Ivan
There’s a spring to my step as I make my way to the family restaurant from my car. Tori is beyond happy, and that makes me happy. Nothing in this world can break my spirit right now.
My Uncles Boris and Grigoriy are meeting me here today to finalize the signing of the contracts. A bright future for my family, a future with Tori, and not even the knowledge that Evgeni has betrayed me weighs me down.
I enter the restaurant to find my uncles talking amongst themselves. They stop when they see me, standing up until I’ve taken my seat.
The waitress comes past. “Whiskey, neat.” I know she knows which bottle is reserved for me. I clap my hands together. “Tell me the good news, guys.”
They look at each other, crestfallen, as though they can’t decide which of them should speak to me first, which makes me hesitant. “Come on, out with it.”
Boris leans forward and taps his finger on the copy of the contract in front of him. “Was this their final offer?”
“Tori vetted it herself and said they’re being very generous,” I say, narrowing my eyes. “Why?”
I went through those contracts, and we seemed to be getting a lot, but that didn’t raise any flags for me. Maybe it should have.
Grigoriy leans forward and clasps his hands in front of him. “It’s shit, Ivan. Everything they’re offering is useless shit. Areas where we can’t own the cops, can’t bribe inspectors. These are territories no one would fucking want, not even the damn South Americans. They wouldn’t even run their cheapest shit drugs through these places.”
I clench my fists. “How obvious is this?”
“Obvious if you’ve been paying close attention to it,” Boris says.
The implication is there. I take a few deep breaths. The waitress sets my whiskey down and hurries off. I down it and slam the glass on the table.
“That fucking bitch.”
I feel like I’m in one of my supernatural story books where the demon has reached through my skin to wrap his hand around my heart and squeeze it until it bursts. Rage and pain course through my body. I trusted her. She made a fool of me. She pretended to care about my family and me. She lured me in like a hopeless idiot. I let her in.
“Fuck!” I yell suddenly, causing everyone to jump. I slam my fist onto the table and get up, walking out without a backward glance.
I get into my car and drive, glancing at the time. I shake my head; I’m not thinking rationally, but this is worse than killing a family member. They’ve gone too far.
I pull up to La Club and step out of my vehicle. The guards look at me curiously, but Luigi comes out and says, “What are you doing here?” “Where is Alessandro?” I ask, trying to calm myself.
“He’s in the office with Frankie. This way.” He gives me a side eye but leads me in. I fear fucking nothing. They gave me my love back and ripped it from my life. It’s worse than when I lost Mila.
I walk into the office, and Alessandro looks up at me, standing. “Ivan.”
“Alessandro,” I say, sitting in the armchair.
“Drink?” he asks.
“No. But I’d like to congratulate you. It was fucking clever, it really was.”
“What?” he asks me.
“Planting Vittoria in my family, getting her to warm me up, and then having her betray me,” I shake my head. “I was a fool, and you exploited it.
Tell me, how did she communicate with you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Alessandro tries to brush me off.
I snarl at him, “Don’t fucking lie to me.” I sit back and take a deep breath. “I won’t kill her. You used her as a pawn, and she obeyed. It’s what happens in our families. Have her collected today.” I stand up. “But I declare open war on all Sorvinos and related parties.”
Alessandro stands up, “Ivan….”
“Collect her before I change my mind,” I say before walking out. I don’t look at a single person as I walk out. I get back into my car and drive back to the house.
When I walk in, I find Tori in the library reading. I stand at the doorway, watching her. My heart aches to hold her because she crossed me. How could someone so beautiful be so cruel? She didn’t seem cruel at all. It was clearly all an act.
She’s the enemy.
As I turn to leave, she looks up. “Ivan,” she smiles broadly. Alessandro must not have phoned her yet.
She looks into my cold eyes, and her smile fades. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” I turn to walk away but hear her running after me. She grabs my arm. “Ivan?”
I yank my arm away from her and whip around; I can’t control myself. I want to hurt her, she doesn’t deserve peace. “You betrayed me. You fucking took me for a ride and thought I wouldn’t find out,” I snarl. “I know about the shitty territories you were negotiating for us. We would have lost millions.”
