2

"come in !" my father yells from the other side of the door.

I twist the door knob, push

the door open and step

inside with a big birthday girl

smile but my father doesn't smile back , he is seated

behind his desk with a grin

expression on his face, another man is inside with him. The other man is tall , robust, blonde with blue eyes. I don't think I've ever seen such a tall man before in my life ; he must be about my father's age , but there is something about him that I find unsettling , he looks like a Bond villain. The man looks at me up and down, as if he was assessing me like I was some kind of racehorse he was thinking of acquiring . His gaze makes me feel uncomfortable,

I have no idea who this person is, but I dislike him instantly. Luckily the man heads to the exit.

" well , Javier , I'll let you give the news to the girl........" he says before walking out of the office.

I furrow my brow, what news!

my father clears his throat, he seems a little uncomfortable .

" what is going on, dad ? who was that man?" I ask him as I arch my eyebrows.

" That man is Nikolay Ivanov , he is a .... business partner , sort of speak ," he mutters avoiding looking at me.

I bite my lower lip , I know what kind of business partner he is referring to .

unfortunately , what my father does for living is not exactly legal , I've known this for a long time and it always bothered me, but my mother

has always insisted that what he does for a living does not affect how much he loves me, so I have learned to live with it because there is not much I can do about it anyway . My dad is the head of one of the strongest mafias in San Francisco and he has no intention of leaving that life behind him . I shrug not wanting to know more about that tall man or his business dealings with my father.

'I have something I wanted to talk to you about," I say trying to change the subject .

"me too. I have some news for you , Victoria . It's in regards to your future. Today is your 20th birthday ,you are a woman now........"

"I know ! which is why I want to talk about my future too! I was thinking about going abroad for a semester . I know you and Mom think I"m not responsible enough to take care of myself , but I assure you that I am ready for this. I believe it will be a great opportunity to learn about art and to experience another culture ,I was thinking of France ,but I am open to suggestions ,it can be also be Italy or....."

"I'am afraid that won't be possible , Victoria ," my father

interrupts me.

I snort, a little pissed that he hasn't even let me finish .

"you haven't even listened to my reason for going ," I say frowning .

"I don't need to hear them ,my plans for you are different . Victoria, that man, Nikolay Ivanov , is a man to fear . He is merciless and cold blooded , he and his people don't fool around . He has grown stronger these last couple of years and he just recently took over San Francisco . No one saw it coming , he became the most powerful boss in the area in the blink of an eye..."

"I don't care , dad, you know I don't like to hear about your business !" I say dismissing what he is saying . It is bad

enough to be aware of what he does, I don't need to know the details of his Mafia activity.

" listen to me Victoria ! The Russian Mafia , under Nikolay's leadership , has managed to kill every other. competitor , the bosses of the other gangs are death now.

They are all gone : the Chinese Mafia boss, the Italian mafia Don.....all wiped out from this city , the gangs have been dismantled and their leaders have been brutally murdered by Nikolay's man . I"am the only one left and I am next....I mean , we are next . Nikolay's man will not hesitate to kill our entire family if he orders them to do it ," he says and, for the first time in my life ,I see the fear in my father's eyes .

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