Page 69 of Cruel Existence

“My understanding is that her Uncle Gio wouldn’t let her return home. She had no choice but to stay in New Orleans and continue with the Amato plan. But that’s just a rumor. Ican’t say for sure,” Viktor responded. He looked at Nikoli to confirm the information.

“Nik, you said she left the city. You told me she left.”

“She did,” he answered gruffly. “For a long time. Months. We lost track of her.”

I ran my fingers through my hair. The last report I had on her was five years ago and I didn’t want another one. As far as I was concerned, I had kept her safe. I had saved her life. My father, Maksim, and Nikoli agreed to leave her alone after I handled Lorenzo. Nothing made sense.

“Then how is she here?” I demanded.

Viktor shuffled papers around, fumbling with an answer. “I think your father was too embarrassed to tell you. I’m sure he told the brigadiers not to mention a word.”

Nik nodded. That was the problem with our line of power. My father’s directives usurped mine.

I paced around the room. “And he didn’t kill her?”

Nik shuffled in his seat. His large frame awkwardly positioned in the chair. “She moved back into the mansion after being gone for months. She didn’t do anything that was on our radar. There was no reason to kill her.”

Viktor shrugged. “A pretty face, but a lethal business mind. It has its draws. He was planning a merger with her. He thought she could be an ally. She was useful to him alive.”

I whipped around. “What do you mean?”

Viktor reluctantly withdrew a contract with my father’s seal on the letterhead. I ripped it from his hands and scanned the page. “This is a fucking marriage contract. My marriage contract.” I balled it up and threw it across the room. “He never mentioned this to me.” My father hated the Italians. Was I to believe he was going to bring me back from Europe to marry Amara?

“He had me draw it up only days before he died. No one else had seen the document.”

“So she hasn’t seen it?” I asked. I looked at Nikoli and he seemed as surprised as I was about the suggestion I marry Amara.

Viktor shook his head. “And by the state the contract is in, I’m guessing you don’t want me to present it to her?”

“Fuck no,” I growled.

I poured another drink. I needed to think.

“What do I do? How do I get the properties back? I want the distillery.” I didn’t want to talk about a merger or marrying Amara. That was out of the question.

“You’d have to exceed your projected profits for the next three quarters. She already takes a hefty share of all the revenue. Her Capos are known for high interest rates.”

I ran my hands through my hair. “How did my father allow this to happen? He never mentioned one damn word to me about her. We’re run by the Capos now?”

Viktor expected the questions. He was the only one who knew the full extent of the damage. “He tried to expand in shipping to beat out Lorenzo once he lost the tunnels. He overspent. He didn’t know the market well enough in the northeast. When things floundered, Amara set up a meeting and offered to bail Dmitry out. She was an expert in that part of the country.”

I blinked. “And he accepted her offer?”

“He did. And more than once. It’s been going on for three years. She became his bank. It’s all here in the files. She has a hold on almost everything in the Novikov Organization.”

“Fuck,” I muttered, refilling my glass for a third time.

Viktor cleared his throat. “But there is one corner of the business she doesn’t own.”

“What is it?”

“Well, Katya and Andrey came to your father a few months ago. One of Katya’s friends wanted a financial backer to start her company. Your father offered to fund it a hundred percent. He is the sole investor.”

“Oh shit. Tell me it’s not a bridal shop. Or a horse. All of Katya’s friends ride.”

“It’s not.” Viktor unclipped his leather binder and retrieved a file. “It’s a small tech company.”

I felt the pit in my stomach rise to my throat. What was my dad doing in tech? We dealt in weapons, laundering, and drugs. Not tech.

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