Page 84 of The Pakhan's Kidnapped Bride
“Years ago, before your parents met each other, my father dated a woman named Claudia-Rose. I’ve heard her name a number of times in my life, but I never knew who she was, other than being someone my father was at some point involved with. Yesterday, I had my men look into my father’s history, and her name came up again.”
“My mother’s name,” I say quietly.
“Exactly. Your mother and my father were together for almost a year. According to his retelling of the story, and the information I could piece together all these years later, she left him in a cruel and heartless way. But if you ask anyone who was there to witness the relationship from an objective standpoint, she left him because he used to beat her violently. He was abusive, manipulative, cold-hearted—all the things we already know of my father.” He pauses, taking a slow breath. “I’m sorry, I know your mother passed away when you were very young; this can’t be easy to hear.”
“It’s okay, carry on.”
He nods. “My father abused her, and she left him. That’s the real story. Not too long after she left him, your mother met your father. She was madly in love with him, and they got married, had you, and lived happily. My father was jealous and bitter, and it was the beginning of the rivalry between our families. It started with our fathers. Your father was angry because of the pain he’d inflicted on your mother. My father was angry because he believed your father had stolen his love.” Kristopher sighs. “My father is a horrible man.”
“I was only three when my parents died. I was far too young to know any of this,” I say thoughtfully.
“How did your parents die?” Kristopher asks, suddenly tense.
“It was an accident. It wasn’t your father,” I say quickly, knowing what he fears.
He clenches his jaw. “My father’s cruelty started this rivalry a generation before us, and my father’s cruelty fueled it into our generation as well. It’s up to us to end this, if you can come to understand that he acted alone, and I played no part in his threats—and what he did to Anya.” Kristopher’s voice is tight. He hates his father as much as I do. I can hear it in his voice.
I let out a heavy sigh, processing everything he’s told me. I don’t blame him for any of it. And he’s right, we are the only ones who can put an end to it.
“Faiz is still the head of Bratva in Phoenix,” I remark.
Kris leans back in his chair and taps his fingers on the armrest. “He is—on paper.”
“And off paper?”
“I’ve been running everything in Phoenix for years. It’s my reputation, my work, my status that binds every single oneof my allies to me. They do not want to work with my father, and they’re only in business with me because they know he’s not really running the show.”
“But your father still has a lot of his own allies. He still has a lot of power. Even just in the title, he could cause a lot of trouble for us,” I say, knowing it’s true, but needing to point it out so that we can acknowledge all angles and risks.
“My father’s spies are everywhere, it’s true. And despite ‘retiring,’ he has power still. But I can assure you that his name won’t be up there for much longer, not if everything I have planned goes through without issues.”
I stare at Kristopher, into the eyes of the man I have hated for so long, and all I see is someone who cares for Anya as much as I do. He came here, willing to be honest with me, to tell me the brutal truth he found out from our intertwined past; he came here because he loves his sister and wants the same thing I do.
For her to be happy.
“I love her,” I say, letting out a heavy breath.
“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe that, Emmanuil.”
“So, what do you suggest we do? Anya has made it clear that she won’t act violently against Faiz. Even after everything he did, she doesn’t want to be the same as him. What do you want? What do you believe is the best course of action?”
He shakes his head. “I agree with her. Violence isn’t the answer. We need to strip him of his power, and that plan is already in motion. I’m trusting you with that knowledge.” His eyes pierce into mine.
“I will help wherever I can,” I reply.
“You can help by keeping my sister in San Diego. If she goes back to Phoenix now, there is no telling what my father willdo. News of your marriage is already spreading. He’ll find out soon enough, and his ego won’t let him ignore it.”
“I’ll keep her here, but that’s not a permanent solution.”
“It won’t have to be. Do you mean what you say? That you’ll help where you can?”
I nod.
“Then we are allies.” Kristopher leans forward in his seat, resting his elbows on his knees. It’s a statement and a question.
“We are allies,” I confirm. “Faiz will be furious, though.”
“I know,” Kris chuckles. “But once I have full control, it won’t matter what he thinks.”
