Lies of My Monster: A Dark Mafia Romance(10)

“Mother…” My uncle tries to pull her back, but she pushes him away and hits her cane on the floor again.

“How dare you stop our revenge on that rotten family?” she asks with an extremely upper-class Russian accent—the way I used to speak before I joined the army and had to lose it.

My shoulders hunch like every time I’m scolded by her. I’ve always worked for Babushka’s approval but have never gotten it, which makes me lack confidence whenever I’m in front of her.

The cane with a golden strip and a crow’s head in her wrinkly hand has been the bane of my existence. I, more often than not, got hit by that when I was growing up.

Sometimes, even hearing it tapping on the ground is enough to start a ticking sound at the back of my head.

I swallow twice before I’m able to speak. “Kirill has nothing to do with our revenge.”

The cane swishes in the air before it crashes against my side, and I wince, but I don’t move out of the way. “So you are switching sides now?”

“No. But I won’t allow anyone to kill him.”

“You’re defending him with everything in you. I wonder how he’ll react if he finds out you’re an Ivanov.” She lifts her nose in the air. “He and his father did everything in their power to eliminate us. Do you think he’ll take the knowledge of survivors lightly?”

“He’s not like that.” And I mean it. Kirill might be ruthless, but he cares about Karina and Anna. He wouldn’t hurt children, no matter what the agenda is.

“Sasha,” my uncle starts. “You are in denial, and that won’t only be a threat to your life but to ours as well. I need to kill Kirill while he’s alone and defenseless. We’ll never have a chance like this one again.”

“No.” The word comes out too raw and guttural, and definitely not in the way I’d usually speak to the two most revered members of my family.

“What did you just say?” Babushka asks in an incredulous tone.

“I said no. You have no proof. Besides, Uncle, didn’t you say the one who ordered the hit was a higher-up in the military? Didn’t I enlist to find him?”

“The one who executed the hit was in the military,” Uncle says. “I didn’t know his name at the time, but I found out from trusted sources after Roman’s death that he was General Abram Kuzmin. But here’s the thing. Before I could get to him, he was found mysteriously murdered in the streets of Moscow not long after Kirill became the head of the Morozov family. Do you think it’s a coincidence that the lone witness to Roman’s deeds was killed after he died? The only one who could’ve ordered that hit is Kirill. Roman has no reason to hide information after his death. His son, however, is going to great lengths to cover up his tracks.”

My mind is about to explode from the onslaught of information, but I still shake my head. “He has nothing to gain from eliminating a witness to a murder when he thinks the entire family was killed, which means your source is unreliable. You don’t know Kirill, but I do. He’s not the type who does anything unless there’s some sort of gain.”

“How dare you defend him in front of my face, you preposterous child!”

“I’m sorry, but I won’t allow you to hurt him, Babushka.”

“Go do your thing, Albert.” She hits me with the cane on my other side and pushes. “Move out of the way.”

I seize hold of her cane for the first time in my life. My hand trembles, but I lift my chin and continue to stand tall. “I said no.”

“Sasha, don’t make this harder than it needs to be,” Uncle says.

“If you want to kill Kirill, you’ll have to kill me first.”

“Sasha!”

“Aleksandra!” Babushka screeches, pulling her cane from my fingers and stomping it on the ground. “I should’ve known a girl would be good for nothing. You’ve fallen for the monster, haven’t you?”

“N-no.” I clear my throat. “He’s my savior, and I refuse to betray him.”

“If you don’t move out of the way,” she warns. “Mark my words, Aleksandra Ivanova, I will disown you.”

I pause, my fingers shaking and my heart thumping so loudly, I can hear it in my ears.

Sweat breaks out on my temples and upper lip as I stare at my grandmother.

The thought of being a stranger to my family rips my chest open, but no more than the mere thought of losing Kirill.

So I stand there, unmoving.

“Sasha,” Uncle pleads, but I shake my head.

“You are dead to me,” Babushka says with another stomp of her cane. “I will think that you were killed that day with everyone else.”

Then she turns around and leaves, hitting her cane on the ground all the way. Tears fill my eyes, but I don’t let them loose.

“It’s not too late to fix it, Sashenka,” Uncle says gently, pleadingly almost. “Do the right thing.”

“Killing my savior is not the right thing. Far from it.”

“This is not over even if I walk away right now. I will come back for Kirill’s life. It’s my duty toward this family. If you decide to stop me, be ready to kill me.” His eyes soften, and he releases a long sigh. “I wish I’d never sent you to the army.”