Page 17 of Brutal Bratva Boss

My heart rate kicks up at the memory. I remember the shock I felt that was shortly followed by anger. After being treated as nothing more than a commodity since that day I walked into Theo’s club looking for a way out, I did not appreciate suddenly being treated like a spy.

He looked genuinely upset that it could be the case. Dare I say, hurt, even? That in itself makes no sense. Theo has made it very clear that this whole thing is nothing more than a business arrangement, a way for him to gain some form of power over his rivals. So why did he seem distraught when faced with the idea that that is exactly what it is?

Shaking off the memory, I turn my attention to the sterile files that occupy most of the shelf space. Numbers run down each spine, with some symbols in between. At first, I think they might be a filing system, but after some calculations, I come to realize they appear to be dates. A form of a system, I suppose. The first file on each shelf also has names on them. I start at the top, and a little way down I pick up the pattern. These are rival mafias. I’ve heard my father mention some of these names.

Some of the shelves are lined with files, others house only a few. My hand stops on the shelf just above the halfway mark.

Patrov.

In an almost out-of-body experience, I pull down the first file and flip it open. I flick through the pages, most of them full of information I do not have the time to explore until the writing morphs into photos. Some of them are of people, some of locations. There are even a few of our house. Well, my father’s house, anyway.

I grab the next file, quickly working through the pages. Much like the first one, there is information and photos of some faces I recognize as my father’s men and some locations with names I have heard my father mention before. I start grabbing files at random, not caring much about the mess I’m sure I am making. Each one builds on the story now forming in my mind, like puzzle pieces slowly slipping into place.

From what I have seen, most of the failed operations my father has experienced in the past—the ones I know about anyway—can be traced back to these files. Every time my father lost shipments, business deals, or men, it would seem the Dubrovs were responsible. I do not think my father even realizes how much they are responsible for. Sure, there are always casualties when one is part of an organization like the Bratva, but some of those were good men. And it seems Theo is responsible. I am surprised that there is not much information about me. It seems my father did a good job of keeping me a mystery. That could mean that Theo truly did not know who I was until I told him. Or it could be that he knows everything about me, and it is just not in these files.

My legs feel numb as I take a step back, my eyes roaming over the multiple shelves with my father’s name. It is clear that Theo has devoted the most time and energy to finding out about my father and sabotaging his operations. In the corner of one of the lower shelves, some color catches my eye. Unlike the pale grey files, a stack of red ones makes up a third of one of my father’s shelves.

I grab the first one, flipping slower through these pages. There must be a reason they are so different from the others. I am not prepared for what I find. Lining these pages are plans detailing steps for framing my father for various heinous crimes ranging from small seemingly insignificant actions to monumental events. Some have already been carried out I am sure, judging by the familiar failed operations my father has tried to perform in the past. But some do not appear to have been set in motion yet - or maybe they have, who knows? My stomach churns at the graphic explanations, many of them involving crime bosses who would have my father’s head if any of it came to pass. They would dance on his grave without asking questions, and even if they were to learn the truth afterward, they would not care.

And Theo is the mastermind behind all of it. I do not want to believe that he could be capable of any of this, but the evidence is right in front of me.

The hatred he must hold towards my father for him to action any of this … It’s almost more than I can bear to imagine.

Briefly, I consider putting everything back the way I found it. Surely, I could do that, leave everything just so, and no one would be any wiser. I could simply leave this room, go back upstairs, and never speak of it again. Given what I have found, I am not sure what to expect if Theo finds out I was here, and that I gained access to information that I was not supposed to be privy to. Who knows how he will react? It would give traction to the narrative he has about me being here to betray him, however untrue it may be.

But he has betrayed me.

The thought cuts me deeper than I expect it to. I have already grown accustomed to the idea that this marriage is not real, simply a worldly name for something we have no desire to explain to anyone who does not understand how these things work.

But what I held in my hands only moments ago feeds the idea that Theo is indeed the monster I believed him to be, and once again, I have been nothing more than a pawn. I’ve been held hostage in the worst way; without me even fully realizing what was happening.

My mind made up, I carefully place everything back in its place. I smooth out the wrinkles in the carpet and slip out of the room. Then I head over to the seating area close to the front door and make myself comfortable.

I am not sure how long I sit there, waiting, but I know it is enough time for the afternoon light to fade away, and for every negative thought and feeling to stew. By the time I hear the front door open, and Theo comes into view, I am about ready to burst.

At first, he does not seem to notice me, too caught up in whatever he is looking at on the screen of his cell phone. He stills when he looks up and sees me, and his eyes scan the room as if he expects someone to jump out and ambush him.

Interesting, considering he is the one who has been scheming all along.

“What are you doing sitting in the dark?” he asks as he flips on the light.

I had not even realized how dark it had gotten. “I was looking for a room to use as a nursery.” Obviously, that does not answer his question, and the look he gives me confirms it.

“And did you find anything?”

“I did, actually. I found some very interesting reading material.” I lift my arm and point to the door on the other side of the room. “In there.”

Theo stills when he realizes where I am pointing. “Is that so?” he asks cautiously.

“Yes.” I stand, propping my hands on my hips. “When were you planning on telling me what kind of monster you really are? About your plans to make my father enemy number one?”

“Your father does not need any help in that department. He’s quite capable of making enemies all on his own. I was simply speeding up the process.”

The careless way he says it grates on me. “How could you do that? Condemn him to death?”

“I can guarantee you, he has done much worse, princess. Why does it bother you so much that he would get what he deserves?”

“He’s still my father!”

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