My father's words surprised me in a lot of ways. He never mentioned about my mother's death ever since. He didn't even tell me the reason why she died. Parang iniiwasan n'yang mapag-usapan ang tungkol sa bagay na 'yon. I thought at first that I was young and maybe he thought that I wouldn't understand everything. Pero kahit nang lumaki ako ay ganoon pa rin. I just waited for the time when he'd tell me everything that happened.
I wasn't expecting that now was the time.
And what did he say? The Alexeev family was the reason why my mother died? Devlin's family?
"What... what are you talking about?" I asked. My cheek stung from his slap pero halos hindi ko na maramdaman iyon. Mas importante sa 'kin ang marinig ang mga sasabihan n'ya.
"I should leave," Rio said. "This is a conversation I shouldn't hear."
Dahan-dahan n'yang binitiwan ang braso ko. I didn't even notice that he was still holding me, as if he was making sure that I would be able to stand on my own bago n'ya ako bitiwan.
"You don't have to, Don Rossetti," sabi pa ni Dad nang akmang aalis na si Rio. "We're still having our meeting—"
"Mr. Aslanov, I think it's about damn time you tell everything to your daughter."
Rio's eyes looked so serious. Kaya rin siguro natigilan si Dad. It was that kind of expression I hadn't seen in him yet, all business-like yet still emitting a dangerous aura. Na para bang sinasabing gawin agad ang sinabi n'ya or there will be consequences.
Right then, I finally understood. I finally saw the real Vittorio Rossetti. Those times when he was with me, hindi ang totoong s'ya ang ipinapakita n'ya sa 'kin noon.
He fooled me. I couldn't believe that I even admired this man once.
"Alright..." rinig kong sabi ni Daddy.
Rio gave a satisfied nod to him before he looked at me.
"I'll just be outside."
I glared at him before I looked away. I didn't need him. No matter what Dad would say that might hurt me, hinding-hindi ko s'ya tatawagin. I don't trust him anymore. Isa pa, hindi s'ya ang kailangan ko.
Nang makaalis si Rio ay parang pagod na pagod na naupo si Dad. I realized that he still didn't want to tell me anything. The words just slipped from his mouth earlier dahil sa sobrang galit sa 'kin.
But I wouldn't waste this chance. Not after what I heard from him. I'll make him tell everything to me.
"Tell me everything that, Dad," I said. Nanatili lang akong nakatayo. "Tell me the reason why Mom died."
Dad closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He massaged the space between his eyes with his fingers. Nang dumilat ay deretso ang tingin sa 'kin and I saw the exhaustion and pain that he had been hiding for so many years now. It was as if I saw again how he looked the night that Mom died, iyong nakita ko s'ya sa mismong kwartong 'to, crying in the dark.
I just realized that he was still hurting, and maybe that was why he still couldn't talk to me about Mom.
"Anton Alexeev was one of the brigadiers under my supervision in the support group that is led by the Sovietnik in the Bratva."
Killian Romanov. He's also Serj's brother. That's why he's also the most trusted advisor of the Pakhan and his second-in-command.
"I know..." I said. "Devlin told me the gist of the Bratva's structure."
As soon as I mentioned Devlin's name, I noticed Dad's jaw was clenched. Nakitaan ko rin ng galit ang mga mata n'ya. I figured that I shouldn't have interfered, but I had a feeling that he would explain to me thoroughly everything about the Bratva.
