Page 79 of Unfulfilled Promises
“Four or five years ago, before Regan was brought to the house we were living in, Mother tasked me with finding hidden money some associate of the Syndicate supposedly hid. After some digging, I found he had some hidden Bitcoin, and after I convinced Mother there wasn’t anything but rumors, she backed off and I claimed the Bitcoin, allowing it to grow. I wanted a new life, a fresh start somewhere away from the evil that Mother brought into the world, away from Sergey Junior, and in no way connected to the Syndicate. But when she died, I didn’t know which way was up.”
Hannah sniffled as Waylon ran his hands through his dirty hair and looked up at the ceiling before returning his gaze to the camera. “She was an evil woman, but she was my mother, and the only family I had. My dad died when I was a baby, and without Mother, I was lost and alone. The years prior, I had been in the shadows, sprinkling money on their needs, keeping them spinning in circles, but with her gone, the few remaining members were running scared.”
He looked directly into the camera as he admitted, “I swear, I had no idea Giovanni would take Regan and that poor Volkovs girl, and I got him away from them the first moment I knew. Ileft him for you to handle, and I thought if I could take the last one of them down, I’d finally repent for the bad I things I’ve done.” He shook his head. “There’s no redemption. I warned Ricardo I was coming for him, and a week ago, I read his obituary online and knew it was over.”
James paused the video and turned to look at us. Hannah was sniffling on Rhys’s shoulder while Regan was pulled against me with tears filing her eyes as we listened to this poor young man explain the last months of his life.
“It gets a little darker here, and if you need me to stop, please say so.” James explained before restarting the video.
“There aren’t any more members for you to hunt. Giovanni and his little bitch boy, John, were the last two members trying to set up an initiation. I’ve looked through everything, I’ve searched high and low, and I believe the last standing members of any of the Syndicate founding families are Devlin, Lucian, and Stella Lenkov. Any other children aren’t aware of their lineage, and I know my word doesn’t mean anything, but I believe it’s over.” He lifted a glass and took a drink before he continued. “I took some pills, and I know it’s the cowards way out, but I’ve always been a coward. I never stood up to Mother, I allowed Sergey Junior to push me aside, and I was terrified of Ricardo and his weird obsession with Mother, but most of all, I’m tired. Tired of being pathetic. Tired of being spineless. Tired of being invisible.”
James paused it again, and Hannah was openly sobbing as Regan cried on my shoulder. James looked concerned by their emotional state, but I gave him a nod that said to turn it on. Let these ladies have the answers to the questions that have plagued them for months. He pressed play and Waylon began speaking again.
“The one thing I’m sorry for is not getting the chance to know my sister. I never knew about Hannah, but if I had, I would’vetried to be a better person, a better man. Please take care of her and make sure she knows how loved she is. Help her to forget me and all the pain our family caused her. And, please, tell Regan I’m sorry for not saving her sooner. I did the best I could, but Mother had me twisted up in my own mind, and I was terrified of going against her wishes. I should’ve been brave, but I’ve never known how.”
His eyes seemed to be growing heavy as he spoke. “Please, find the money Sergey took and spend every dime of it on frivolous things. Travel, see the world, give to charities, help the less fortunate, but don’t look back on any of us. We aren’t worth your time or energy, and once you put us in the past, I know your future is going to be better.”
He looked to the side and stayed that way for close to half a minute before he slowly turned his head to face the camera. “One last thing. Make sure I’m not buried anywhere near Mother. I don’t want to meet her in the afterlife, and I don’t want to spend eternity resting beside her. I know I don’t have the right to ask anything of you, not after all the pain you all have endured, but if there is any good in your hearts, you’ll give me this one thing.” He lowered his voice as he swayed in his seat. “I’ve never asked for anything, ever.”
