Page 229 of The Devil's Fire

“After all these years, you’re still loyal to her?” He spat out. Nestor gave a small smirk and shrugged his shoulders. “I should kill you for being loyal to someone else.”

“It’s not someone else. It’s Solnishko.” He said, as if he hadn’t just been threatened to be killed.

“Whoa, whoa, back up! You tried to kill my mom?!” I exclaimed in shock.

“Nothing new about that. We tried to kill each other many times.” Mr. Vasiliev said casually.

“We all know if she really wanted to kill you, she would have.” Nestor added, making Mr. Vasiliev scowl at him.

“That damned woman stabbed me.” He erupted. One of his men chuckled but immediately stopped when he got one sharp glare from him.

“I need to sit down.” I was overwhelmed by everything they said. “That doesn’t sound like my mom at all. Well, not that I would know because I just found out she had a whole different side to her life I had no idea about.” I sighed.

Had I really been that naive and oblivious to everything that had been going on?

“Where is she? Why isn’t she here?” Mr. Vasiliev looked at me. I looked at Nestor, seeing his expression darken.

I let out a breath as I faced Mr. Vasiliev, feeling my eyes fill up with tears.

“She’s gone…” My voice came out in a whisper, and the room fell silent. It was so quiet that I could hear a pin drop.

“Pust’ yeye dusha pokoitsya v mire.” Nestor and the two other men said in unison.

Mr. Vasiliev was silent, his face and eyes blank as he looked at me. But the look on my face was enough for him to close his eyes, face away from me, and go to look out of the window.

Nestor sat in front of me on the coffee table, letting out a sigh.

“What did that mean?” I asked him quietly.

“May her soul rest in peace.” He explained. I gave a small nod, grateful for their words. “She was an amazing woman. She may have hidden many things from you, but she wanted you to live a normal and quiet life. And she did a good job raising you.” He smiled, which I returned.

“Were the two of you close?” I asked.

“If there was one woman I would happily take a bullet for, it would be her.” Nestor said, making me smile with him. “You look better now.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was at the funeral when I found out.” He said, glancing at my stomach.

I swallowed hard when he did, fighting the urge to wrap my arms around my stomach.

“How?”

“I have my ways.” He explained, and I didn’t question it any further. My gaze landed on Mr. Vasiliev’s back as he continued to look out of the window.

“I don’t understand. I remember him saying he cared about her, but why would they try to kill each other?”

“They had a rather… complicated relationship. He’s a stubborn man, and she was an even more stubborn woman. They drove each other crazy all the time but still loved each other.” Nestor said, and I just let all the information sink in, still in shock that my mother had been in a relationship with Mr. Vasiliev.

“Last time I saw her, she tried to kill me.” Mr. Vasiliev spoke, his back still facing us. “Then she disappeared. She loved to do that to me, and she was good at it, always going by different names to make sure I wouldn’t be able to find her.” He turned around and made his way back to the couch, pouring himself a drink before he continued.

“Eventually, I stopped caring and left her alone to live whatever life she wanted. A couple of years later, she appeared in front of me again. Now I realize how she was able to always find me.” He gave a look to Nestor, who just shrugged him off.

“At some point, I found out she married Gaetano Volante. An Italian. That pissed me off. But I was more pissed at myself for letting her go, which resulted in her getting married.” He downed his drink with a somber look on his face.

After hearing this from him and remembering what my mother had said when Arianna and Cara were over for a sleepover, made my heart ache for both of them. My mother never truly loved my father. Maybe that was why she decided enough was enough and left with me.

“I think it’s safe to say she never stopped loving you. She wouldn’t have kept the picture and all those letters if she did.” I spoke softly to him. He let out a small smirk at my words.

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