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He leaned forward and picked up a glass as well, a knowing glimmer in his eyes. “Maybe I’m getting a bit sentimental in my old age. But I've come to see you, Rafa. Cut the crap and accept that someone cares about you. It doesn’t hurt, you know? Accept family?”
I watched him down his drink. “Accepting family has never been the problem.”
It never was. Uncle Oleg and I had done business together in Moscow back then. We had worked well together, ruled with an iron fist, divided territories, and had been closely supervised by Vlad. After Vlad left Russia, he handed things over to me completely. The power was now on my shoulders and Uncle Oleg had to answer to me.
A few of us had expected him to make a fuss and demand recognition of his seniority. But he stayed by my side and helped me with the business. And those were the good old days. But now things had changed. It wasn't like it used to be.
I didn't need my uncle or anyone else to run things for me. The power I had been given was absolute, and when Vlad called me to New York and assigned me more territories, the power and responsibilities doubled.
I knew I was feared, revered, respected. And the news about my expansion traveled far and wide.
“I’m proud of you, Rafa.” He clasped his hands over the golden ball on his cane, eyeing me. “You have accomplished much more than I did when I was your age.”
I scoffed. “You make me sound young.”
“Well, you are. You are thirty-four, but as fast and smart as a teenage lad.” He tapped his cane on the soft carpet and chuckled. “Vlad did well for you.”
“But we both know that he’s not a philanthropist. He makes me work my ass off every night and every day.”
“And the hard work is paying off, or is it not?” He lifted a brow, inclining on the sofa. “I mean, after Vlad, you have Russia under your fingertips—one of the most powerful nations in the world is under your control, your beck and call, and now you have one of the most powerful cities under your control as well?”
I raised my shoulders and let them drop. Then, raised my glass. “To better days and more expansion ahead.”
He paused and stared at me for a moment before joining in the toast, laughing. We talked about some of the business going on in Russia and a few government officials we need to get on our side. Then, mid-sentence, out of nowhere, he asked, 'Did you go through with it? Did you find Liam?”
I dropped my glass and felt the hint of a smile flit across my lips. He finally got to the point and said what he had really come for: He wanted to talk about Liam Fetcher. I leaned back and looked straight at him.
“We caught him, and I have him locked up. I told you; I was going to get the bastard.”
The color left my uncle’s skin and he stared at me as if I had just confessed to murder. He frowned, shuffled on the seat, and slid forward. I didn’t understand why he was so worried until he said, “But Rafail, I thought I told you to leave it alone.”
“Leave it?” I hissed.
For a moment, the flashbacks of the week's events hit me hard. Everything came back to me all at once: Blowing Liam’s cover, stumbling upon Juliana again, bundling the three of them on a private jet to New York, and the final one that still had me boiling like a kettle on the stove, Juliana’s rejection, and total disdain for me.
I wasn’t sure why this blew my mind, but it did. And it made me loathe Liam even more because he was the reason for everything that had just happened. Hot blood rushed to my ears. I gritted my teeth and fought to stay calm.
“Why the hell should I leave it?” I pointed at his cane. “He did this to you, or have you already forgotten? He fucking shot you. He fucking betrayed us, Oleg. He walked among us like he belonged to us, and we were blinded. He was a traitor, and he needed to be dealt with. So, there was no way I was going to let this go.”
“Rafail,” he gestured with an outstretched arm as if to appease my anger. “I haven't forgotten, but that was years ago. I’m an old man now; I can’t go on living with a damn grudge against him. I've forgiven him. I had to. And I think you should too. You must let go of those ghosts of the past.”
“No fucking way! He almost killed you.”
He spread his arms with a warm smile. “And yet, I am still here.”
“What is done is done. Liam has made a lasting mark,” I glanced at his leg. “Unlike you, I don't forget so easily and forgiveness comes with a price.”
He sighed. The old man was tired of thinking he could get through to me. I had resolved from the second I started hunting Liam that I would not give up until I got my revenge. Now that we've caught him, I'm going to let him live, but the price he has to pay is–Juliana.
I looked up at him with my arms crossed in front of my chest. “Now that you're here, you should know, I will not kill Liam, but I will marry his cousin. Her name is Juliana.”
That had caught Oleg’s attention and he immediately frowned. “What? Why the fuck would you do that? She has the traitor’s blood in her veins. You can’t bring her into our family. If Liam could stab you in the back the way he did, she could murder you in your sleep.”
Juliana’s words resounded in my ears. I will never marry a monster like you!
My frown deepened and I stared at the ceiling. “Relax, uncle. U menya yest’ plan.” [I have a plan.]
Chapter 9 – Juliana
