◆ Secret Blood Lines ◆
◆ MILES ◆
Cousins?
Did he mean my father and Mykaela's real dad? Related by blood?
What the fuck's he talking about?
"Are you kidding?"
"No. Ask Nicco." Magnus regarded me with a dead-eyed stare as he tilted his glass closer to his mouth. "His friend did some real digging when I paid them to find out what really went down, before Ilya and Stefano scrapped that port deal in Idstrom."
"Where's that again?" Ricchar asked.
"In the Black Sea."
Niccolo's friend? Another hacker? "What're you talking about? Cousins?" I scoffed as Ricchar sat still beside me.
He was almost glaring at the other guy, his wine glass about to go empty. "Go on."
"Ilya and Sofija— Pardon. I meant Mykaela..." Magnus muttered with a tight grin. For someone who grew up in another country, his foreign accent when he spoke English was near undetectable. "They're descendants of your grandmother's aunt. Angelika. Well, that's what the records say."
"Angelika? Emira's aunt who got killed in the war?" Ricchar frowned.
"Not quite. During the war, the Mihajlovićs found her and adopted Angelika. They took her to Koslav before she turned 16. Then she met Ilya's grandfather. Decades later, Ilya's parents moved back to Serbia. So on so forth."
"Wow." Ricchar feigned a quick laugh. "Sounds like a movie, no?"
"Real life is stranger than fiction, indeed."
What the heck's he talking about? I squinted at the man confidently grinning and sitting across from us. While my brain tried to put the puzzle pieces in place, I stayed put in my seat.
The guy didn't even flinch while he narrated the whole thing. Not a hint of emotion behind his words, too. What he's telling us could be utter horseshit, but why would he make up stories?
It didn't make sense. Did he know his story sounded ridiculous? If he made it all up, his real angle would be another mindfuck I had to figure out soon. Preferably sooner than some people with too much power in their hands could derail our plans.
Or what he said could be the truth: that Ilya and my father were in fact related by blood.
Maybe that's how they ended up doing business together in the past. Huh. All this time, I thought Pappa only knew Ilya and his clan of contraband smugglers because they both shared connections in the underground trade.
Why would Niccolo keep this a secret from me? Shit. Did Ilya tell him to keep his mouth shut about it?
"Niccolo's friend?" I glanced at the sweater-clad bald guy in the corner.
Niccolo leaned against the side of the dim bar, scowling with his phone stuck to his ear while a call kept him too preoccupied to look in our direction.
"I'm still not a hundred percent sure it's a he," Magnus replied with a slight frown. "But his friend's also excellent with computers, tracing locations and people in real-time, infiltrating all kinds of networks. That sort of thing."
"I know how hacking works." Did he think I was a clueless idiot?
"Stefano proposed the port deal to the Russians with Ilya's help. That time, Ilya wasn't the big boss yet." The guy gave us another fake smile after drinking some lemonade. "He found out Stefano's guys were stealing some during every shipment. So Ilya broke off the deal. Warned Stefano to stay away from their business after the clan found out."
"Ilya told you all this?" Ricchar muttered.
"No." Magnus grabbed his fork to finish his cake slice. "Alex, my nosey brother, filled in the missing details."
"Then Ilya tells Nicco to do some sleuthing?"
"I believe so. What did Nicco tell you?" Magnus stared at me.
"Enough to conclude that your dad's just another greedy, manipulative asshole," I sighed. Although I still found it insulting and disappointing that Niccolo only befriended me just to spy on my family and then blackmail us, I couldn't blame him for the choices he made.
His parents' livelihood and safety were at stake. Of course he wouldn't dare say no to Ilya and his clan of Russian mobsters hurling commands and drug money in every direction, just to flaunt their power and keep the billions flowing in.
"My sentiments exactly," Magnus replied with another laugh. It sounded somewhat genuine this time. "Maybe the trigger was when he found out that his long-lost only daughter finally resurfaced, and is living in Italy with his swindler cousin's son. Of all people."
