Made for the Devil's Pleasure のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 61 - チャプター 70

KATYA“Will my father be there too?”The question slipped out before I could stop it.Nikolai looked up from where he stood in front of the full-length mirror, adjusting the cuff of his black suit. He met my eyes through the mirror.“Yes.” He said, “He will.”I swallowed hard now, as silence settled between us for a second before he continued.“Every Pakhan, Bratva leader, and syndicate representative invited to the Concord will be there.”I let out a slow breath.“Well...”I rubbed my palms together nervously.“That would definitely be awkward.”A corner of his mouth lifted.“You could call it that.”I walked over to him, noticing that his tie was slightly crooked. Without thinking, I reached for it.“Stand still.”He raised an eyebrow but obeyed.My fingers worked carefully over the silk tie, straightening it before smoothing down the collar of his shirt. It amazed me how natural this had become.Weeks ago, I had hated this man.Now I was fixing his tie before he attended one of the

NIKOLAI “Where is she?”I stormed through the front doors of the mansion. Every pair of eyes in the foyer immediately turned toward me.The drive back from Concord had been the longest of my life. A thousand possibilities had played through my mind.Had she tried to run? Had Viktor somehow found a way inside? Had another mole been hiding beneath my nose this entire time? The thought alone made my blood boil.If someone had managed to walk into my home and take Katya without anyone noticing... Then everything I had built about my house being a fortress and my whole reputation meant nothing.“She hasn't been found yet.”Sergei's voice cut through my thoughts.I looked toward him. He was already waiting near the staircase for me, and I could feel the tension coming from him.I walked straight toward him.“How long has it been since you noticed she was gone?”“About an hour now.” His expression remained grave. “I called you almost immediately.”My jaw clenched.“Have you checked the cam

NIKOLAI “They are trying to get a rise out of me.”I stared at the cream-colored invitation Sergei had placed on my desk, my fingers tightening around the thick card-stock until it creased beneath my grip.Sergei stood across from the desk with his arms folded, watching me carefully.Viktor Orlov requests the honor of your presence… This motherfucker clearly had some nerve.My jaw clenched.The celebration was to formally introduce his daughter, Katya Orlov, to the Bratva families.For a long second, I simply stared at it all, and then I laughed.“To think she swore to me she had nothing to do with her father.” I muttered,If the disappearance of the Concord had not confirmed my suspicions before...This certainly did."Of course she was lying." Sergei snorted.I looked up."It is that evident in this," he continued. "Why else would Viktor throw a full-blown party in her honor? Come on, Nikolai."I exhaled slowly through my nose.The image of Katya crying in the cell flashed through

NIKOLAI "Nikolai?"I barely registered Lily's voice as I walked through the front doors of the mansion."Nikolai." She hurried after me. "What happened?"I kept walking."You look bothered," she said as she stepped in front of me now, forcing me to stop. "How did the outing go?"I walked around Lily without answering. I could see the irritation on her face now."Did something happen?" she asked again.I climbed the stairs two at a time before disappearing into my study. The moment the door closed behind me, silence swallowed the room.I stood there for several seconds unsure of how to even proceed at first.My hand instinctively reached inside my jacket. The folded piece of paper was still there. I'd read it so many times during the drive home that the edges were already beginning to soften.I unfolded it again and my eyes moved across the familiar handwriting.I am sorry, Nikolai. It is Sergei. He is your mole. That was all there was in the letter.No explanation or anything else.

NIKOLAI "What the fuck is this?"I was already on my feet, shoving the chair backward hard enough for it to crash against the wall."No..." I muttered, "No... this isn't possible."The letter trembled in my hand now, as my eyes darted over the words again and again. Something here had to be wrong. There had to be another Sergei this was referring to."There has to be," I growled. “There has to be some sort of misunderstanding here.”The first letter I had found inside my father's journal had been from a woman that was confessing that she was carrying his child.At first, I had thought it to be impossible, as my father had never mentioned or even hinted to me that I had a sibling somewhere in the world. But then, my father had written about everything so vividly in his journals that it really was hard to miss.He could not risk accepting the child as his, which was why it was kept a secret all of this time. It was a tough pill to swallow, because even though I knew that my father was