Chapter four
Punish
Maxim stared out the window, eyeing the unfamiliar road and the pastures as they drove to his new estate in the middle of fucking nowhere. It’s been nearly a month since he left it with his unwanted wife and all it represented. This estate and the woman inside it were an embarrassment to his family’s name, but what did it matter? Everything about him was an embarrassment. And no matter how his family talked, he knew they all felt the same.
He sighed, perhaps loudly, perhaps for the tenth time, because his brother looked over at him and rolled his eyes. “Can you at least pretend this isn’t torture?”
Maxim ignored him.
Lazar tugged on his sleeve, fixing his cuff, but his brother’s unhappiness was getting to him. “I was able to procure a marriage to a pristine family, and you act like this.”
“I’m grateful, Lazar,” Maxim forced out, too tired and annoyed to deal with his brother’s temper.
“We were about to be destroyed after your little mistake with the Armenians. It was Yakov Morozov who interceded and saw our potential.”
“You said he threatened us, plotted to destroy our family if we didn’t follow his rules.”
Lazar shifted and cleared his throat. “That too. He only did so because he knew what we could do. And now we are skyrocketing. Deals and business ventures that would have never been possible without his sway. No more fearing debt or taking scraps. We are on top! So why are you so miserable?”
Maxim didn’t reply because Lazar already knew why he was miserable and yet forced him to marry anyway. It was pointless talking to him.
“All our lives we waited for an opportunity like this. Now we are going to be even better than the Utkins.”
Maxim rolled his eyes, scratching his thick, short beard. “You have always compared us to the Utkins.”
“Why wouldn’t I? That family is fifty percent black and holds one of the highest positions in the Russian Mafia. We will be even greater! This is exciting, Max. Please see it the way I do.”
“All I see is you partnered me with the daughter no one else would take, and gave me an estate no one else wanted. I know I made a mistake, Lazar, but to punish me–”
“Punish you? I give you an estate that takes you out of the spotlight, which is what you wanted! I give you a young, rich wife whose net worth is in the billions, mind you. And what are you talking about, ‘no one else would take?’ She is a Morozov daughter. Even if she had two heads, she would still be one ofthe most desirable women on the planet. She turned down every other suitor but you!”
“Because her father made her.”
“You are just making up things.” Lazar laughed, completely confused why his brother was changing the narrative. “I don’t understand you.”
Maxim clenched his teeth and kept his gaze out the window. His brother scoffed and went on his phone, leaving the silence full of tension. Lazar would never understand because he never failed the family. It came naturally for Lazar to do what needed to be done and to partner with whoever would bring their family to the top. Maxim wouldn’t even call it making sacrifices because Lazar didn’t seem to care about anything or anyone except for making their family great. He willingly gave up any selfish desires if it meant their success.
But Maxim was not this way. He was more selfish than he wanted to admit. He didn’t want to give up his comforts for the sake of the family. He didn’t want to move two hours away from civilization and marry a Morozov, the very family that killed his parents. Why didn’t this matter to Lazar?
Lazar sat up. “Listen, if you dislike her so much, once she has your heir, we can cause an accident.”
“Lazar.” Maxim rubbed his eyes.
His brother chuckled. “If we want to be like the Utkins, we need to think like them.”
“That was a rumor. One I dare not repeat and you shouldn’t either.”
“All rumors come from a small truth.” But Lazar did as suggested and changed topics. “This family will be great, Max. There is nothing to stand in our way now. And if I have to lie, cheat, steal, and burn a few bodies, I will.”
Maxim stayed silent. This was a part of Lazar that Maxim didn’t like. Lazar was more than happy to kill, and as far asMaxim knew, he had killed five people so far. Maxim only had to kill one person, and that murder stayed heavy on his conscience ten years later. But there was no being a made man without blood on your hands. To be indoctrinated, there were requirements. Unlike the Morozovs, whose position was already ingrained in their bloodline, Maxim’s family had to start from scratch.
“This estate is not bad.” Lazar broke through his thoughts, and Maxim turned his attention to the small castle on the hill. His brows knit. “I don’t remember it looking quite so remarkable.”
“Because it wasn’t.” It pissed him off, and Maxim gripped the door handle as the car went up the long driveway. The estate had been repainted and all of its foliage had been replaced. Despite its current attractiveness, all he saw was the money it must have cost. That was at least a fifty-thousand-dollar upgrade. Why wasn’t he made aware? How had she gotten a hold of the money?
“At least she has good taste.”
Maxim opened his door before the car stopped fully and darted out, climbing the stone steps. The servants all raced to line up in greeting, but he bypassed all of them, snagging the door out of the servant’s hand. He stopped short when he noticed that the interior decorations had also been altered. The foyer room was bright with color and art pieces he would have never bought. Even the smell of the house was of lavender and vanilla. He sneered as he watched Lydia race toward him. “We just received word you were coming, Mr. Morozov–”
