Page 59 of Corruption

“You… you’re not angry.”

Isaak huffs. “Why would I be angry at you for thinking the worst of my father when I’ve seen that the worst is already as bad as you think it is?” Isaak looks away from me, eyes focused on the television before he quietly mutters, “He killed my mother, you know. He was going to kill me too since I was illegitimate and all. But Aunt Nadia found out I existed and stopped him. That’s how they started dating, you know? Aunt Nadia forcing him to take responsibility for me and revealing me to my grandfather.” Isaak pauses again. “Then… then he tried to have her killed. If not for my uncle, he would have.”

“How’d Alik stop him?” I ask.

“He married her. Making her a Vorobev saved her. Though I heard Grandfather wasn’t happy about that. It’s why he lost his inheritance.”

I frown. “His inheritance?”

“Yeah. My uncle was supposed to bepakhan. Oldest legitimate son and all. But as punishment for defying his order to kill Nadia, Grandfather took it from him in front of the entire brotherhood.” Isaak shakes his head. “At least, that’s the story I heard. But that doesn’t matter to any of this. What matters is that I don’t want you to marry my dad as much as you don’t want to. I don’t want him to decide to kill you too when it’s convenient. Hell, he might kill you when it’s not convenient. Look at what happened with my grandfather. He was sick and about to die and Dad was making a lot of the decisions anyway. My dad is just… he can be cruel like that.”

I knew if I explained myself, Isaak would help. People like us always help each other. But I still can’t help but be suspicious. I have to be.

“You’d technically be working against your brotherhood.”

“No. I’d be working against my dad. Besides, it’s only fair seeing that if our suspicion is true, he would have been working against the brotherhood first. At the very least, my dad has to know who it was that really killed my grandfather. He has to know if he thinks he can get away with blaming Addy Fantoni for it of all people.”

“You know, if Vaughn really did kill his father and I tell my dad… I can’t promise I can convince my dad to have mercy on him,” I admit.

“Can’t say I’d be upset if you’re not able to. Then I could come live with my aunt.”

Not his aunt and uncle, but just his aunt. And it occurs to me that before Nadia broke up with his father when he tried to kill her, he likely saw her as a mother. Likely still does based on the way he lights up when he sees her and the way Nadia does the same.

Isaak adds, “Besides, you’re clearly important to Aunt Nadia and Uncle Alik. The least I can do is help you out.”

I don’t know what he means by important to Nadia and Alik. Nor do I ask. I don’t want to think that Alik, Nadia, and I haven’t been as discreet as we’ve thought we were being. Because if Isaak can see it, there’s no way that Vaughn…

I shake my head of the thought.

“You’re important to them too. Don’t do anything that will endanger you.” Isaak gives me a dry look so I add, “Endanger you more than living with your father already does.”

Isaak nods and turns back to the movie because there’s really nothing left to say about his father or what I’ve asked him to do for me. For now, it’s a waiting game.

Hopefully, the wait will end before I’m forced to walk down the aisle to Vaughn.

In the meantime, I’ll have to prepare for the worst.

23

Alik

The title ofpakhanwas supposed to be mine.

I was raised to inherit it. Groomed to be able to tolerate all the duties that came with the title.

But then it was taken, and while I still have some bitterness about that, I can’t say that I’m terribly upset that I’m not the one who has to help plan these end-of-the-year galas and make nice with all our business partners and smile for their families.

Nadia has always been good at these things. Even though as the youngest of four children in her family, none of that was expected of her. She thrives at social gatherings, which is part of the reason we’ve kept so many of our business partners in both our legal and illegal business. Not even Vaughn can undervalue her work and efforts. If I werepakhan, just her ability to socialize and the fact that people like her so much alone would make her a valuable wife and partner regardless of whether I loved her or not.

But tonight, Nadia’s not interested in our guests. Tonight, she’s giving Kiya a personal tour of the botanical gardens that we’ve rented for tonight’s gala. Looking like a lovesick teenager as she aims to impress and wow Kiya with her knowledge of horticulture. Kiya is smiling and nodding politely, but it’s clear that a lot of it is going over her head.

As entertaining as it is to watch them together, I decide to intervene and save Kiya from Nadia’s rambling.

“I think,” I say, coming up behind Nadia and pulling her to me, “that’s enough education for one night.”

“I was just trying to bond with her. I feel so left out when you two get to talking about your art and drawings,” Nadia comments. “Besides, I was just getting to the interesting stuff.”

“And what’s that, Nadezhda?”

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