Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Grigori

The drive back is a silent hell. Lana”s in the backseat, curled up like she”s holding the world”s weight. She”s a shadow, a whisper of herself. Never seen her break down, not even when her mom passed. And now, here she is, drowning in tears she doesn”t want me to see. I respect that, keep my eyes on the road, but damn, it”s hard not to look back.

Our car, a black Audi A8, cuts through the night. The engine”s hum is the only thing filling the silence. Lana”s soft sobs, they”re there if you listen close. But I don”t. Can”t. It”s like watching a storm tear through a city you love.

I fish my phone out, hit Luca”s number on speed dial. The line crackles to life.

”Luca, talk to me. Anything off with the accounts?”

There is a pause. Then Luca”s voice, wary. ”Yeah, Grigori. There”s a transaction. A big one. Didn”t look right, so I flagged it. Went out to Perez.”

My grip on the steering wheel tightens. ”Perez, huh?” My stomach twists. The bastard”s making his move, and Roman”s right in the thick of it.

”Yeah. Sorry, man. Looks like...”

I cut him off. ”No, it”s good you caught it. Keep an eye out. I need to know everything that moves.”

I end the call, a lump in my throat. How do I tell Lana? She”s barely holding together as it is. But she”s got to know. Lana”s the head, the queen on this chessboard, pregnant and caught in a web of lies and betrayal.

I take a deep breath, turn slightly to address her without making eye contact. ”Lana, there”s something about the accounts. A transaction to Perez. It”s... It”s not good.”

Silence. Then I hear her sit up, the sound of someone bracing for impact. ”What are you saying, Grigori?”

”It”s Roman. He might be... He might actually be involved with Perez. Luca found a transaction.”

The moment I break the news to Lana, the atmosphere in the car shifts. It”s palpable, the change. She straightens up, the queen preparing for war. ”If Roman betrayed me, he will suffer. No matter what.” Her voice is steel, her resolve concrete. She wipes away her tears, erasing the vulnerability she showed moments before. It”s like watching someone armor up, piece by piece.

I try to ease the tension, to inject a bit of reason into the mix. ”Lana, we don”t know everything yet. Let”s not jump to—”

She cuts me off with silence. A silence that says more than a thousand words ever could. It”s clear she”s not open to discussion. Her mind”s made up. If Roman”s against us, he”s against her. And Lana doesn”t take kindly to betrayal.

We reach the house, the night eerily quiet around us. No words are exchanged as we all get out of the car. Lana, a figure of determined silence, rushes ahead. I follow, my thoughts a tangled mess.

Roman, looking like he”s just stepped into a minefield, follows us with a confusion that”s almost convincing. Almost. His eyes dart between us, searching for answers in our stony faces. But we offer nothing. Not yet.

I”ve known Roman all my life. Grew up together, fought side by side, shared secrets in the dark. This man, accused of betrayal, doesn”t match up with the Roman I know. Would he really sell us out? For money? The thought tastes bitter in my mind, a betrayal in itself.

As I watch him, trying to piece together the puzzle that”s become of our lives, I”m torn. Doubt creeps in, shadowing my thoughts. Roman, with his confused glances and silent questions, doesn”t look like the traitor Lana”s painted him to be. But then, what do I know? What does anyone ever really know about another person?

We enter the house, a silent procession. The tension hangs heavy, a cloak that smothers any attempt at normalcy. Lana leads, her resolve as hard as diamond. Roman follows, confusion etched deep into his features, a man walking into his own judgment without a clue as to why.

And me? I”m caught in the middle, doubting, wondering, fearing. Roman, the brother from another mother, now potentially our biggest enemy. It”s a thought that churns my stomach, a scenario I never envisioned in our wildest escapades.

This isn”t the Roman I know. But then again, people change. Or perhaps, they simply reveal who they”ve always been.

As soon as the front door closes behind us, Lana whirls on Roman, the storm in her eyes about to make landfall. ”How could you, Roman? After everything, how could you betray us?”

Roman”s face is a mix of anger and disbelief. ”Betray you? Lana, I haven”t done anything!”

”Don”t lie to me!” Lana”s voice rises, sharp as shattered glass. ”Your account, Roman. There”s a transaction linking you to Perez. And Perez had the nerve to tell me how easy it was to buy you off. What the hell is that about?”

”I swear to you, I have no idea about any transaction. My account? I didn”t authorize anything. Lana, you have to believe me.” Roman”s desperation is palpable, his voice edged with frustration.

”How can I believe you? You”ve been so distant, so fucking silent. Now this? It”s like I don”t even know you anymore!” Lana”s fury crescendos, and with it, objects begin to fly - a vase, books, anything her hands can find.

Roman ducks, a vase shattering against the wall where his head was just moments before. ”Lana, stop! This isn”t you. We can figure this out.”

”Figure this out?!” Lana laughs, but it”s void of humor, filled instead with a bitter edge. ”How do we figure out betrayal, Roman? How do we come back from this?”

Tears start to streak down her face, a visible sign of her crumbling resolve. ”I trusted you,” she sobs, her voice breaking. ”I trusted you with my life, with our future. And you... you just threw it all away.”

