Page 83 of The Disputed Legacy
Pulling myself away, I left to go meet my brothers at the main dock where we did business. Knowing the security I’d ordered would be in place to keep Willow and Oscar watched over, I hurried to see what was going on now.
I had been walking so much since staying with Willow that getting in my car and driving somewhere seemed weird. I adjusted, though, and envisioned driving her to my place. Or even to my apartment at the Ivanov building where the others lived.
I arrived at the same time that Damon and Maxim did. Nik looked like shit, clearly tired, but he blinked and shook his head, snapping to.
Hugo strolled up and nodded at me in a greeting before we started.
“You’re not a Romano,” Nik stated.
I rolled my eyes. “No shit.”
“The tests came back yesterday evening, and I took the time to share them with Dominic’s capos,” Maxim said. “All of them are independent services so he can’t make up any other bullshit. I billed him for the tests too.”
We all chuckled at that. We had more money than any of us could spend in our lifetimes. Requesting reimbursement was petty, but funny.
“Now that that’s cleared,” Nik added, “we’ve got more intel on when Father was poisoned.” He paused to yawn, even though what he said next was a serious matter. “Katerina did a little more digging and she uncovered the proof that Dominic had hired the contractors to poison him. And to capture me. It matches what we figured, that Anton and Dominic were partners. The trail of paperwork and transactions Katerina found points at the Romanos being the orchestrators of the operations.”
“That’s enough for me.” Maxim’s expression turned stony. “It’s time to end them.”
“Why?” Damon teased. “Because Sloane’s pregnant again?”
Maxim smiled and shrugged. “Well, Iwillbe busier. It would be nice to have the peace of mind that Dominic and his circus are no longer going to be a nuisance.”
“A nuisance?” I joked with a shake of my head. “More like an instigator of the lamest bullshit I’d ever heard.” I couldn’t help but take their stupid claim that I was Dominic Romano’s son, not Grigory Ivanov’s, as an insult.
“Katerina is still determined to unearth who could have ordered us to be taken all those years ago. Anton wasn’t in poweryet, but that might have been his first action to get into power.” Nik shrugged.
“That’s a long way back for her to hack,” Damon said.
“True, but like I said, she’s determined.” Nik smiled.
“And with how stubborn she’s always been,” Maxim quipped, “she won’t give it up.”
“We’ll see,” Nik said.
“It’s so long ago, though, that I’d rather it stay in the past,” Damon said. “What good would it do to know who Beatrice conspired with to get us taken? It’s done and dealt with.”
She’d been killed. Father ended her life when he learned that she’d played a role in letting my brothers be kidnapped.
If Anton Kozlov had a part in it, he was dead and his family name was no longer in existence.
And if Dominic Romano ordered that operation, well, he’d be dead soon too.
We spoke a little more about the merits of whether we could have closure about when my brothers were taken. It wouldn’t change the past, and they weren’t too hung up about finding answers that wouldn’t change anything now.
“I’d rather focus on the future,” I said. It was frustrating to deal with a dispute over my legacy, and I wanted to spend all my energy on building mine like my brothers had. I wanted to grow on the happiness I could find and the love I could enjoy with Willow and Oscar.
Several minutes later, Maxim took charge of the conversation again and concluded the next step. “It’s time to gather the leaders and put our plan of attack in action,” he told me.
I nodded, ready to make that happen as the brother he’d trusted to head this up.
“Which means you’ve got to come home,” he said. “I don’t want you distracted handling whatever you’re doing with this waitress.”
“We’ll be too busy pulling this off,” Damon said, giving me a patient look.
“I know. And I’ll be there.” I heaved out a deep breath. I knew it was time to get this going. Our goal of eradicating the Romanos had been in the works for so long already.
I wanted to take my time with Willow, but it seemed that this would be the condition to move it up on my schedule.
