Page 31 of Sweetest Sin
“Not my problem.” I shrug as he crawls toward the wall so he can use it to help himself stand. “A deal is only as good as the men who make it, and the men who made that deal are both dead.”
“You don’t understand,” he whines, standing and hobbling over to us.
He’s dripping blood all over the floor, and I’m almost positive a tooth is missing, but he isn’t giving up.
“Without her, I’m fucked,” he says. “My dad said the only way he’d consider letting me take over the business was if I married her.”
“Then, you’re fucked.” I step into his space and pull out my 9mm. “The deal is as dead as our fathers, and as far as I’m concerned, so is any business Antonov Enterprises had with Rothschild International. I’m going to give you two choices. You take the loss and walk away. Or I put a bullet in your chest and you go away permanently. The call is yours. Either way, this is over.”
“This is fucking bullshit,” he hisses.
I raise my gun, ready to kill him. But before I’m forced to do so, he puts his hands up and leaves.
“You know he’s going to be a problem,” Matteo says once Anthony is gone.
“There’s nothing he can do. You heard what he said. His dad didn’t even leave him the company. If he does cause problems, then we’ll put him down. But with our father’s and Joseph’s deaths, all eyes will be on us, and the last thing we need is more attention drawn to us if Anthony goes missing.”
We might have several cops in our pockets, but we also have a legitimate business to run, and with Andrey’s and Joseph’s deaths, people are going to talk. If Anthony comes up missing or dead, fingers will point straight at us, which will be bad for business.
Before Andrey’s, Giuseppe’s, and Joseph’s fathers got ahold of this city, it was filled with poverty that nobody wanted to touch. But they cleaned up the streets, secured employment, and helped protect businesses. And then Andrey, Giuseppe, andJoseph took over—taking what their father’s did to the next level.
The city might be corrupt, but it’s thriving, thanks to our families. When people see us, they both respect and fear us, but most importantly, they trust us. But trust can be taken away as easily as it is given. And if we start killing each other off, we’re going to lose their trust.
“This whole thing is a fucking mess,” Matteo mutters.
“Nah, it’s really not. Our father and Joseph were both loose cannons, and now, they’ve been removed from the equation. The arranged marriages are done, which is a win for Brielle and me. Giuseppe will either cooperate or we’ll cut him out too. The fact is, our father has been carrying them on his back all these years. Joseph was dead weight, and if Giuseppe is smart, he’ll get on board.”
“Holy shit.” Matteo barks out a laugh. “It’s really fucking happening. Andrey’s dead, and we’re taking over. And we didn’t even have to lift a finger for it to happen.”
I chuckle. “It’s really happening. If Joseph wasn’t dead, I’d send him a fruit basket as a thank-you. Maybe I’ll send his wife one.”
“Speaking of Maria, do you think she’s going to take over Rothschild International?”
“I don’t know, but it doesn’t matter,” I tell him as we walk out. “Our business with them is over. I’m going to meet with our legal team to ensure all ties are cut. And if Giuseppe gives me shit about the way we plan to run the business, we’ll cut him out too. I’ve been playing our father’s game for too long, and I’m done.”
“What the helldo you mean, Brielle is on her way to Russia?” I bark, making my mom jump. “We were gone for a few damn hours, and you shipped her off to another country?”
“I didn’t ship her anywhere,” Mom says, glaring at me. “And don’t you take that tone with me. She wanted to go, and I agreed.”
“And who gave you the right to make that decision?” Matteo cuts in.
“I’m her mother,” Mom says, redirecting her glare at Matteo. “I might have messed up while your father was alive, cowering to that piece of shit, but he’s gone now, and I’ll be damned if, even in his death, he continues to hurt her. She lost her boyfriend and was terrified of having to marry that horrible man, and I wasn’t going to let it happen.” She steps into my face, and even in heels, she only comes up to my chest, but fuck if I’m not proud of my mom for finally standing up for herself. “I’m not going to let it happen.”
“It’s not happening,” I tell her. “I already told Anthony that the deal was off. I appreciate you trying to protect Brielle, but I was never going to let that deal go through.”
Mom’s blue eyes soften, and tears form in her lids. “Is he really gone?” she chokes out.
“He’s really gone.” I open my arms, and she falls into them, letting out a guttural cry. “He’s never going to hurt you again.” I lean over and kiss the crown of her golden-blonde hair. “I’m so fucking sorry we couldn’t stop him sooner.”
“There’s nothing you could’ve done,” she says through her cries. “The only way was to kill him, and up until last year, had he died, we would’ve lost everything. He made sure of that.”
What she means is, up until last year, our father’s will stated that if he died, Giuseppe would take over the company and make the decisions as he saw fit. It was Andrey’s way of controlling me. But after his Alzheimer’s diagnosis, he gave in and changed his will to state that if he died, everything would go to me. Which was why Matteo and I were working on figuring out a way to kill him, but we wanted to do it right because of the three companies being tangled with one another.
But with Joseph’s death, it will force Giuseppe to take a side—us or the Rothschilds—and we all know he’d rather get in bed with the one he knows than the one he loathes.
“You and Brielle are safe now,” Matteo says. “She doesn’t need to go to Russia.”
“But she does,” Mom says with a frown. “She needs a break from this life. She’s going to finish her classes online and spend time with your grandparents. Polina and Boris are excited for her to join them.”
