Chapter 5

Nikolai’s POV

I walked into the Headquarters of the Vetrov group of companies, I had been gone for four years and everything looked out of place.

My brother Luca was clearly not holding this place up to the standard our father had left it. And how could he? He was never interested in this life, he wanted to study and get a career outside of the Bratva, but I convinced him to stay.

Now Luca is dead, and while I am not sure between our two sworn enemies, the Sokolovs and the Barinovs, which was responsible for his death, I have taken it upon myself to find out the truth and get justice for him. I owed him as much.

With Lev, my second in command, by my side, I walked into the meeting room where ten older men were waiting for me around the long table. They had been arguing between themselves before I walked in and the room went cold.

“Mr. Vetrov, welcome back home.” Sergei Volkov, the chairman of the board, said to me in a rush of words.

I hummed and silently took my seat. Lev was standing behind me in a black suit and his hand resting on his strapped gun.

“Mr. Vetrov, first of all, I want to offer my sincere condolences over the death of your brother…”

“Mr. Volkov, send your condolences at the funeral,” I cut him short. “I am here for a purpose.” I warned strictly.

“Oh yes, of course Sir. We heard you were coming to review the arrangements here at the company.”

“Then you heard wrong. I didn’t come here to review arrangements, Sergei. I came here to take over and it appears that I will no longer be needing you all.” I announced.

“Huh?” he muttered with a look of shock on his face. “I am sorry, Mr. Vetrov. I know you have not been around but it is not the way things work around here.”

“Quiet!” I yelled and he trembled, involuntarily sitting his ass down.

“I don’t care how things are run here. My brother had given you four years to lead. You accomplished nothing. So from now on, you speak when spoken to. Is that understood?”

“Ye… Yes sir!” he stuttered, a look of terror on his face.

“Good. Now you listen, because I am a fair man, I will give you two months to clean up your mess and produce excellent results. If after two months, I am not impressed, I will have your heads on spikes, do you understand?” I asked in a low deep voice, making sure they understood that I meant every word I said.

“Yes sir, clear as day.”

“Perfect. Have a great day gentlemen.” I smiled and stood up.

The place was as quiet as a graveyard as I left. It wasn’t until Lev and I walked out to the elevator that I began to hear them murmur behind.

I had come home to make everything right, and this was just the start.

*

Next we walked into a cold room; it was a meat freezer under a Bratva-owned Restaurant.

There were three men on their knees in the freezing room, a sack thrown over their heads and their hands tied, with two armed men watching over them.

“These are the traitors amongst our ranks, Boss.” Lev reported.

“Hmm… So these are the men who have chosen to betray their own? Take the sacks off their faces!” I ordered.

“Yes Sir.” Lev obeyed, unveiling them.

I looked at their pitiful faces and clenched my fist in anger. These men had chosen to steal from me, they didn’t even steal personal funds but they dared to steal from Bratva accounts, and they had also been tipping off the feds.

Coming home to Moscow, I didn’t just intend to take over the business; I was going to expunge our ranks of corruption and theft. My brother was soft and they had grown bold to steal from their own boss, by Bratva law, the punishment for such crime was death.

“You have all been found guilty of crimes against the brotherhood, as Don, I sentence you to execution by gunshot.” I announced.

The men looked terrified, one of them begging that I spare his life. The two armed men raised their guns to the back of the traitors’ heads but I signaled them to stand down.

“Untie them!” I ordered.

“Boss?” Lev muttered, staring at me in surprise.

“I said, untie them!” I shot him a warning glare.

He immediately signaled the men and they untied the men.

“Give me your gun,” I said to Lev and he handed me his handgun.

“Now I do not believe in executions, every man has a right to defend himself in the face of death, and so I will give you guys an opportunity to do so. Shoot me first and you get to walk out here alive.” I announced in a cold voice as I threw the gun to the floor in front of them.

Lev once again turned to me in shock, silently questioning my actions.

The first man stared down at the gun and raised his head back up at me, his eyes dashed to the gun once again and I could tell he had made his choice.

He immediately tried to grab the gun, but before his hand could reach it, I fired a bullet into his head and he dropped dead.

The second man dived as well, he managed to pick the gun and point it at me, but before he could pull the trigger, I shot him right in the chest.

The last man looked terrified, his eyes rising from his dead comrades and the unfired gun on the floor to me; he bowed his head to the floor immediately and began crying.

“Please Boss, forgive me I beg you. I have a family; I am a father of three young kids, please spare my life, Master.” He wept like a child.

I groaned, clenching my fist as I stepped over the dead bodies to reach him. “I hate traitors, but do you know what I hate more than traitors? Fucking cowards!” I yelled and kicked him hard on the stomach.

“Ahh!” he groaned and tumbled.

“Take this man; I want his death to be slow and painful. Hang him with his head down and make him suffer till the last breath,” I spat in disgust.

“No!” The man immediately jumped and tried to reach the gun but I kicked him hard on the head with my shoe sole, knocking him unconscious.

“Take him away!” I ordered.

The two armed men picked him up and dragged him out of the cold room. I turned to Lev who offered me a handkerchief to clean my hands.

“Find out if any of them had children, give them a new identity and a new home. Our ties with their family come to an end today, the Vetrov family is no place for traitors, make the word known.” I ordered as I turned to walk out of the storeroom.

A real Don has arrived and all of Moscow will soon come to understand that.

“Before I forget Sir, the Sokolov Family has signed the alliance pact, you are scheduled for a wedding tomorrow.” Lev announced.

I wasn’t surprised to hear that, I knew Anya would come around. The marriage was bigger than the both of us, it was important that it happened.

“Hmm… Then I better find a suit that fits. After all, it is not every day that a Vetrov marries a Sokolov.” I said with a little grin.

T. B. C!!