Page 143 of Ruthless Lullaby

"BREAKING NEWS: Jennifer Shirkova, Daughter of Business Mogul Leonid Shirkov, Found Dead at 24."

Chert Voz’mi!

This is bad.

Very fucking bad.

Sweat beads on my forehead, and a cold shiver runs down my spine at the brutal impact of this.

How?

How the fuck?

We delivered the kidney and the transplant was successful.

Was it not?

I skim through the article and I feel the blood boil in my veins for the second time this evening. I can’t fucking believe that I’m reading this. Words like "waiting for kidney transplant" and "tragic loss" jump out like daggers piercing through my gut.

Cold beads of sweat break out on my temples as the implications crash over me. I’m the only person in the entire world who understands what this truly means.

It means that my fucking loser half-brother, Maurice, stabbed me in the back once again.

He was supposed to set up the kidney deal with Shirkov and he failed. He fucking failed! And not only that, but he lied to me. He told me that the transplant had been completed. He told me that the whole deal was a success and I fucking believed him.

And through it all, he kept a straight fucking face.

Maurice. He couldn’t even get this right. Maybe he didn’t even give a shit about getting it right. He just wanted his thirty percent so he could spend it on booze and stuff it into a slot machine at Marble Monkey. He kept feeding me bullshit every time I asked for an update, the slimy fucker. He even spun a tall tale about being at the hospital, overseeing the transplant.

Ublyudok!

I should have known better. Maybe I’m the one responsible for all of this. But I’m definitely the one who has to face the consequences. Shirkov lost his daughter and that’s on me. He’s going to start a fucking war against me and my family and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. All I can do is try to protect those close to me and fight back.

"What do you want to do, boss?" Pavel's voice is laced with worry. Besides me, he’s probably the only one who understands what this means.

"I need to go find that motherfucker Maurice,” I growl, barely containing my fury. “He hasn't picked up his phone since morning."

"Want me to come with you?"

"I need time to think," I say firmly. "Stay with Igor and keep an eye on the crowd. I'll let you know when I need you."

As Pavel leaves, I call Maurice for the tenth fucking time today, but just like before, it goes to voicemail. Of course, it fucking does. Jesus Christ, how is it that the most important day of my life is turning into this fucking nightmare? First, Mindy betrays me by sharing my most confidential secrets with her sister and now Maurice stabs me in the back?

Jesus, what I would do for a fucking drink right now. My throat burns with thirst as I think about it. But I can’t lose my shit. I have to keep it together and salvage what’s left of this goddamn shitshow. The Tramoxine demonstration in the Silver Room is still going well. That’s what matters most. Even though my fucking heart is breaking to pieces, especially by Mindy’s betrayal. As for Maurice, I’m going to start by kicking his hobo ass and cut ties with him for good. This was the last fucking time he pulled a stunt like this.

Jennifer Shirkova is dead.

Her father is probably raging.

He lost his only daughter and he’s got no one else to lose.

There is nothing more dangerous than a powerful man who has nothing to lose. First things first, I must secure protection for the people close to me. Even Mindy and Maurice, no matter their betrayal. As soon as fucking possible, that is. I also need to arrange protection for my mansion. My mother and my brother, Timofey, live there. Because there is no doubt in my mind that Shirkov will unleash hell upon me. I’m the one he’s going to blame for his daughter's death. And the worst fucking thing about it all is that he’s right. He’s going to start his revenge plan by taking out the people closest to me. I cannot let that happen.

Fuck!

This is exactly why you can’t lose your shit, mudak!

Mindy may have betrayed me, but I’ll deal with that myself. I’m not going to let Shirkov kill her. The thought alone makes me want to fucking murder someone. Nobody touches my woman but me.

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