 — FAINA PETROV

When we left the hospital, we immediately went to the warehouse to see my father, who had still been tied up in the same place for over twelve hours. It was painful to find him like this. As soon as my feet crossed the entrance to the shed, he shouts for me:

— Daughter!

— Dad… — I approach him.

Boris, wave to me before leaving and leaving us alone.

— Are you well? And my grandchildren? — he starts asking me countless questions, one after another.

— I am fine. We are all fine. — I place my hand on my belly.

He looks at me relieved, but his expression soon changes to angry.

— Why did you do that, Faina? Did they coerce you, threaten you? — tries to free himself by moving in the chair.

— No. They are good people, they have always been good to me.

Not exactly at the beginning, but…

— Good people? They are our enemies! All traitors, just like their father. The Greens can't be trusted. I told you everything about them and what their father did to me and Vladimir!

— Father…

— No! — he exclaims as he interrupts me — I can't believe that my daughter, who I raised to be more cunning and intelligent than that, let herself be fooled by them! — The pain of disappointment in his eyes is palpable.

— Father, we only had access to part of those files, which didn't prove anything to us. I lived with them… — I bite my lip, trying to hold back the tears — I'm sorry we've reached this point. I would never betray my family, the mafia, or you, daddy.

— It's not what it seems, when he killed many of our people and joined them. They killed Andrey and Vladimir!

— Vladimir, you stabbed me, daddy! He almost killed me and my babies! What did you expect them to do? — I ask angrily.

— These babies don't belong to Andrey, right? I look away from him and look at the floor again.

— No. The babies belong to the Green brothers — I see the moment he closes his eyes and shakes his head.

— I don't believe it! Who are you? Because there's nothing of my daughter here. It's not the Faina I created. — he says hurt.

— Father…

— Is that why you're with them? Are you afraid that they might take your babies if you run away? We can work this out, Faina. I understand that you don't want to hurt your children's parents, but we can still handle the situation. Our mafia and I will ensure your safety and that you stay away from them. — He watches me with hope in his eyes — Come on, let me go!

— Dad… — I take a deep breath and look into his eyes — I'm here because I really want to. I'm in love with them. I love each of the Green brothers. Likewise, I want to be here, where I found my family, with them.

— No! No, damn it! Do you want to join with the traitors? — He looks at me with disgust.

— What is the evidence that his father betrayed the alliance you established? We found nothing, part of the file that could prove this was missing.

— I know it was Christopher Green! Did you see the files they had on that pen drive!

—And how are you so sure of that? That doesn't prove anything to us!

— Dostoevsky, he saw everything and told me about Christopher's betrayal.

I sigh, running my hands through my hair.

— Dad, I trust them. And they stated that the situation did not happen exactly like that. Just as you blame their father, they also blame you. — I kneel in front of you, leveling my face with yours — Don't you think there's something wrong with that? There are always two sides to the story, Dad.

— Are you insinuating that Vladimir, the man who took care of you, who loved you and welcomed you, your godfather, is a liar?

—And yet, at the first opportunity, he stabbed me without hesitation. Me, his goddaughter, pregnant! — I exclaim with indignation — Father… was it you who sent Andrey to get me or was it my godfather?

— Vladimir believed you were taking too long to come back with a simple file. Tired of waiting and worried that something might have happened to you, I agreed to his idea of ​​sending Andrey after you.

Vladimir sent his son to look for me. In the end, he was the one who had the files in hand before they were handed over to my father.

— Father… — I place my hands on his knees — I'm going to free you, but I want you to promise me that you won't do anything against your grandchildren's parents. I think I know what could have happened, but we need to include the Green brothers in our conversation.

— What?

— Dad. Do you trust me?

— I thought I could trust, and apparently I was wrong.

— Daddy — I squeeze his knees — I'm still the same little girl as before, your little girl. However, now I am in love and forming a family with them. These people are as mistaken as we are.

—What do you mean by that?

— I believe that Vladimir distorted the facts of that night, during the robbery of the cargo, which led to the death of Christopher Green.

— How it is? — He can't believe me.

I think my godfather may have been the one really responsible for everything, not Christopher.

— Dad, I know it's complicated to think that way, especially since it culminated in the death of one of your best friends. But do you really believe that, given everything you've told me about him, Christopher could be the traitor? — he remains silent, with a distant look. You had an alliance with him for many years; together, they dominated both mafias, with just two years more than I have now. There were twenty-two years of peace between you, and it was only after Vladimir's return that things began to fall apart between you.

— Vladimir was always my father's right-hand man, his apprentice. We grew up side by side… — he closes his eyes.

— Father… — I wait for him to open his eyes and look at me, so I can continue — He was grandpa's pupil until you were born and reached the necessary age to become the true heir of the mafia and his apprentice. Grandpa Nikolai was always proud to talk about you, how skilled you were with weapons, an exceptional fighter. Strong. Smart. Insightful.

“And what happened to Vladimir? By that time, Grandma and Grandpa had already given up on the idea of ​​having another child, as their first three did not prosper. And when grandma got pregnant again, you were the only one of the triplets who survived and frustrated Vladimir's dream of inheriting the mafia. The boy taken in from the street and raised as their son, no longer had the option of having the entire Russian mafia in his hands because you entered the race, as he was a legitimate heir.”

He passes his hand over his face, reflecting and showing frustration.

— All of Russia should have been yours, but you divided it between the two of you. But was the godfather really satisfied? I always thought that, at certain moments, he was jealous of you. He had everything and, when you were born, he was left with nothing.

— I don't believe he would be capable of that. He was always my best friend. We grew up as brothers; my father never treated him differently or inferior to me. — I take a deep breath. I feel like I inherited his stubbornness.

— Dad, if that were the case, grandpa would have handed the mafia over to him, since he's ten years older than you. In bureaucracy, isn't the firstborn always the one who inherits when all the children are men? So why did Grandpa pass it on to you and not him? — understanding begins to dawn in your mind.

— I don't believe he… — Dad doesn't finish the sentence — Vladimir never liked Christopher and always warned me that our alliance was a mistake… He was always greedy, always looking for more. — he gets up, running his hands through his hair — And when your mother got pregnant, soon after Svetlana, his wife, also became pregnant. After the birth of both of them, he had the idea of ​​unifying them in a future marriage, aiming for an alliance between us… I can't believe that I was manipulated by him all this time. That he was capable of this!

Dad, he stabbed your daughter.

I want to scream, but what can I say, an eye for an eye, since I killed his son?

Even if he didn't know.

— It is clear that it is necessary to investigate the dark side of the Green brothers' story in relation to that fateful day.