All of the soft edges of my childhood that were smooth are now jagged and razor sharp. Revenge is what I seek more than anything else now. Forget love. Forget happiness. The blood of those who betrayed me is what I covet. I need it like I need air to breathe. My body is hollow and filled with a hurt that has grown more painful with each day that passes.
The wounds of the truth are too fresh on me still. Nothing and no one is what they seem to be, and that realization hurts more than I ever thought possible. It’s a burning agonizing pain that never dulls. It reverberates, expanding until there is nothing left to give. It peels away at my flesh, exposing parts of me that I’m not ready for anyone to see. The truth makes me want to do terrible and horrible things. It leaves me restless and wanting.
Unfulfilled.
Exposed.
The pain I feel rushes through my body, lighting a stinging fire in my veins, scorching my nerves as it twists and turns within me, finally melding with the fear blossoming in my gut. I welcome it. It reminds me of what is at stake and just how much I have to lose.
How far am I willing to go? When I finally have what I seek, will it haunt me? Will the knowledge of my actions keep me up at night? I don’t have the answers, but I will soon enough.
His death haunts me.
Lies consume me.
Betrayal eats away at my heart, snaking deep until it finds comfort as it gnaws at my bones. I deserve it for doing nothing. But most of all, I just wish I could be like that damned set of monkeys that see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil. But it’s too late for that now.
I’ve seen and heard too much.
And soon, I will speak of it to those who will help me walk through the fires of hell to seek my revenge or die trying.
Evil is all around me. It is born in my house. It is nurtured by the men I have known all of my life. It runs through my veins like liquid fire. I am Liliya Markow. I am a mafia princess. My father is the Pakhan, the ruler, the boss of the Markow family. I’ve thrived off of death and shady dealings my entire life, and now I’m embracing it for my brother. Bratva men think that women are powerless, mere property to have at their sides and warm their beds.
They are wrong and I’m going to show them all.
Before my world shattered, I would never have imagined myself as I am now. I would never have imagined taking the steps I am taking now. But it will all be worth it in the end when the sweet taste of revenge coats my tongue.
Chapter Two – Liliya
“Only trust thyself, and another shall not betray thee.”
- William Penn
“She couldn’t have gotten very far. If we don’t find her, everything we’ve planned will blow up in our faces. The other families will…” He stopped, shaking his head, not wanting to give voice to what his future would hold if the other families learned what I knew.
I couldn’t help but notice the glint of fear in my father’s eyes, the tension in his body, the way the vein on his forehead pulsed as he mentioned the other families. Knowing that he fears the other families and what they might do to him makes my heart dance wildly. It’s a relief to know that somewhere out there, someone – or several someone’s – scare the hell out of him. He needs to be put in his place. He deserves as much.
Finding the other families won’t be that difficult. I’ve learned things. But walking into their brotherhood will be hard. Even though there has been a truce in place between the five families, it is shaky at best.
Lines are always crossed.
Some lines are straddled.
That alone gives me more hope than I had only minutes ago when they stepped out of the house. A smile works over my trembling lips as the thought of approaching the families and seeking their help. I can almost hear Malcolm’s voice echoing inside me, spurring me on in my pursuit of revenge.
I’m shaken from my thoughts, my head snapping in the direction of my father’s voice, brought back to the here and now, reminding me just how serious my situation has become.
“Hell, you know what they’re capable of when their power – their legacy – is on the line. That Ruslan Volsky will have our heads if he gets wind of our plans. Find her, Dane, and find her now! Time is of the essence. The next meeting of the bosses is only weeks away.”
The cold and angry voice of my father cut through the darkness of the night like a punch to the gut, raking my body with chills. My father, the man I had looked up to my entire life – all twenty-one years of it – had always been a kind man with a soft and understanding voice. The man standing with his fists clenched, ready for a fight, was nothing like my father. He had made me feel safe and loved, like nothing could ever cause me harm. But now I knew that was only a mask hiding his true identity. He was the devil. And the man standing with him wasn’t any better.
I cut my eyes back and forth between the two men, wondering how I had been such a fool. How had I not seen what had been happening around me? Was I that damn na?ve to what my family was capable of? It was obvious there was more going on than even I had learned about since that night.