Reaching forward, he pressed something and the video ended. James spoke softly as the women cried over Waylon. “He gave us an address in some small town just outside Tallahassee and said that’s where he would be.” James looked at Hannah. “He left account information and said he wanted you to have what was left of the Bitcoin money. He knew it wouldn’t fix anything, but he wanted to help however he could.”
“Why didn’t he call us? You were prepared to listen to him. Why did he think this was the way out?” Hannah asked through tears, looking at Rhys. “I don’t understand.”
Regan stood from her seat, and James and I gave a worried glance between us as she walked to the other side of Hannah and took a seat. She rubbed her sister-in-law’s back as Hannah turned to her. My beautiful woman spoke softly as she confessed something I’d never known about her.
“Being in that house, around all that anger and violence was harder than anything you can imagine. And he lived in it his entire life. I can’t tell you why he did it, but I can say I understand. Sometimes, life gets overwhelming, and in a moment of weakness, the demons in our mind can scream louder than the angels praying for our salvation. I’ve been there, but I had so much love, I had something positive to hold onto. Waylon never knew the good in life, or the love of family. And we may never know all the reasons why, but we can say he was a good man and will be missed.”
Hannah turned and hugged Regan as we looked on in sadness. James’s phone rang and he pulled it out and looked at the screen as Hannah and Regan turned their attention to him. “What did you find?” James asked the person on the phone, and he lifted his eyes past me to Hannah. “Okay. Is there anything else? Don’t make any calls until I call you back. Give me five.”
He disconnected the call and, with tenderness in his voice, he said, “I’m so sorry, Hannah.”
A fresh round of tears fell down her face as Rhys pulled her from her seat and into his lap. Waylon and Hannah weren’t close, in fact, they’d known each other less than a year, but he was her brother, and the sadness must be overwhelming. Regan left her seat and returned to the one next to me. She turned and spoke quietly to James.
“Can you have Lucian and Devlin make arrangements to have Waylon brought home so his family can give him a proper burial?”
James nodded and stood from his seat to walk out of the room. He pulled his phone out just as he closed the door behind him. Hannah was calming down as her tears slowed and I could tell Regan’s heart was breaking for Hannah. No one wanted to hurt Waylon if he wasn’t involved, but sometimes, people can’t fight against their demons anymore, and they choose to end the suffering.
‘Are you okay?’ I mouthed to Regan, and she shrugged.
That was the answer I would have given too. On one hand, I felt bad that Hannah lost the last member of her family, sort of. On the other, the last piece of the puzzle was in place, and with Waylon’s death, the Syndicate was no more. Their reign of terror and nightmares was over and, at least for the foreseeable future, we were all safe.
Taking Regan’s hand into mine, I kissed the back and then leaned over, kissing her softly. She rested her forehead against mine and whispered, “I love you.”
With everything she’d lived through and all the heartache she’d endure, Regan still led with her heart and compassion for others. She could have taken her experience and allowed it to turn her hard, but she took the pain and turned it into perseverance.
And for that, she was remarkable.
Chapter 37
Regan
We’d just left the cemetery from burying Waylon and my heart was breaking for Hannah. She broke down the day we watched the video, but since then, she seemed numb. I couldn’t imagine what she’d been going through, and I tried not to put myself in her shoes. If I lost Rhys or James, I would be devastated.
Seth and I were riding in his SUV, headed to his house to feed Edgar before we went to Rhys’s for the after-funeral dinner he had catered. I offered to cook, but he didn’t want me to go to so much trouble, insisting on having someone bring food in.
And I mean everyone. Devlin, Elise, James, Amaya, Hayden, Aubrey, Gunner, Sadie, Skid, Grace, Needles, Violet, Jackal, Rose, Hailey, Jacob, Hawk, Stella, Lucian, Rylee, Caldwell, and Booker were all in attendance, showing the proper mourning for someone who we now realized was trying to help, even when it looked like he wasn’t.
Pulling up to the house, Seth lifted my hand and kissed the back as he asked, “How are you holding up?”