Roman steps forward, hands outstretched as if to plead his case. ”I didn”t betray you, Lana. I would never. Please, you have to believe me.”

Lana, her eyes ablaze with anger and hurt, fires back, ”Prove it, then! Prove that you”re not lying to me right now.”

”All these years I”ve served you, Lana. It never even crossed my mind to betray you. How can you even think that?” Roman”s voice is a mix of anger and desperation.

”Because of what Perez said! Because there”s money flowing into your account that you can”t explain! Because you”ve been so damn silent recently, like you”re hiding something!” Lana”s voice breaks the silence of the house like thunder.

”I don”t know anything about that transaction, Lana! I swear to you. Someone”s setting me up, it has to be!” Roman”s denial is fervent, his confusion genuine.

Lana shakes her head, tears starting to form in her eyes again. ”How convenient, Roman. All of this happening, and you know nothing? Perez practically gloating about how easy it was to buy you off!”

”That”s bullshit, and you know it!” Roman”s shout echoes through the room. ”Why would I throw everything away? For what? Money? You think I”d sell out the only family I”ve ever known?”

Lana doesn”t back down, her sorrow turning into fury. ”I don”t know what to believe anymore!”

But Lana isn”t listening. She”s too far gone, her heartbreak manifesting into rage. ”Get out! I can”t even look at you right now.”

From the sidelines, Luca and I exchange a look, the weight of the situation pressing down on us. I can see the same sadness in his eyes, the realization that this might be the breaking point for all of us. Our unity, our strength, it”s unraveling before our very eyes.

I glance back at the chaos, at Lana”s tear-streaked face and Roman”s desperate attempts to prove his innocence. It”s a disaster, a heartbreaking spectacle of trust broken and relationships teetering on the edge.

Lana”s at her breaking point, voice like ice, ”Get out, Roman. And don”t come back.” She doesn”t wait for a response, just storms off to bed, leaving a silence that hits harder than any of her words.

Roman stands there, a mix of anger and disbelief painting his face. He turns to us, eyes searching, ”You guys happy now?”

”Fuck, Roman. Of course, we”re not,” I say, keeping my voice low, trying to shove some sense into this mess. ”This isn”t what any of us wanted.”

Luca nods, silent, but his face says it all. We”re in the middle of a disaster we saw coming but couldn”t stop.

Roman”s anger fades a notch, replaced by something raw, something vulnerable. He looks at us, really looks, and I swear I can see the moment his heart splits in two. ”I didn”t do it,” he says, voice barely a whisper, like admitting it louder would make it more real.

”We know, man,” Luca finally speaks up, his voice steady. ”We”ll figure this out. ”

But Roman”s not listening. He”s already retreating, a man marked by accusations, walking away from the ruins of what used to be solid. He doesn”t look back.

The door slams shut behind him, and that”s it. He”s gone. Luca and I are left standing in a room filled with the echo of things unsaid, the weight of unsolved mysteries pressing down on us.

”I fucking hate this,” I mutter, running a hand through my hair. It”s a mess, all of it. Lana in pieces, Roman accused and broken, and here we are, stuck in the middle, trying to keep the world from falling apart.

Luca doesn”t say anything, just starts picking up the scattered remnants of Lana”s rage. I join him, because what else is there to do? Each piece we pick up feels like another piece of our unity being boxed away, stored for a time when maybe, just maybe, we can put it all back together.

After the storm of emotions settles into an uneasy silence, I decide to check on Lana. The hallway feels longer tonight, every step heavy with the weight of what”s unfolded. I knock softly on her door, a quiet announcement of my presence.

”Lana?” My voice is gentle, a stark contrast to the chaos of earlier. No answer. I try again, ”It”s me, Grigori. Can I come in?”

A beat passes, then another. Finally, she speaks, her voice raw, ”Go away, Grigori.”

Her words hit harder than I expect, a blunt force to my concern. I lean against the doorframe, the distance between us feeling like miles now. ”Lana, I... We”ll fix this. You”re not alone in this mess.”

Silence greets me, a barrier as effective as any locked door. I know she”s on the other side, probably curled up, probably crying, and it tears at me. We”re supposed to protect each other, but here we are, fractured and divided.

”I know you”re hurting. And I wish I could do something—anything—to make it better. But I promise you, we”re going to get to the bottom of this. Roman, the money, Perez”s lies... We”ll sort it out. You”re the toughest person I know, Lana. You”ve pulled us through hell and back before. We”ll do it again, together.”

It”s a plea, a promise, a vow. But the door remains closed, her silence a clear message. I linger for a moment longer, hoping for something, anything. But there”s nothing. Just the sound of my own heartbeat and the quiet of a house that”s seen too much.

With a heavy heart, I turn away, my mind racing with plans, with contingencies, with a fierce determination to right the wrongs that have led us here.

We”ve been through hell before. We”ll go through it again. Because that”s what families do, even ones as broken and battered as ours. And as I close my eyes, trying to find a moment”s peace in the chaos, I hold onto that thought. Because sometimes, it”s all you”ve got.