Page 86 of Corruption

“You’re n—Oh. Sorry. Is this a revelation to you? I’m sorry for getting ahead of myself. I figured that’s why you were here. You’ve never gone out of your way to come talk to me.”

“You kidnapped me. Why would I?”

“We did,” Addy acknowledges. “But even you have to admit that being part of the Fantoni family is an upgrade from your biological family.”

“You sold me into an arranged marriage for your own benefit,” I say, unable to keep the disbelief out my tone.

“That’s true. And I apologize that was necessary. But you didn’t really think we’d just bring some random stranger into our home to go through this farce without really intending you to become part of the family, did you?” Addy asks.

“What?”

“We watched girls for months. You were one of many we considered. We knew she had to be special, and you proved very early on you were the right choice. Resilient. Clever. Intuitive. Ingenious. Not easily trusting. A survivor. Perfect for this lifestyle, and perfect for what we needed you for, but so innocent all the same. Adrian was rooting for you to win out over the other girls for a long time.”

“I… what?”

I used to think Addy was the more in tune with reality between her and husband. But to be with a man as out of touch socially as Adrian, I guess you have to be just as out of touch. Addy’s just better at hiding it. But it’s in moments like these that I’m reminded that she and Adrian are just two sides of the same coin. When she has the audacity to seem confused about why I’m not grateful to them for kidnapping me and forcing me into a marriage. Why I don’t go out of my way to try to bond with my pseudo-father and stepmother. Why I’m not jumping for joy at the opportunity to join their little mafia family because Adrian liked me while secretly spying on me.

Addy continues, “He had a fondness of you from the beginning. He really does see you as a daughter, you know. He was half hoping that Vaughn would fuck up and try to hurt you and give him a reason to make a move against Vaughn, but you never said anything. Then we saw the way you looked at Alik and Nadia and figured out why and decided we needed to change tactics.”

Suddenly, I’m overcome with anger. I’m tired of being used. I’m tired of being manipulated. I’m tired of being lied to. Especially by people who claim to care for me in some way, shape, or form.

“Well, I wish you’d let me in on that little secret before I had to find out the man and woman I slept with are the ones who killed Isaak Vorobev Sr.,” I snap.

Addy doesn’t react. She’s like her husband that way. Doesn’t react to things the way most people would. Is pretty much impossible to read. I’ve only ever been able to maneuver around them based on how I’ve dealt with others in the past. But as for tailoring my maneuvering to them specifically… it’s hard. I never figured out what was okay and what wasn’t around them because they don’t give much away unless they want to. And even then, I can’t trust it.

Finally, the woman hums and taps her nails on the table.

“Well. I wondered…”

“You wondered? You knew?”

“In this business, you have to consider all possibilities. Vaughn was the obvious choice and had the most to gain from his father’s death. But so did Alik and Nadia by proxy. It was confusing, though. Because if Alik wanted the seat of power, that would have also involved killing his brother and he didn’t do that. So there had to be some hidden motive. Did you figure that part out?”

“No. I couldn’t get all that from the autopsies and investigative reports. Just that Alik and Nadia did it and confirmed it.”

“Did they tell you why?”

“No I… I haven’t spoken to them since it happened a couple of days ago. And then…”

“They locked you up, and you escaped,” Addy says. She laughs. “They’re going to be worried sick about you when they find out you’re gone.”

“Worried I’m telling on them and going to get them killed?”

“Maybe. But also about you. You have a lot of power right now. You could probably make or break theBratvawith what you know. That makes you dangerous. A target. Which puts you in danger if anyone else finds out what you know. And Alik and Nadia likely know that. Keeping you locked away was as much to keep you from getting out as it was to keep someone from getting to you,” Addy says.

“No one else knows I know this but them. And now you.”

“Which, speaking of, why come to me and not my husband? He’s the one who told you if you could figure out who killed Isaak Sr., you could get out this marriage. Why me?”

“I…” I have to look away from Addy’s knowing gaze. Like she’s got me all figured out and knows exactly why I came to her. She probably does. But she’s not going to overplay her hand on the off chance that she doesn’t. “They lied to me. I feel manipulated and betrayed by them. For them being the reason I’m in this mess and then… and then not telling me. But I…”

Addy sighs and says, “You love the assholes anyway. Yes. That’s unfortunately the nature of love. They betray you, but you don’t want to see them harmed. Adrian’s reputation proceeds him, and you don’t want him convincing me to send the Viper after your lovers. So you come to the less trigger-happy of the happy murder power couple. Did you bring the autopsies with you?”

I take the envelope I’d clung close to me the whole time I was coming here and place it on Addy’s desk. When she opens the envelope to inspect the contents, I explain to her the Isaak Sr. was allergic to roses. That Nadia is into flowers and plants and herbs and extracted the pollen from the rose, put it in a bottle of wine, and when Isaak drank it, he died from an allergic reaction.

“That’s all nice and fitting,” Addy says when I’m done. “But the real question is if Vaughn knew this, why did he cover it up? If it was true his father was sick, and he was going to get the seat ofpakhananyway and was likely acting in the capacity, why cover it up?”

“Cover it up?”

---