CHAPTER FIFTY - SEVEN

LORENZO GRAYSON\ VADIM KERZHAKOV©

“Do you mind heading home yourself?There's something I have to do before leaving.“ I told Alina.

I packed the papers and carried my briefcase.

“What's the matter? I could wait.“ She said.

“You should go. It'll take a while.“ I said.

I clenched my hands on the device in my palm as I headed to the office.

I needed to know what was on the drive.

I unlocked the door, walked over to my laptop, and plugged it in.

I searched through the files and found only one video.

I clicked play.

“Move it,” someone said from the video.

It looked like an underground room, with several men standing around.

Then I saw my mother.

I furrowed my brows and paused the video.

Why was Mom in the video?

I pressed play and kept watching as they dragged her by the arms while she tried to break free.

Then it hit me.

This was connected to the day she died.

She was wearing the same clothes she had on when they found her body.

They threw her onto the floor, and my breath caught in my throat.

“Why are you motherfuckers doing this?” she shouted.

One of the men stepped forward and punched her across the face.

I bit down on my thumb, my whole body trembling as I watched.

The man grabbed her face and forced her to look into his eyes.

Mother spat in his face.

Another hard slap hits her across the cheek.

A second man rushed over and pulled him back.

“Don wants her alive,” he snapped. “Don't you fucking forget that.”

What's going on?

Who was the Don?

I needed to find out who it was before I planned my next move and returned to Russia.

“Well, well, well.”

A familiar voice broke the silence.

My breath hitched the moment I saw who it was.

Leonardo Pavelenko.

I remembered Father had ties with him.

I paused the video and slowly got to my feet, trying to steady my breathing. I shoved the computer and the books across my desk as I struggled to keep myself together.

I ran both hands through my hair. My whole body shook as I slammed my fist onto the desk, making it bend.

Mother.

The memories came rushing back.

I was right there again, reliving the day I lost control after hearing about my mother's death.

Leonardo.

I was the one who killed him.

Father knew.

He knew Leonardo was the man who killed my mother.

He captured him, tortured him, and never told me the truth.

“Sir, is everything okay in there?” someone called from outside my office.

I ignored the voice.

I slowly sank to the floor, my eyes fixed on the laptop in front of me.

Antonio was a bastard. He had tricked me into killing Leonardo Pavelenko back in Russia.

“Take a deep breath,” he whispered that day.

I stared at the man kneeling in front of me, as I pressed a gun against his head.

Leonardo's mouth was gagged, and his body was covered in bruises. It was clear he had been tortured.

“I don't want to do this, Dad,” I firmly said.

“You have to,” he bluntly replied. “If you want to become the heir of the Kerzhakov family, you must learn to strike down anyone who threatens you or your family.”

I looked back at him, my hands trembling.

“Think of him as the man who killed your mother,” he whispered.

I stared at him.

“He raped her and hurt her so badly,” he continued.

My heart pounded as my mother's lifeless body flashed through my mind.

What if he really was the one?

It had to be one of them.

They all hated the Kerzhakov syndicate.

I shut my eyes and pulled the trigger.

“That's it,” Father shouted. “Never let fear control you. You're an heir.”

I stared at the body, then looked back at my father as the weapon slipped from my hand and hit the floor.

I remembered that day so clearly. Father had said those words.

I just never knew they were true.

He really was the man who had hurt my mother.

If I had known back then, I would have asked him why.

Why did it have to be my mother?

I slowly crawled toward the laptop and placed it on my lap.

I pressed play and kept watching.

“Leonardo, Ты ублюдок {you bastard},” Mother spat, clearly shocked to see it was him.

“Antonio refused to give me what I wanted. I had to remind him who I really am,” he said as he grabbed Mother's face.

“Кто это с ней сделал? {Who did this to her?}” he shouted, turning to his men.

The man who had struck Mother's face stepped forward.

Leonardo pulled out his gun and shot the man in the head.

Mother gasped at the sound of the gunshot.

Leonardo turned to her and cupped her face.

“You belong to me. No one else gets to have you,” he said with a laugh.

“Ты ублюдок { You bastard},” Mother spat. “Antonio will kill you for this. I promise you.”

Leonardo slapped her across the face before starting to take off his jacket.

“Я унижу тебя прямо здесь, на глазах у моих людей {I'll humiliate you right here in front of my men},” he said as he leaned down and whispered something in her ear that I couldn't hear.

“Leonardo... please. Think about Vadim. I'm all he has,” Mother begged as she dropped to her knees.

I struggled to breathe as I watched.

Leonardo laughed and kicked her hard.

“Once I'm done with you, I'll take Vadim too. He's your heir,” he said.

Mother kicked at his face and tried to run.

He grabbed mother by the hair and slammed her back onto the floor.

The video ended there.

I flung the laptop across the office.

I'm going to Russia today.

And I'll make every single person connected to him pay.