9: Brothers For Life

Flavian

It all started when Keaton brought a baby home and named her after our beloved mother. Yeah, the one who was too eager to cuddle with death during my time of birth.

Evelyn Waldorf. Keaton spoke fondly of her... he thought he was giving me an idea of what she was like but in actual sense he was exposing what a weakling our mother was. No wonder Madame Antoinette didn't really like her most out of every other person she didn't like.

Keaton takes after our mother in a sense of naivety and I take after our father even though I was who ended up severing his head.

Being born a Waldorf in the mafia, there were a lot of things that contributed to the man I am today. A lot of things that earned me the title, the mad devil. It wasn't a secret that my own family raised me to be a nuclear weapon more than capable of mass destruction... In that world of darkness my brother was the light.

 He stood up for me, always defending me without gain... always on my case.. always stitching my wounds when nobody thought me worthy of healing. He knew how to smile when his eyes exposed his fear of me.

When my father died by my hands, people's fear tripled to a large extent. Then they labelled me the 'mad man' 'Bloody devil'

Keaton and I have always been trapped in opposite worlds since childhood. He was my father's favourite and I was father's disappointment. So when I got rid of father, Keaton severed the bond between us too.

As soon as he took over the empire, he changed. He changed so much I barely recognised my brother... and it was all father's fault.

This was the mafia and I soon learnt that loyalty is the only rare currency yet it runs not just the mafia but the world as a whole. In a short while he reduced me to a mere street gangster and watched as I worked my way back to the top.

I worked my way back to the top and the elders were impressed. The elders court had even come to a conclusion of making me his successor since Keaton was yet to provide a suitable heir. But that didn't happen after Keaton introduced a small fragile-looking doll, announcing her as his heir. The elder court wasn't appeased by his impulsive actions of course. They wanted Eve gone, for two reasons, she wasn't a Waldorf by blood, she was the product of a rape case.

They wanted her gone and so did I. The only reason I couldn't see to it that she met her maker sooner was, Keaton. The sly bastard did everything possible to keep me busy, he even went as far as to adopt her legally and placed her under premium security.

If anyone had eventually killed her it would have started a war for sure.

Not that I cared, I was gonna end her the night of her crowning. Instead I ended up getting intrigued. Whenever I looked at her I saw myself... mostly the version of me before I killed my father: naive, eager, prideful and too full of energy.

The Eve of yesterday that could barely make eye contact is missing, however the Eve today that just ran away from her problems, from me... That Eve's a hypocrite.

How can one be that confident in bed? Has she always been a coward like Keaton?

The last thing I want is for another coward to run the empire I worked so hard to strengthen.

This confirms it. She's not fit to be boss... Fuck. She's not even fit to be my wife.

Tonight would have been another victory but here I am trailing closely behind Keaton as we make our way to his study room... I was going in for another lecture... or maybe he's gonna torture me the way he did last time.

I swear I almost made it to hell during the torture period. I guess I owe him one for letting me have a brush with death for the first time in a long while.

I guess he really does have eyes and ears everywhere. 

That time I remember making my way out of the brothel only to receive a hit to my head that shut the curtains of my vision and the next place I saw myself was in an underground dungeon with Keaton already sharpening his knife... That night he let me know just how much he gave a fuck about Eve and just how much he was willing to go to make me beg for his mercy. I didn't yield of course but he still tried his best, which makes me proud.

The study door clicked shut behind me. Keaton didn’t even look up at first, pouring himself a glass of the same aged whiskey. Our favorite.

“Sit,” he ordered.

I stayed standing with my cane, leaning against the wall with that nonchalant slouch I knew irritated him. “Not in the mood for lectures, brother. I'm pretty sure you should be after your daughter not me.”

“That was quite the show you put out there... Flavian. Tell me which one is it. To shame our family or to shame me?”

I chuckled in a low tone that I liked very much.

"Pretty sure all I did was shoot my shot like everyone else"

" You mean you publicly claiming my heir... my own sweat and hard work like she was one of your whores? In front of every major elder?”

“Whores get paid. Eve gave it up for free in that brothel. Drunk me, sober her… or was it the other way around? Details blur when the night’s that good...”

I don’t need to remember it perfectly. I just prefer the version where she wanted it more.

I'll admit that I planned to kill her that night at the brothel too but plans changed.

Keaton slammed his glass down. “I see. I guess the torture I put you through wasn't enough was it, Flavian? How can you fuck my daughter? Do you realise I can get rid of you?”

In biology, blood makes family but that's a conversation for another day. My brother is very much still stuck in his fantasy.

I pushed off the wall, towering over him. “I wish you could but you're a coward. If it weren't for me, this reign of yours wouldn't have lasted more than a year. I built half the fear that keeps our enemies in line. While you play politics, I get my hands dirty. The people know who the real successor is. So does the elder court” 

He rose slowly, refusing to be intimidated even as he had to tilt his head. “Successor? You? You think this empire is a toy for your ego. And now you’ve fixated on Eve? your own niece. I won't tolerate any incestuous relationships.”

We both knew this wasn't incest...the elder court would have been on my case...ready to pass judgement.

“Niece?” I sneered, the word tasted bitter.

"Fun fact: did you know incest only happens when two blood-related people, not paper-related... emphasis on the paper, have sexual relations?"

Keaton guffawed together with me as soon as I finished speaking.

Our laughter definitely penetrated the walls because its echoes lasted when we paused to glare at each other with disdain.

“Dubai tonight then Moscow. Clean up the deal with the Johnsons and root out the betrayals in Europe. I recently assigned Tyler to another branch, he'll be needing a partner still he can handle operations independently. In conclusion I don't want to see you around any time soon.”

The order hit like a gut punch, but I masked it with a grin.

“Running from me won’t save your throne nor will it save her, dear brother. I'll be back soon but in the meantime make sure you don't fix an alliance using her. She's mine whether you're in support or not.”

I turned for the door, the whiskey still

burning in my veins. Eve’s stoic face flashed behind my eyes. She wasn’t mine. Yet.