This motherfucker knows my threats aren’t empty, nor are they something to be trifled with. I’ve already taken Anastasia and his business through the marriage contract. I will also be relieving him of his senior position in the Bratva. Meaning the fucker will lose everything. I would have loved to kick him out completely, but I didn’t want to raise any red flags.
He knows if I unleash all the serious dirt I have on him, he’ll have more than just me to fear. And more than himself to worry about. His weakness is his daughter, but he wasn’t thinking of her when he got up to all sorts of shady shit that would get him in trouble with the Pakhan and drag her in, too.
“I think we’re done here.” I tap the lapel of his jacket and turn away to leave.
Desperation must have made him crazy because he catches my arm and pulls me back, looking like a helpless animal who’s been caught in a snare.
Glaring down at his fingers, I seethe, and he releases me.
“Please don’t tell her what I did.” His voice comes out in a hurried rush. “She won’t understand. She’s good… Not like me. Please don’t tell her.”
I laugh. I can’t help it. The asshole doesn’t want his sweet daughter knowing he’s a monster. “What shouldn’t I tell her, Uther? There’s so much.”
“None of it.”
“We’re part of the Russian Mafia. I’m sure she knows you’re not a good man.” The princess didn’t look like she’d been kept in the dark.
“This is different.”
I agree, but why should I do him any favors? I don’t owe him shit.
There’s bad, there’s evil, and there’s soulless. Those whose souls are so tarnished and dark there is nothing human left in them. That’s Uther, and by the end of this, it might be me, too.
“Worry about yourself, Uther. Not your daughter’s opinion of you.”
The only reason I won’t tell Anastasia everything is to protect my plans to punish him. No one must find out about that, because knowing what I know would make me liable too. The Knights’ law contains ways of punishing people like him, but he would only be accountable for the dirt I found on him. Not the crimes against Mom and me. Because our deaths were ordered by my father, they’d consider Uther as acting within his duties. That’s why I’m taking matters into my own hands
The best part is no one will ever know, unless I choose to tell them.
To everyone, even if they have some suspicion that I have a vendetta against Uther, I’ll just look like I’m honoring the marriage contract and securing a partnership with Sidorov Developments.
“She’ll want to see me. You have to let me see her.”
“How about you don’t tell me what I have to do.”
“But I—”
Uther’s words die in his throat when Leif steps forward and grabs his shirt. “Enough, Uther Sidorov. I believe my nephew has given you a sufficient answer. Be grateful we’ve allowed you to keep your life. You will see your daughter at the wedding, and not before.” Leif stares him down. “You will not contact her or make any further demands. Do you understand me?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Now fuck the hell off.”
My uncle may seem like the placid type, but he’s far from it. He’s silent and deadly and has wanted Uther’s head for years.
When Leif rescued me in Russia, Uther was already gone, but I was able to identify him when I recovered. I begged Leif to leave him for me to deal with when the time was right.
This is my time now, and I plan to destroy him.
“Please don’t hurt her, Desmier.” One last plea from the loving father, but it falls on deaf ears.
Leif and I leave him standing there, drowning in the sea of worries he created for himself.
We make our way outside into the burst of crisp fresh air and rain, but I can still feel Uther’s eyes burning holes into me.
I have the upper hand now, but I know I need to watch him. No matter what dirt I have or how powerful it is, Uther will be trying to find some way of getting his daughter back and restoring his plans. He undoubtedly loves her, but she was his biggest investment. Now he’s broke and trapped under my thumb.
When Leif and I reach the parking lot, we stop and look at each other, silently acknowledging the ball of destruction we just set in motion.