I carefully opened the box at the same time as Anri. A gold necklace sat on a bed of velvet. I ran my hand over the emblem and Papa leaned forward. I looked up and he pulled his necklace out of his shirt collar.
“It’s the same as mine. My father had one, too.” A smile spread on his lips. “Be proud to wear them. You’re the future of this family. You’ll fix my mistakes.”
Anri stood and clutched his necklace to his chest. “We will get revenge for you, Papa. When we’re older we’ll take back Moscow for you. We’ll take New York.”
I stood beside Anri and did the same. “We swear it, Papa. We’ll make them all pay.”
Papa stood, and with a hand on each shoulder, asked, “Who will you destroy?”
We took a deep breath, and recited three names we knew by heart, “The Volkovs, Tolstois, and Durovs.”
Papa smiled and threw his arms around our shoulders. He led us out of the door. Mama and Grandmama rushed over to help us put our necklaces on. They beamed with pride. My mama stepped back and put her hands to her mouth. “My sons,” she beamed, and ran her hand over the necklaces on our necks.
“Dinner. We celebrate!” she said, and scooted us all out into the yard.
Anri pulled on my arm and we snuck into a doorway. He laid his hand on my shoulder and said, “We are strong. We must remain strong to be the heirs Papa wants us to be.”
“I will,” I replied, “we will,” and Anri put his hands on my cheeks.
“We’re brothers, Zaal. Until the end. We’ll always be together. We’re stronger together.”
He gripped my hand and we walked toward the table. The whole family was there. Two seats were free at the top of the table beside Papa.
Zoya saw us coming and ran toward us. She jumped into my arms. “Zaal! Can you sit beside me?”
I nodded my head. As the eldest brother, Anri sat beside Papa with me next to him.
“Come,” I said to Zoya, and sat her down on her seat. I slid in next to Anri. Papa made a toast. The servants brought the food.
Suddenly a loud crash sounded in the house. Papa clicked his fingers to the guards. “Go see what it is.”
But the guards didn’t move.
My papa dropped his fork and rose from his seat. He glared at the guards. “Go and see what that was. Now!”
All of us were still around the table. The guards rolled their necks. They smirked at my papa, then they raised their rifles.
A crash sounded again. Suddenly, Mr. Jakhua, my papa’s friend, entered the yard, with lots of guards following him.
A hand suddenly grabbed mine. When I looked down, I saw it was Anri’s. I was shaking. Shaking so bad. Anri squeezed my hand and mouthed, “Dzlier. Be strong. Keep strong.”
I nodded as my heart began to race.
Then Zoya crawled into my arms, tucking her face against my neck. She whimpered. My papa stepped toward Jakhua. A guard suddenly jumped in front and pointed a rifle to his chest.
My mama cried out, my baby brother and sister beside her started screaming, too.
“Levan! What the fuck is going on!” my papa shouted. But Levan flicked his finger to his guards.
The guards rushed toward our table, and I froze. Zoya started crying against my neck. I held her close with one arm as Anri kept tight hold of my other hand.
The guards rushed to my mama and my grandmama and hauled them to their feet. Two guards took my baby brother and sister. They were screaming for Mama as they were dragged behind.
Anri jumped to his feet, as did I. I held Zoya in my arms. We tried to back away. Guards came for us. I gripped Zoya tighter, her arms locked around my neck. I fought for air as fear stole my breath. Then, out of nowhere, a guard rushed forward and wrapped his arms around Zoya.
Zoya screamed against my neck. Everyone was screaming, the sound deafening my ears. Dropping Anri’s hand, I reached for my little sister. But the guard was stronger.
Her terrified dark eyes met mine and tears fell down her face. “Zaal!” she screamed. Her hand reached out for me to save her.