Page 89 of Unfulfilled Promises
“I’m not positive, but I think there’s one more account,” I responded as the system asked for the passcode.
I turned and looked at Hannah, who had been watching with rapt curiosity. “I believe the last account belongs to Hannah.” She appeared shocked as I said, “And I think the passcode is protected.”
James typed the information into the computer as we all turned our attention to the screen. A moment later, the account balance appeared, reflecting the same amount as the others. Hannah began to cry, asking, “Why?” She wiped under her eyes as Rhys consoled her. “I never knew about him. Granny made sure of it, so why did he leave me anything?”
“The last few weeks before he died,” I started and cast a glance to Stella, “Sergey seemed to be reliving the past. He spoke of Lucian, Devlin, and Stella directly. Mostly childhood stuff, but he also spoke about things hidden from prying eyes. I alwaysassumed he was speaking of a mistress, or possibly referring to Hailey, but now, I think I understand.”
“Can you explain?” Hailey asked.
“I’m reaching here, and some of the details of those days are a little fuzzy, but my best guess is that Sergey knew his days were numbered. He and I talked every day, sometimes late into the night, and during those final days, he talked about his mistakes, and things he wished he could change. Mostly, he spoke of all his children and the suffering most of them endured because of the decisions he made. And before you think he was repenting, he wasn’t. I think, looking back at those conversations, that he was confessing. And realizing now that he knew he was my father, I think he wanted one of us to know he regretted not being a better father to all of us.”
“Why didn’t he ever show us any kindness?” Stella asked as her tears dried up.
“I don’t know. It was like there were two personalities inside him. One was a father who was proud of you, and the other was a psychopath who wanted to destroy everything. I think they fought each other for domination, and during those final days, he was at war inside his own mind.”
“There were more than two,” Lucian remarked, and that seemed to break the tension.
Devlin began to chuckle, and soon, Lucian, Stella, and I joined in. Hannah watched us before her smile turned into laughter, and before long, the entire room was filled with hilarity. Our noise drew the attention of everyone in the living room, and when they walked into the room, they looked at us like we were crazy
Maybe we were, but it was at that exact moment when we knew the nightmare was finally over. The last act Sergey did for us was to make sure he atoned for the wrongs he pushed on us.But no amount of money could ever make up for what we’d lived through.
Seth broke the laughter as he made a remark. “James, what’s that attached to the bottom of Hannah’s account?”
The laughter died off as we turned our attention back to the screen. He hovered over the attachment and looked at Devlin and Rhys before he clicked it.
“The system is triple secured, so whatever it is, it won’t get past that laptop,” Devlin remarked.
James clicked the icon and a video popped up on the screen. The image was of a window, and when I leaned forward, I recognized the oak tree branch outside. It was taken from the bedroom Sergey slept in at the house where he was killed.
“It’s from him,” I explained, and James looked around the room.
“Do we need to screen it first?” he asked Devlin and Lucian, who both looked at me.
“No. You can play it, but I don’t believe DJ needs to be here,” I said, and Elise looked at Aubrey and Hayden.
They took DJ and left the room before the little man could complain, and when he was gone, Elise moved to stand behind Devlin as James pressed play.
The sound of wind echoed across the mic before the devil himself, Sergey Lenkov, took a seat, staring down. None of us flinched as he lifted his hardened blue eyes to the camera and began to speak.
“I know I’m the last person you want to hear from, and I promise, I will keep this brief.” He paused and exhaled deeply as his gaze softened and the man I’d chatted with for hours appeared. Sitting up straight, I felt Seth wrap his arm around me as Sergey spoke. “I don’t deserve forgiveness from any of you, and I’m not going to ask. I know where I’ll be spending eternity, and I have no doubt I’ll pay a thousand times over forevery wrong I’ve done to each and every one of you. I wanted to tell you the money is clean. There was never any wealth stolen from the Syndicate. The Feds took it all, and I kept everyone chasing their tails as I reinvested income we made early in our endeavors, before the filth and vile seeped into us. The dividends were invested in high yield accounts, annuities, and various other things. They’ve been growing for years now, so please, take the money and live.”
He looked to the side, and when he looked back, I saw a twinkle in his eyes as he said, “It can’t make up for anything, but maybe it will make forgetting me easier.” He had one final thing to say, and it was directed at me. “To my brilliant little one, you outlived us all. Bravo, smart girl. Bravo.”
The screen went black, and I wiped the tears from under my eyes as Seth tugged me closer to him. Stella, Hannah, Hailey, and Elise were all shedding tears as Devlin and Lucian sat stunned. Hawk looked at James and Rhys with wide eyes, and when I felt a hand on mine, I turned to see James smiling at me.
“You won, Regan.”
I turned to look at Seth as I admitted, “I did.”
“So, what are we going to do with the money?” Hannah asked, and we all shrugged.
“I think there’s plenty of time to discuss it, and whatever everyone decides, I’ll support. Keep it, spend it, give it away. The choice is yours,” Stella remarked, and I nodded in agreement.
For the next few minutes, we sat around the table, discussing what our next step should be, but one thing was different. We weren’t planning an attack, a rescue, or an intervention. This time, we were planning a family get-together. The first in a public place since it seemed the threat to us all was finally over.
We stood and left the room to rejoin DJ, Aubrey, and Hayden in the living room, and after a while, everyone began to leave tohead back to Pierce Bluff. Hannah and Rhys said good night as Seth and I made our way to my part of the house.
Walking into my bedroom, he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling my back to his front. I rested against him, feeling his love as he silently held me.
