Page 55 of Savage Beauty

I dress silently, my limbs leaden, and head downstairs. With every step, the pressure on my chest grows heavier, the burden becoming unbearable.

* * *

The light from under Vlad’s office door slices through the gloom, and I pause to compose myself. The role I have to play is sinister and unfamiliar, and it cuts me to the core. What I’m about to do is gonna damn near kill me, but for my brother, my family, and my wife—mylove—I’ll do what has to be done. Just like always.

Vlad’s face brightens when he sees me. When we were children, he shielded me from the cruelties of our father. He’s a guardian who never wavers, and that quality will make him play into my hands now.

“Brat.” Vlad greets me with a smile. “What brings you here at this hour? Don’t tell me you’re here to help me with all this shit. You’ve never offered before.”

With each word, the guilt inside me grows. My face twists into something malicious as I prepare to shatter the trust he’s held for so long.

“Vlad,” I begin, “we need to talk.”

Vlad’s smile fades into confusion. He knows something is amiss.

“What’s going on, Sasha?”

Words alone are not enough. I gottasellit. I must make my beloved older brother believe what I’m about to say is genuinely happening.

I sit, leaning back and fixing him with an arrogant sneer that feels alien. “You remember the old ways—the ruthless interests Papa used to build our empire? I’ve been thinking and decided that the only way to secure our future is to go back to our father’s methods. The family needs a leader who isn’t afraid to do what’s necessary.”

Vlad stops shuffling papers and cocks his head at me, his brow furrowed. “Sasha, what the fuck are you talking about? We left those days behind. We’ve built a life away from drugs and vice. You’re the last person who should want to return to that—”

I cannot look him in the eye, so I cut him off with a callous tone. “I don’t give a shit, Vlad. I’m sick of you always being the important one. Papa may have thought I was worthless, but Igor sees my potential. He and I have been planning to take control. We’ve decided it’s time to return to what we used to do best. Back when Papa had a purpose for me and used my skills.”

The pain seeping into Vlad’s eyes is like a knife twisting in my gut, but I must press forward.

“You’ve grown weak.” I stand and square up to my brother. “We need someone stronger, willing to do whatever it takes to protect the family. And I’m sick of being your errand boy.”

I fucking hope he hits me. I hope he smashes me in the face, but looking at him now, he’s too shocked and hurt to react, and I understand why. It’s a betrayal he never expected in a million years. He’s staring at me now like I’m a stranger.

“It’s straightforward enough,brat,” I continue, hating myself. “I went to Igor and said I’d happily take over leadership of our bratva if he’d help me get rid of you, and he agreed. He’s always wanted to play at being a real mobster, and now he’s got the chance, alongside me.” I take a step closer, leaning on the desk. “The man I killed the other night was Lawrence Webster. You know, the hero ex-cop? Well, the plan is to frame you for that murder.”

“Sasha, you can’t be serious,” Vlad says, snapping out of shock. “If thekomissiyaformally burns me, nowhere will be safe for us. Our family will be hunted down, and our empire routed. What the fuck will be left for you to—”

Vlad stops abruptly as the penny drops, and I can almost feel my heart smash into splinters.

“Figured it out?” I ask. “You have one chance to go and stay gone. Take everyone with you. We’ll make something up; you’ll keep your lives and whatever’s in your personal accounts. As Papa said—all that matters is power. I don’t want to be second best anymore.”

“You were never second best.” Vlad clenches his fist but doesn’t move. “Not to me. You were the best brother I could have ever wanted. What the fuck are younow?”

Tears well up in my eyes, and I only hope he can’t see in the low light. “You should be grateful, Vlad. I could have let Igor kill you, but that’d be going too far. You know, after everything we’ve been through.” I allow a mirthless grimace to cross my face. “My turn to look out for you! Isn’t that great?”

Vlad’s words are weighted with grief and rage in equal measure. “I’d have fought alongside you in anything, Sasha,” he says. “Foranything. You’re throwing all that away just for a false feeling of superiority? Papa would be pleased if at least one son turned out like him. But Mama would be ashamed of you.”

He’s right on both counts. I’ll never forget the look in my brother’s eyes, not if I live for a hundred years, but I have to see this through. If I tell Vlad the truth, he will stand beside me and go to war for my sake. I can’t let that happen.

“Whatever you say.” My voice is robotic. I have nothing left, and if I don’t bring this conversation to an end, I’m gonna break down. “It’d only take one call to Igor for everything to go to hell, and no one would come to your aid.”

“What if I fucking kill you right now?” Vlad says. In his fury, he looks horribly like our father. “I could do it.”

“No, you couldn’t.” I shrug. “That’s precisely why you can’t cut it as pakhan. And if youdidkill me, Igor would know exactly what happened and unleash his wrath. You’d achieve nothing. The sun has set on your reign, big brother. Leave tonight, and don’t look back.”

Vlad glares at me. His tension peaks, and I’m sure he will hurl himself over the desk and beat me down, but he closes his eyes instead.

“You’re not my brother anymore,” he says. “I sang at your wedding yesterday, Sasha. When you were a kid, Mama called you her little chef. Don’t you remember that?”

No, I don’t. I always thought it was just Dulcie who called mepiccolo cuoco. I must have blocked it out with pain and drugs.

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