Tears well up in her eyes, I can’t tell if she’s sad or afraid, but she’s probably both.
“Ivan, I’m sorry. I didn’t think I would fall in love with you.” she starts to cry. “At first, it was about betraying you, but I fell for you. I love you. I feel like being with you is where I belong. Please, please give me a second chance. I will make this right.”
“Lies,” I roar, and she steps back. “I don’t fucking believe you. Pack your shit. Your brother is on his way to fetch you, and I never want to fucking see you again. Don’t come near my family or me; my patience for you will wear thin, and I will have you killed for betraying me.”
I turn to leave. The sadness in her voice as she sobs my name does nothing. I shut down. I can’t feel. I get my driver to take me to our warehouse, and I walk into the office where Leonid is working.
“I should have listened to you,” I say after a moment.
“Boris phoned and told me,” he says quietly. “I’m sorry, Ivan. I know you were fond of her. A Sorvino is a Sorvino, though, and you were taken for a ride.”
“I’m having the marriage annulled. But I don’t want her hurt, not yet anyway. We will declare war with the Sorvinos, trample over them, and rule
New York City.”
“I agree. We should, as you would say, play chess, not football. Clever attacks where it hurts them, but we must first deal with a situation closer to home. Evgeni is back this weekend.”
“I’ll deal with him swiftly,” I say. “I’m only a fool once. I should have believed you, brother. I’m sorry.” His hand clasps my shoulder and squeezes. “You thought you were doing right by the family. We can learn from this.”
I nod and look out at the warehouse. All I can hear in my mind is Tori sobbing my name.
Vittoria
As soon as Ivan walks out of the house, I crumble to the ground, holding my belly. I sob as hard as I can, but soon Aleks comes in and nudges me with his foot. “Pakhan Volkov said you were to pack your things and leave. Your brother is here to collect you.”
I pick myself off the floor and go to the room, packing what I brought with me and leaving the things that Ivan and Arina bought me.
Anastasia passes and sees me sobbing. “Are you okay?”
“I’m so sorry, Ana.” I pull her into a hug. “Please, I know your father will say I betrayed him, but I do love him more than anything.”
She looks at me wearily, and I take off my wedding ring and leave it by the bed. “I hope you live the best life possible.”
I lug my suitcase onto its wheels and wheel it out the door. Whatever I’ve left can be replaced. Luigi is waiting on the porch with Aleks.
“Goodbye, Aleks,” I say, tears free-flowing down my face. “Thank you for protecting me.”
Aleks remains stony-faced, but I see he nods slightly, and I know he will miss me too.
Luigi takes my bag and puts it in the trunk before helping me into the car. We pull into traffic, and I hug my knees and sob hard. I don’t think I cried this hard when Mama was killed.
Luigi pats my back. “It’ll be okay, sis. You’ll see. You’re better off back with us.”
This just makes me sob harder, so he falls silent.
We arrive at my sister’s house, and I climb out of the car, miserable and feeling nauseous, and I walk inside. I want to find a bed to curl up on and grieve the loss of the one person I will ever love.
My plans are haltered, though, when I find Alessandro in the entrance hall waiting for me. I look at him sadly, then he opens his arms, and I hug him, crying into his shoulder. “I fell for him,” I sob. “I know I wasn’t supposed to, but I did, and I regret betraying him, Alessandro. I want him back.”
He pats my back softly. “There’s nothing to be done about it now. Ivan will never forgive you for this. He has declared war on our family and will never trust one of us again.”
I pull away and look up to see Alessandro looking at me sternly. “Is it true you’re pregnant with his child? Luigi says you are.”
The sudden change in my emotions is surprising even to me. I’ve never stepped out of line. I’ve never talked back. I wasn’t even grounded ever because I was a good child and did what I was told, and the one thing I asked my brother to keep secret, he told the head of our family.
I ignore Alessandro and round on Luigi, who is standing awkwardly at the door. “How fucking dare you! How fucking dare you! You promised it would stay between us until I was ready to tell Alessandro.” “Vittoria…” Alessandro says, surprised.
