Chapter 17 - The Tsar's Welcome
The heavy, oppressive fog of London matched the dark, sinking feeling entirely consuming my chest.
We walked into the lavish, completely empty lobby of a five-star hotel that the Bratva had rented out entirely.
We were surrounded immediately by heavily armed Russian guards wearing tailored suits and silent, judging expressions.
They thoroughly searched us, confiscating Alessandro’s weapons but completely ignoring my father’s delicate jeweler's awl in my coat.
We were escorted up to the lavish penthouse suite, which offered a breathtaking, panoramic view of the rainy city below.
Sitting at a massive oak dining table was the Tsar, an imposing, brutal man with cold, dead eyes and a silver cane.
Standing quietly behind him, wearing an expensive suit and looking completely unharmed, was my father.
He could not look me in the eyes, staring completely fixedly at the expensive Persian rug beneath his polished shoes.
Elena was tied to a chair in the corner of the room, crying silently with heavy, dark bruises blooming on her wrists.
The Tsar smiled thinly, complimenting my absolute brilliance in retrieving the ledger from the Swiss vault.
He extended his scarred hand, demanding that I hand over the leather book that held the keys to his digital empire.
I tightened my grip on the bag and demanded that he release Elena immediately before I handed over anything.
The Tsar laughed, a harsh, terrifying sound that completely lacked any genuine warmth or humor.
He told me that I was in absolutely no position to negotiate, and that my father had already sold my loyalty.
I finally looked directly at my father, begging him to tell me that this was all a terrible, elaborate lie.
My father’s voice broke as he confessed that he had traded my technical skills to the Tsar to secure his own retirement.
He had faked his death to escape the life, but the Tsar found him and demanded one final, impossible job in exchange for peace.
My father had offered me as a replacement, knowing my mechanical and digital skills far surpassed his own.
He had sacrificed his own daughter to the wolves just to save his own cowardly skin.
Alessandro stepped fiercely in front of me, placing his body between me and the men who had destroyed my family.
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He looked at the Tsar and coldly stated that he would burn the entire hotel to the ground before they touched me.
The Tsar casually waved his hand, and twenty laser sights instantly appeared on Alessandro’s chest from the shadows.
