Page 108 of Merciless Sinner

My father has a separate surveillance system in his office, but only he knows where it is and the codes to get in. With him down like this, we're not going to get any of that information any time soon. Someone opens the door. I turn to see Borya standing there.

His face is hard, and the light shines down on his gray hair, turning it silver.

Borya has known my father since they were boys. If I wasn't around, he would be my father's second in command. But the position of advisor he holds is no different than a consigliere in the Italian mafia. That means he's almost more important than me.

“A word, please, Virgo,” he says,

I go to him. We go outside and head down the corridor to the little alcove where we can talk in private. Borya looks uneasy and shaken, and I still feel shocked and numb.

“We still can't locate the surveillance in your father's office,” he begins, “But we found evidence that the secret passage was definitely used. A burner code was put in to gain access.”

Fuck, I was right. Burner codes are untraceable and would have only been issued by my father.

We're definitely not going to have any kind of clues on who did this.

“Do you have any ideas who this person might be?” I ask.

Borya shakes his head. “I wouldn't know where to begin.”

The irony in this situation is that this person could've been me. I know the secret passages like no other. I also know how to use a burner code, and I hate my father. Only the other day, I was ready to kill him. Everyone knows the tension that has lived between us for years and years and years.

It's only a matter of time before people start suspecting me.

“It wasn't me,” I declare. Just to get it off my chest.

“I know,” Borya replies. “I already checked you out. Nevertheless, you wouldn't kill him like this. You wouldn't leave him alive to tell the tale. You would have given him a bullet straight to the head to make sure he would never make it back, and if you thought he might, he would have gotten another bullet to finish him off.”

The harsh answer is the truth. So I say nothing, because he's right on all counts.

“In other news…” He pauses and clears his throat, as if to mark the change in the subject. “As your father's condition is dire, we need to enact the emergency procedures. For both the Brotherhood and the company. Both require a leader.”

My breath stills with this news.

The emergency protocol provides that if my father can no longer fulfill his duties, I must take over with immediate effect. As in, take over everything.

We have a sixty-day rule, which means he'll have sixty days to get well, and get back into action. And we both know that's not gonna happen.

“I become the leader.” I say those words as if I’m checking, but actually, I'm talking to myself.

Borja nods. “The sixty day rule kicks in from today, Virgo. Let's face it, your father is going to be paralyzed for the rest of his life. If he pulls through, he'll need extensive treatment for months. He's not gonna be able to come back to the Brotherhood. Or the company ever again. That responsibility now falls on you.”

“I see.”

“I'll be speaking with the lawyers in the morning. Along with the Bratva officiates.”

My father loved power so much it came before his family. He hardly wanted to part with a company here in New York. If he could have managed to run everything himself, he would have. Now he can't do any of it.

And I will.

“Alright.” I sigh. “Thank you for taking care of that.”

“We will await your instructions, Pakhan.” He places emphasis on that word—Pakhan.

It sounds strange to my ears to hear it in reference to me, but I nod, because that is who I am now—the new leader.

He's about to leave, but I stop him.

“Yes,” he says.

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