CHAPTER TWENTY

LORENZO GRAYSON\ VADIM KERZHAKOV ©

I arrived at Kyle’s house and stepped out of the car right away. I tossed the keys to one of the guards for him to park it and walked inside.

“Good day, Sir Enzo. Boss is upstairs,” one of his men said.

I gave a small nod and headed to Kyle’s office.

He was on a call when I walked in. He turned at once. I dropped my coat on the couch and sat down.

“We’ll talk about this later. I need to go,” he said before ending the call.

He walked over to me, turned his laptop in my direction, and pressed play.

I leaned forward without saying a word. Then the footage started.

My mother’s car came into view. A group of men rushed in and blocked the road. Within seconds, they surrounded the car.

A gunshot rang out. They shot the driver.

My chest tightened as they dragged Mother and Leonid, her bodyguard out of the car.

Leonid fought back hard, trying to protect her. Even outnumbered, he did not stop fighting.

I sat frozen, my eyes fixed on the screen. Then came a headshot. Leonid fell instantly.

Everything inside me went cold. My hands curled into fists as anger rushed through me.

It had all been a lie.

Mother did not die in a car accident.

For years, Father and I searched for surveillance footage, but every file had been erased. We looked everywhere, yet nothing could be recovered. The only thing we ever found was a clip of Mother’s car running off the road and crashing off a bridge.

But the first time I saw it, something felt wrong. I didn't believe it.

Why?

Because when I looked closer, Mother didn't react. She didn't panic or struggle. She sat there too still and it felt wrong.

The crash never looked real to me. It felt staged, like someone wanted us to believe a story that was clearly not true.

And now, Kyle has finally gotten the real footage.

I kept watching as Mother gasped and stumbled as Leonid dropped to the ground while the men rushed toward her.

She fought against them as she tried to pull free from their grip.

But there were strong men, they forced her into a van successfully and drove off

Then, the screen went black. I frowned and moved the video forward. But that was all.

My jaw tightened.

“What is this?” I snapped as I stood up. “Where’s the rest of it?”

Kyle looked at me calmly.

“This is all we could find,” he said. “I’m still trying to get more…” I cut him off before he could finish.

“Where did you get this?” I asked, my voice tight.

“From an old man. Well… his family, actually.”

I frowned. “An old man?”

He nodded. “Yeah. There's an old man who's always looking for his missing dog all the time. He had cameras set up around the area in case the dog ever passed by. Pure luck, honestly.“

He continued. “After he died, his daughter was packing up his things and found the footage. She reported it to the police, but my informant managed to get his hand on it first.”

I ran a hand through my hair and slowly fell back into the chair. My head felt heavy.

“The men,” I said after a pause. “Do we know which syndicate they are from?”

Kyle hesitated.

“There’s nothing clear,” he said at last. “No tattoos, no symbols. Nothing that points to a group.” He paused and looked at me carefully. “But after digging around, it seems the men who attacked the car were killed soon after.”

I looked up at him.

“The people behind it cleaned up the mess,” he added quietly. “No trail. They made sure the attackers disappeared too.”

“Of course,” I muttered, my jaw clenched. “It's the Kerzhakov family we’re talking about. One mistake, one tiny clue… and we would find them.” I said and tried to breathe, but everything felt suffocating at that moment.

“Where are you going?” Kyle asked when he saw me heading for the door.

“I need some time alone,” I said quietly.

I grabbed the pack of cigarettes and lighter from his table before walking out. My chest felt tight like something heavy sat there and refused to move.

I tried to pull myself together the moment I stepped outside.

After all these years, I finally had something. I finally found a real proof.

No matter how long it takes, either days, months, even years, I would find the person behind my mother’s death.

I lit a cigarette, took a long drag, and stared ahead at nothing. My thoughts were too loud for silence.

∆∆

~ COLLEGE ~

I pulled myself together for the last two classes I had.

Ever since I watched the footage, a sharp pain had settled in my chest and refused to leave.

I barely slept for two nights, replaying faces from the video again and again, trying to figure out who they were.

Kyle had his informant in Russia helping too, but nothing useful had come up yet.

When exhaustion hit, I drank just enough to force myself to sleep for a few hours before waking up and staring at the footage all over again.

Today was Monday. No one could know what was going on with me. I made sure my face stayed calm and my behavior looked normal.

After leaving the students’ department, I headed toward my office.

The moment my hand touched the doorknob, something felt off. I paused for a moment.

Someone had already been inside. I slowly opened the door and froze.

Nick Walker.

What was he doing in my office?

He turned at once when he noticed my presence.

“Oh… good day, Mr. Enzo,” he said. His 'Mr. Enzo' sounded sarcastic.

He stood there like he had been waiting for me all day. His face almost gave him away. It looked like he had something important to say and had been holding it in for hours.

“What are you doing in my office?” I asked, raising a brow.

Instead of answering, he frowned and took a step closer, his eyes fixed on my face like he had noticed something strange.

I narrowed my eyes.

What was he doing?

I took a small step back and raised a brow again.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked and without warning, he moved closer.

Then he stood on his toes and placed one hand on my forehead while touching his own with the other, comparing the temperature.

“Your temperature is high. Have you not been sleeping well?” he asked and I stared at him for a moment, amused.

A quiet chuckle left my lips before I walked past him, dropped my briefcase on the table, and sat down.

“You’re getting quite brave, aren’t you?” I asked. He gave an awkward smile and scratched the back of his neck.

“Sorry. My bad. I was just worried,” he said softly.

I picked up the files on my desk and flipped through them without looking at him.

“Why are you here?” I asked.

“Huh?” he blinked and I finally looked up.

“I asked why you're here?” I repeated.

“Oh… well…” He shifted on his feet and scratched his neck. “You know what? You don’t really seem…” He paused, searching for the right words.

“You don’t seem okay for now. Maybe I should ask you later.” He said and stepped back.

“I’ll just leave for now, sir.“ He added.

He turned to go, but I let out a quiet sigh.

“Stop.” I said with a calm voice and he turned back slowly.

“Huh?”

I pointed toward the table. “You forgot your bag.”

His eyes widened as he followed where I pointed.

“Oh. Right.” He let out an awkward laugh. “Thank you, sir.”

He hurried over, grabbed the bag, and rushed out of the office.

I watched the door close behind him and I shook my head, a quiet chuckle escaping my lips.

“So stupid,” I muttered before turning back to the files on my desk.