The Competition

Yelena

"-Petrov? That man is my father..." Her expression turns pale.
"Viktor told me you didn't know him."
"I lied to him, Natalia. I didn't want to make things worse back then. Please just listen to me."
"Then explain yourself," she says coldly. "That day, everything your father did to your mother was my father's doing. Our fathers were best friends, but my father loved your mother before we were born. So it was hard for him to see him marry Elena Volkova. The only thing I can think of is that...he did it out of envy."
"He did what? Come on, tell me!"
"My father drugged your father the day they went to the bar," I look into her eyes as she backs away from me as if I am a monster. "Afterwards he drove home and killed your mother, while on my side he came home in a drunken rage. He broke the whiskey bottle your father had given him as a present and attacked me with it. He threw me against the dining room table and dug the sharp glass into my neck. I hit him because I couldn't breathe, and he continued until my mother hit him with a wooden chair and knocked him unconscious. I saw it all before I passed out and found myself in the hospital later. After that accident, I kept my distance from that man. When they divorced, I was told I had to live with my father. My mother didn't like the idea but couldn't do anything about it. She left the last name Petrov and took back Katsaros. Even though I have to live in this house, there are only two people who are my family. My mother and Hiroshi Shuji. Why Mr. Shuji? He has been our butler for years, but he was not here that day. He went to visit his family in Japan," I tell her in one go.
"How do you know that your father drugged me? You weren't at the bar," she asks. "Nikolai told my mother, who told me later, when I was old enough to hear the disturbing truth."
"Your father is a monster, Yelena, a fucking monster," she looks at me in horror as she turns and heads for the door. "I'm sorry Natalia..." the moment she opens the door, Mr. Shuji stands there as if he was ready to knock. "I heard you yelling. Are you okay?" he asks with concern in his eyes. Natalia hurries past him and heads for the stairs.
"I can drive you home, Ms..."
"No, I... please just leave me alone, I have too much information to process," she tells him as she runs downstairs. Mr. Shuji's eyes come back to mine and I leave my bed and hug him, crying.
"I think I may have lost my best friend..." "Don't cry, sweetheart, it was never your fault to begin with," he reassures me. Our moment is interrupted when I hear glass shattering against the front door. We rush downstairs to find Natalia's car still there, but she is gone. Mr. Shuji taps me lightly on the shoulder before handing me a small piece of paper.

'Meet me at the warehouse, yours, Noah.' That fucking bastard.