Luigi holds his hands up. “He’s the head of our family, and you were acting weird. I had to tell him. Just in case….”
“In case of what? In case I betrayed our family. The family that has cost me the love of my life and the father of my child. Fuck you, Luigi. I
will never forgive you for this.”
Before he can say anything, Alessandro’s voice booms, “Luigi, leave it. Scram, let me speak to Tori.”
After my brother leaves, I breathe heavily and move to sit down, holding my belly. “You mustn’t stress yourself out,” Alessandro says quietly. “Stress you feel is stress the baby feels.”
He stands there for a moment. “I assume Ivan doesn’t know, so if you want, I can send you out of state to a private place where no one will find you, and you can have the baby there.”
“No, I need to make things right.” I look up at my cousin desperately. “I think I know someone who can help. Please, Alessandro, let me try to make this right.”
He looks at me for what feels like the longest moment before he nods. “Just be careful. Call me if you need backup.”
I get up and hug him. Ivan doesn’t want to see me, and Evgeni has betrayed him. There is only one person I can try to turn to, and I know he hates my guts, but I have to try.
“I’ll go in the morning,” I tell him, getting up. “For now, I just want to be alone.”
He nods and lets me go upstairs.
I take one of my brother-in-law’s cars in the morning and drive to the main warehouse. I only know where it is from the reports I looked at with Ivan.
I park a safe distance away and approach carefully but try to appear casual. I have no weapons, but I know Ivan doesn’t want me hurt. I know he still loves me. I go to the guard and say, “I’m here to speak to Leonid.”
The guard looks at me for a moment, then opens the door. “We know who you are. I wouldn’t stay long.”
I nod, and he points to a set of stairs. “Office at the top.”
I knock on the door and hear Leonid call for me to come in. When he sees me, he raises an eyebrow. “You have some nerve.”
“Leonid, please, just hear me out,” I say, wringing my hands. “I need to speak to Ivan, and I know you can make that happen. You’re his most trusted person.”
“Well, he definitely couldn’t trust you. I was right about that,” he smirks, and it’s nothing like Ivan’s. It’s cold and heartless.
“Please, Leonid, I’m begging you.”
“I don’t care if you get on your hands and knees and lick the shit off my shoes, Sorvino. It’s not happening. Now I suggest you leave before I have you shot. The only reason you’ve made it this far is because Ivan made the stupid mistake of ordering us not to harm you. I can have him change his mind.”
The tears roll down my cheek as I walk out of the warehouse. I pretend to walk toward my car when I see a familiar black car. I’m sure it’s Ivan’s. When I’m sure no one is looking, I hurry around the back of the warehouse to see if I can sneak in and see him. I am desperate.
I pause as I reach the enormous open warehouse doors. I can hear Leonid talking to someone around the corner.
“Yes, the dumb bitch thought I’d help her get back to him. She did me a huge favor by betraying him. He’s more vulnerable now.”
“When do we do it?”
“We kill Ivan this weekend,” Leonid says, and I slap a hand over my mouth, my eyes wide. “He’ll never see it coming. He’s an idiot. We need a strong leader.”
“Like you,” his mysterious co-conspirator says. “That’s what this family needs.”
I hurry away, having heard enough. I get in my car and speed to Alessandro’s estate. I don’t wait. I barge into his office, where he is talking to Katya.
“Tori, what the hell?” he says, standing up. “Are you hurt?”
“They’re going to kill him. Ivan thinks his cousin betrayed him, but it’s his brother, who is a cousin but adopted. I don’t have time to explain.
You need to warn Ivan.”
Katya comes to me and puts an arm around my shoulders. “Calm down, Tori.”
Alessandro pours me a glass of water and brings it to me.
“Alessandro, please. I’ve never asked for anything of this family. Please do this for me.”
Alessandro looks at me sadly. “It’s not our affairs to get tangled up with. He wouldn’t listen to me anyway. I’m sorry, Tori, but you must stay out of it.”