Jagger was Nikolai’s lap dog, always doing his dirty work when Nikolai didn’t want to do it himself. He had a patch over his left eye where it got gouged out in a fight with Stefan. It was one of the reasons why I wanted Stefan with Wren and not up here with me.
I glanced back at Benny, and he nodded in understanding. I opened the penthouse door and saw my father standing by the windows overlooking the city below, and my brother pouring whiskey from the bar. He looked at me with cold, calculated eyes, grinning smugly. I never thought it would come to this. All I could think about was Wren and how much he’d hurt her.
“Good afternoon,” Nikolai called out.
Our father turned around to face me, his expression guarded. He could feel the insurmountable tension in the air.
Nikolai took a sip of his drink and saluted it in the air. “It’s good to see you, big brother. You should have a drink—”
“Not today,” I snapped, cutting him off as I joined him and our father in the sitting room.
Being in the same room with him was more challenging than I thought. I wanted to beat that fucking grin off his face and hand him over to Wren so I could watch her torture him.
“Boys,” our father began in his deep, gravelly voice. “I’ve called you here to discuss our family’s future.”
Nikolai’s grin widened. It was apparent he had no clue what was about to happen. He finished off his whiskey and held out his arms triumphantly.
“Speaking of our family’s legacy, my endeavors have proven quite lucrative. We’ve earned more this past year than in the past decade.”
My father looked at him and sighed. “I’m well aware of that, son.”
He glanced over at me and then back to Nikolai, his expression full of disappointment. At that moment, Nikolai realized the world was closing in on him. His smug grin quickly vanished, and his face flushed with rage.
“Nikolai, you know I love you and your brother equally,” our father said. Nikolai scoffed, but our father held up a hand, stopping him from saying a word. If there was anyone Nikolai was afraid of, it was him. “But I’ve come to a point in my life where I need to step down.”
Nikolai’s face grew redder by the second, and he refused to look at me. Our father stepped closer to him, and Nikolai tensed.
“Seth is taking over the family, son. I want you to shut down all your California operations and return to New York. The Michelson family will no longer be divided.”
He never told me he would demand that, but I knew it would be Nikolai’s breaking point. Everything he’d done in California was to gain our father’s approval. And now, our father wanted to shut it down.
Nikolai’s fists clenched at his sides. “So, that’s it then? You’re just going to cast me aside like I’m nothing?”
“You’re not nothing!” our father shouted. “You’re my son, and I’m proud of your accomplishments. You’ve always known Seth would take over one day. That time has come, and you’ll have to accept it.”
Nikolai scowled at me and shook his head. “Never.I’mthe one who should be leading this family.” He thumped a finger hard at his chest. “I’mthe one who’s earned it. What have you done to expand our empire, huh? Not a goddamn thing.”
“I’ve kept it together, Nikolai,” I said coolly. “You will only tear it apart.”
Nikolai stared me down with a murderous glare, but it quickly shifted to amusement. The man had lost his fucking mind.
“So, you think I’ll only tear it apart?” he said, glaring at our father and then back to me. He took a step toward me and narrowed his gaze. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”
“Enough!” our father shouted, pushing Nikolai away. “You will regret it if you do anything to jeopardize our family.”
Nikolai shrugged. “What family? It’s obvious I’m not a part of this one anymore.”
His eyes met mine, and I nodded in agreement. “And who’s fault is that?”
Nikolai stormed to the door, but one of my father’s guys blocked his way. “You’re not leaving yet,” our father warned him. “You’re going to stay until I’m done with you.”
Nikolai slowly turned his head, and I could see in his eyes he was about to strike.
CHAPTER21
WREN
My heart raced as I paced the hotel room floor. About ten minutes had passed; I had to give Seth time to get upstairs. All I needed was to be outside the penthouse room door to get a clear shot at Nikolai when he walked out. I took a deep breath, slowly let it out, and walked to the door. I could see Stefan through the peephole, standing to the side like a statue. I only had one chance to get this right.
