1| Ophelia

38

-CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT-
•

It took James and Lucas everything in their bodies to hold Blake back from killing the traitor right then and there. But while everyone was busy in either processing the words or holding Blake back, they forgot about Sebastian’s temper.

As soon as the words had left Tony’s, Antonio’s mouth, he was shoved up against the wall with a gun resting on his forehead. But the traitor didn’t fear death, he had anticipated this. Ophelia let out a scream at the sight of the gun, and Nico rushed to Sebastian. 

He managed to push Sebastian away from the traitor and quickly threw the gun out of the room. “Are you out of your fucking mind, Sebastian. Our sister is right there,” Nico shouted, and everyone went quiet. Blake stopped struggling against his father and brother, but if looks could kill, he would’ve been the first one to kill the traitor. 

Sebastian walked forward to him again but was pushed back by Nico. “Stay the fuck away. Or you’ll end up doing something you’ll regret for the rest of your life.” Sebastian looked back at his sister, whose tired and tearful eyes watched her boyfriend. 

“What’s… What’s a Bratva,” she asked with utter innocence. Blake closed his eyes and Michael kneeled on the floor in front of Ophelia, “Lia?” She looked at him, her eyes begging for answers. “Lia do you know,” Michael paused, thickly swallowing his words, “Do you know what a mafia is?” 

Ophelia visibly stiffened. Of course she knew what a mafia was. Everyone knew what a mafia was.

“Yes,” she whispered, her heart shrinking in fear. “We uh, we have two businesses Lia. Out of them only one is legal, the Morgenstern & Corp, it’s the legal business we own,” Michael tried to cushion the blow, but Ophelia’s breath quickened as she realised where this was going. 

“And the other business we have, it’s not… quite as legal as the other one. You know the whole basement and… Blake thing,” he said softly. “You’re mafia,” she whispered, her tone a statement rather than a question. Michael smiled sympathetically, “Yes sis. We’re mafia. And Dad, he used to run the mafia before he gave it to Sebastian.” 

Her eyes went to James, and then they went to Sebastian. And he hated the look in her eyes. Fear. Fear of him. Fear of them. 

She slowly looked at Michael, her hands slipping away from his grip, “Bratva?” Michael, visibly upset at the loss of contact, shook his head, “Bratva is the Russian mafia. It was run by Fyodor Bardugo before we had him killed.” 

Ophelia’s eyes widened at the name, and she looked at him. Her bottom lip trembled, “You… You lied to me? All this time I thought you were the only gen- genuine person. You lied to me! Just like they did.” 

Tony’s heart shattered into a million pieces at her words. Ophelia shook her head in disbelief as she took a deep breath. “You’re just like them. A liar, a fucking liar. How- Why?” Tony looked down as his eyes filled with tears. He couldn’t bear to look at her. He didn’t want to look at the hurt he’d given her. 

“Fyodor was my adoptive father. I was only six when he brought me from New York. I was an orphan and he was childless. He would always say that the only reason I was adopted was because I was to take it over one day. Take it all over that was his, everything he owned in the world and more. He filled my head with dreams, my heart with hatred and my body with scars. 

“Everyday was a routine. Wake up, get beaten by his goons, have breakfast and then get beaten some more. It was only after I’d bleed out heavily on his expensive marble floor that he’d find the satisfaction and need to train me. I’d go to school, I’d learn to shoot guns at the age I ought to solve children’s puzzles. He was ruthless, but his ruthlessness was the only kindness I’d seen in my small life. In a way, even though it was sick, he was my father.

“So when the rival mafia had him and everyone he’d been involved with killed, I swore to avenge him. I swore to fight a war that wasn’t even mine. I was so stupid and gullible. I took the fact that he’d hidden me from the world as an opportunity. I finished school under radar and completed my training. I worked hard and got into Oxford early. I earned my way through the university just so I could come back to New York, to take everything from the people who’d taken everything from me.”

“My family,” she whispered. The Morgensterns. The rival mafia who’d had the Bratva leader killed.

“Yes,” Tony answered. “I knew everything about them. I knew of the day James had taken over to the day they’d decided to bring you back home. I knew everything. I found everything. And I came here with the plan to destroy them.” 

“By using me,” Ophelia gritted out. Tony wiped his cheek, “Yes.” Ophelia felt her heart tear apart. “I’d planned it all out. From turning you against your brothers by telling you the very truth they had decided to hide in the first place, to sabotaging my way into their legal business.” At the admission, Blake took one of the ceramic plates Ophelia had in her room as a part of decoration and threw it against the bathroom door. 

Ophelia and Tony both flinched at the sound, but neither broke their eye contact. “The only thing I hadn’t anticipated was actually falling in love with you,” he said quietly. “I didn’t know what kind of person you were, I didn’t even know what you looked like. I thought it’d be easy since you’d never had an experience with guys before. But I didn’t think… I didn’t think I’d fall for you.” 

Ophelia's eyes remained hard and her face still, her brain too tired to offer a reaction. “Why should I believe you,” she asked. “I’ve been lied to by every person I’ve ever loved. Why should I believe you?!” Since she’d never told them, the brothers were shocked at her words. She had loved them, she had but they ruined it. 

“You don’t have to believe me baby. But I am telling you the truth when I say that all the words I’ve ever said to you were nothing but the truth. The only thing I’ve ever lied to you about was my name,” Tony declared, his eyes blazing with candour. 

He was right there, Ophelia realised. And even if his initial plan was to turn her against her family, the only thing he had done was tell her the truth her brothers had been hiding. He had helped her in that case. But he’d lied about his intentions. Lying made him no different than her brothers.

“That still doesn’t mean you aren’t as horrible as my family,” she said quietly. Tony nodded, “I know. I… I stopped after I realised that I had genuine feelings for you. I understood Fyodor was not worth it. This war was not worth losing you. So I stopped. I told Jessica I didn’t want her doing my errand anymore but she was hell bent on ruining Sebastian. So she went ahead and stole the files anyway. It wasn’t me who gave them to the cops. It was her.” 

“That’s not the point,” Ophelia shook her head. “I know. I just wanted you, wanted everyone here to know that I mean no harm to anyone anymore. I don’t want to ruin anything. I don’t want to hurt anyone. It’s not worth it,” Tony spoke for the last time before he was shoved to his knees by Sebastian. 

“That still doesn’t mean you’re not a traitor,” he said, pulling out a hidden Beretta tucked under his blazer. He pointed it at Tony’s forehead, but this time, no one stopped him. 

-
dun dun dunnnn.

the last chapter number is 40. ;)

also found out last night that my ex was cheating on me when we were together 😀👍