Chapter 48 Chapter 48

Chapter 48 Chapter 48
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

Dimitri

I stood there frozen, staring at all the guards bowing before me, their voices was still echoing in the grand hall.

"Welcome back, boss." I whispered.

Boss? I was their boss? I was a mafia don?

My mind was spinning, trying to process everything, trying to understand what this meant.

A criminal, I was a criminal. A leader of criminals, someone who probably hurt people, and killed people.

My hands started shaking. I looked down at them, these hands that knew how to fight, how to hurt, how to kill.

What had I done with these hands? How many people had I hurt?

"One step at a time," My captor’s voice cut through my panic.

He placed a hand on my shoulder firmly, his grip was strong, grounding me to reality.

"Come," he said, leading me away from the guards, away from their bowing forms. "We need to talk privately."

He gestured to the guards. "All of you are dismissed, return to your posts."

The guards stood up immediately, they bowed once more and then dispersed quickly, disappearing into different hallways and rooms.

Within seconds, the grand hall was empty except for Mikhail and me.

He led me through the massive house, down a long hallway lined with more expensive paintings and sculptures.

We walked in silence, my mind was too full of questions to even know where to start.

Finally, we reached a large wooden door, he opened it and gestured for me to enter.

It was a study, a beautiful study with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves filled with leather-bound books.

There was a massive desk made of dark wood, leather chairs, and a fireplace crackling with flames.

Everything in this room screamed power and wealth.

"Sit," he said, pointing to one of the leather chairs.

I sat down slowly, my body felt heavy, exhausted from everything that had just happened.

He poured two glasses of amber liquid from a crystal decanter, and handed one to me.

"Drink," he said. "It will help calm your nerves."

I took the glass but did not drink immediately, I just held it, feeling the weight of it in my hand.

"How?" I finally asked, my voice was quiet. "How am I a mafia lord? How did this happen?"

He sat down in the chair across from me, he took a long sip of his drink before answering.

"You were born into this life," he said simply. "Your father was a powerful man, he built an empire, and when he died, you took over."

"My father?" I repeated. "I had a father? Where is he now?"

"Dead," Mikhail said bluntly. "He was killed years ago, murdered by rivals, you and your brother inherited everything."

"Brother?" My heart stopped. "I have a brother?"

The man's face darkened slightly. "Yes, Alexei, your twin brother."

Twin brother, I had a twin brother, someone who looked like me, someone who shared my blood.

"Where is he?" I asked. "Can I see him?"

He was quiet for a moment, his eyes became cold. "Your brother... he has something against you."

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused. "Something against me?"

"Your brother took something that belonged to you," the man explained carefully. "Someone important, and he is keeping her from you."

The pregnant woman, Irina, the one who knew my name.

"The woman I met," I said. "The pregnant one, is she the reason?"

The man's eyes narrowed. "Yes. She was yours first."

"I met her a few nights ago," I explained. "Near the warehouses, she was running from someone, she knew my name, she called me Dimitri."

The man stood up abruptly, but before he could speak, there was a sharp knock on the door.

"Enter," the man commanded.

A guard stepped in quickly, his face was serious. "Boss, we have news."

"Speak," he said.

"Alexei Volkov has been spotted," the guard reported. "He was seen near the estate, about two miles from here, but he left before we could engage."

My heart started racing, my brother was nearby?

The man waved his hand dismissively. "I will attend to that later, for now, increase security around the perimeter, and double the guards."

"Yes, boss," the guard said, bowing before leaving quickly.

The man turned back to me. "Your brother has what belongs to you."

"Then let me confront him," I said. "Let me get her back."

"No," the man said firmly. "Not yet, you are not ready, you do not remember who you are, what you are capable of."

"But I can fight," I protested. "You saw what I did to your guards, I took them down easily."

"Fighting skills are not enough," the man said. "You need your memories, you need to remember your strategies, your alliances, your enemies."

He walked to the window and looked out at the dark grounds. "This world is not just about fighting, Dimitri, it is about power, politics, knowing who to trust and who to destroy."

I sat there feeling frustrated and helpless. "Then help me remember, help me get my memories back."

"We will," the man said. "But it takes time, forcing memories can damage your mind permanently."

"How long?" I asked. "How long will this take?"

"I do not know," the man admitted. "Days, weeks, months maybe, every case is different."

Months? I could not wait months, not with my brother out there, not with that woman, Irina, somewhere possibly in danger.

"Tell me about her," I said suddenly. 

"Tell me about Irina, the pregnant woman, who is she?"

The man's face became unreadable. "She was yours."

"Was?" I repeated.

"You loved her," the man said carefully. "You wanted to marry her, but your brother became obsessed with her."

"And now she is pregnant," I said. "Is the baby mine?"

The man's face darkened. "No, the baby is your brother's."

The words stung for some reason, even though I could not remember her, even though I did not know her.

"So she chose him," I said quietly.

"She did not choose anything," the man said harshly. "Your brother took her by force, he kidnapped her, and held her prisoner."

Rage exploded in my chest suddenly, hot and fierce. "Did he rape her?"

"Yes," the man said simply.

I stood up abruptly. The chair fell backwards behind me. "Where is she now? Is she safe?"

"She is being taken care of," he said vaguely.

"That is not an answer," I said. "Where is she?"

"Somewhere safe," the man said firmly. "Somewhere far from here, far from you and your brother."

"Why?" I demanded. "Why send her away?"

"Because she is a complication," the man said coldly. "As long as she is around, you and your brother will fight over her, and more people will die."

"So you just sent her away?" I asked. "Without asking me?"

"You do not remember her," the man said. "And she understands that it is better this way."

"Better for who?!" I shouted. "Better for you?"

The man's eyes flashed with anger. "Better for everyone, including her, including the baby. Do you want that child to grow up in this world of violence?"

"I want to see her," I said stubbornly. "I want to talk to her, maybe she can help me remember."

"No," the man said with finality. "She is gone, and she will stay gone. You need to accept that and move forward."

"Who tried to kill me then?" I asked suddenly. "If not my brother, then who?"

The man walked back to his desk and sat down heavily. "One of the other mafia families," he said. "They were angry at you for destroying their business."

"Which family?" I demanded.

"The Morozov family," the man said.

"And my brother?" I asked. "Where does he fit into all this?"

"Your brother is not innocent," the man said. "He has his own sins, his own crimes, but the accident was not his doing."

I sat back down in the chair, my mind was racing. "So what happens now?"

The man was quiet for a moment, silently thinking. "I am going to bring your brother back."

"What?" I asked, shocked. "Why would you do that?"

"Because despite everything, you are still brothers," the man said. "You are both my responsibility, both my sons."

"After what he did to Irina?" I said angrily. "After he forcefully took her away from me?"

"He will answer for his crimes," the man said. "But not now, not yet, right now, I need both of you alive and safe."

"I do not understand," I said.

"You will," the man said. "In time, but for now, when your brother returns, we will act like nothing happened."

"Act like nothing happened?" I repeated incredulously. "How can I do that?"

"Because you do not remember," the man said simply. "To you,
he is just your brother, you have no memories of Irina, no memories of what he did."

"That is insane!" I shouted.

"That is survival," he corrected. "In this world, sometimes we must pretend and wait for the right moment."

He stood up and walked to the door. "Rest now, tomorrow we begin your training, we will help you remember who you are, piece by piece. I will bring your brother home. We will all pretend that nothing is wrong, until the time is right.”

This is insane!