"So everything that's happening is my fault? Fuck that." I almost grabbed the wine bottle to throw it at him. My fist also itched to punch Niccolo in the face once he's done with his phone call. No more secrets, my ass.
"Don't be too defensive, Maxim. He's just telling us the other side of the story," Ricchar murmured beside me while he grinned and emptied his wine glass.
Even though my ego was telling me to walk out now, instead I unclenched my fist and ignored my cousin's remark.
He chuckled opposite Magnus as if he also found the whole thing funny.
"I'm not the enemy here, Maximiliano, and I never said anything was your fault." Magnus stared at me again, his expression one of amusement. "Maybe when Nicco told him Mykaela's living with you, Ilya was convinced Stefano was deliberately taunting him."
"Does he really want to see her again? For what? To make up for lost time?"
"I think his age and health problems are making him more sentimental than usual." Magnus gave Ricchar another grin that tilted his thin lips to the side.
I glanced at Niccolo again. He stayed by the bar, slouching but no longer busy with a phone call. If it wasn't Pappa on the other line just minutes ago, barking orders or scolding Nicco as per usual, it could be Archambault, the guy from the Interpol HQ.
Ilya had been ignoring Niccolo lately. No calls.
No texts. Maybe he found out that Nicco was planning something with us to finally bring down the Tomassinis and Pappa Stefano, which was Ilya's goal right from the start of this complicated mess—this shitshorm I might need to snitch my way out of just so I'd make it to my next birthday.
"If you want to pacify the old crank, just make sure Mykaela agrees to see him again," Magnus droned on. "In New York or wherever she prefers. If she agrees to go back to Belgrade to meet up with him, even better. I'll make sure she goes back home safe and without a scratch."
"Tell him to go screw himself." I drank some wine after trying a deep breath. Why would I force Mykaela to accept that cold-blooded mobster into her life?
Did he mean if I didn't convince her, Ilya might pitch another fit and resort to his barbaric ways again? Like hiring some hitmen to murder me and my family in cold blood?
This guy must be joking. Or secretly trying to get back on his father's good side—whichever it was, I just didn't have the time or energy to care.
"Yeah. As much as I enjoy family reunions, I don't think she wants to see your father again anytime soon," Ricchar seconded.
"Get it through his thick skull. She doesn't want anything to do with him." I glared at the guy reclining in the chair in front of us, looking as chill as his iced drink. "Leave her be. She just wants to graduate and work."
"Piece of advice from someone who's been in the same position before: if you really want to put them behind bars a long time, you should provide plenty of clear audio or video recordings of Stefano talking about his deals with the Tomassinis. Push him to mention details. More names. Dates. Locations. But don't forget to consult your lawyers first."
Oh—he's giving us legal advice now? I scoffed and almost rolled my eyes. Beside me, Ricchar nodded faintly, as if seriously considering the guy's suggestion.
"Even better, convince your mother to testify against him." Magnus gave us another lopsided smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "I guarantee Interpol and the prosecutor's would have a massive field day."
True. Lots of victims would enjoy seeing those heartless criminals get sentenced and finally get the punishment they all deserved.
But why's this guy so willing to help us this much? Out of pity? Or because his dying father told him to?
Perhaps Magnus wasn't as money-drunk as his homicidal, drug-dealing, spiteful crime boss of a father. But I heard good old greed had also gripped this guy's soul.
Otherwise he wouldn't even bother to invite us for a meeting today. Perhaps Ilya wanted Magnus to help put the Tomassinis in prison to end their decades-long reign over the crime families here. Maybe Ilya thought, only then could he expand his clan's operations by taking over organized crime in Europe. One mafia clan at a time.
That would mean bigger inheritance packages for Magnus and his brothers. Perhaps Mykaela, too. Would Ilya even mention her in his last will?
"What's your deal?" I squinted at Magnus again, my curiosity and patience both being tested by his smug grin. "Why're you doin' this?"
"Not all angels have wings." The guy shrugged, his lips quirking into a little smirk. "Some have private jets and a vampire mobster for a father."
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