"I built this organization," I say. "Pulled you all up from nothing. Gave you opportunities you'd never have had otherwise. That counts for nothing?"
"It counts for a lot." He sounds genuinely sad. "But not enough to bet against the Barinov heir and Roman combined. I hope you understand."
He hangs up before I can respond.
I throw my phone across the room.
Maksim wasn't bluffing. He's systematically turning my organization against me, using his name and Roman's power to convince them I'm a sinking ship.
And they're all jumping overboard.
The only way to stop this is to find out the truth. I know I was not involved, but I’ve always wondered if my father was. The evidence brought against us wasn’t real.
At least, I didn’t think it was.
But what if there is a way to prove to Maksim it wasn’t me. I have no loyalty to my father. Not anymore. I will absolutely expose him if he had anything to do with what happened to Maksim.
It's after midnight when I break into my father's house.
Break in is generous—I still have keys. But he doesn't know I'm coming. I need to search his study without interruption.
The house is dark and quiet. He's asleep upstairs, probably drunk on expensive vodka he can't afford but buys anyway.
I walk to the study that he pretends is a place he actually handles business. I lock the door behind me and get to work.
I start digging through the filing cabinet that I’ve been in before, but it’s old stuff. When I took over running things, I went digital. But my dad is old school. He’s too stupid not to leave paper trails.
Another reason I succeeded where he failed.
I find a ledger. At first, I ignore it, but then I take a closer look.
Payments. Large sums written in my father’s horrible handwriting. They start three months before Maksim's disappearance and continue for six months after.
I photograph each page with my phone.
My father gambled a lot back then. This could all be bets and money he owed to people.
Or it could be more.
"What are you doing?"
I spin around. My father stands in the doorway in his bathrobe, his face red with fury.
"Getting answers."
“Get out.”
“Where is all this money?” I ask and hold up the ledger. “You took money from someone—who?”
"Those were business investments!" He moves into the room, trying to grab the thing.
"Bullshit!" I dodge his reach, keeping the desk between us. "You were in debt. Desperate. But according to this, someone was giving you money. A lot of it!”
"Get out." His voice is low. Dangerous. “You are not the head of this family. I let you play long enough. Get out of my house. I am taking back my power.”
I smirk. “You never had any power.”
I drop the ledger and walk to the door. “If you had something to do with Maksim’s abduction, I will find out. I will tell him. And he will kill you.”
