Chapter 13: Nora's Pv; Anton's story Ⅱ

I've been listening to him tell his story for quite a while and I can tell he's making a superhuman effort to stay calm. It's almost half the bottle of vodka he opened earlier. I snatch the glass he had just served and I help him sit on the bed. I sit behind him hugging him. I caress his chest and feel him relax.

Anton: When our business was at its best, "El Léon" found Paco and me. He wanted us to pay for our betrayal, but we didn't let it happen. We fled from New York to set a trap for him in Portland, Oregon. That was where his stuff was. He didn't know we were in Oregon or that we were expecting him. The plan worked wonderfully. "El Léon" was killed in the attack and I was appointed as the new leader. This is how my organization was born. Thanks to the previous contacts of "El Léon", I had enlarged the network of narcotics, but it was not enough. It was a great power, but it was nothing compared to that of the Kovalskis. I entrusted everything to Paco and went to Kazan. I needed to make a name for myself in this part of the world. I went to start from scratch. Little by little, over time the name of Anton Kovalski was heard throughout the region and beyond. My organization became even stronger, because in addition to illegal substances, it was involved in arms trafficking.

- How did your family react when they learned of your existence?

Anton: At first they were curious about who this new man was that was jeopardizing their business. They tried to make war on me until the day they found out who I really was. They tried to rally me to their cause by trying to reach me through feelings.

They had seen how quickly I had expanded my territory in Kazan. I had friends in Moscow, Saint Petersburg and everywhere. They understood that I was a tough nut to crack so it was in their best interests to have me on their side. Sergei Kovalsky...

- Your grandfather?

Anthony: Yes. This old man had the audacity to come and ask me to join the family. If I agreed, all of my belongings, whether here, in America, or around the world would automatically become family property. He thought I was one of those who would give anything to be recognized by their father. I had harbored too much resentment in me to watch that old geezer play the loving family card with impunity. I ripped out his heart with my own hands and without anesthesia. I put him in a box and his henchman, whom I had the decency to leave alive, brought him with a message. I did not want to see any member of the Kovalski family on my lands at the risk of suffering the same fate.

The death of this old man was a deliverance for many people. The next day I received new business offers. The Kovalski family was devastated by the sudden death of their patriarch and the small organizations under their yoke took the opportunity to make the trunk. Since I was a Kovalski and also the one who had put an end to Sergei's life, I had to be the new boss, but given our differences, it was Dimitri my father who took over.

- Didn't they threaten or even try to end your life?

Anton: I'm fucking Anton Kovalski. No one is threatening me. No member of the Kovalski family approached me closely after this event. I had the "chance to meet my father and his other children at ceremonies or events, but never up close until today. Thanks to you, I was able to see my father and my big brother more close.

I look at him and all I see is a lonely man, bruised at heart. Behind this tough shell hides in fact a wounded and unhappy man. He's a man with a heart, but he's afraid of being hurt.

- If I understand correctly, you're angry with me because my father and my uncle almost destroyed this empire that you built with so much sacrifice and hard work?

Anton: At first yes, but not anymore. Paco blew himself up to keep Anderson's men from arresting me. His sacrifice took away your father and some of his colleagues. You lost big like me so no I don't blame you.

- Who is Anderson?

Anton: He's the man your uncle and father worked for.

He opened up to me and not because he was drunk. He told me about his story, the demons that haunt him and his mother who died in worse conditions. It may not excuse what happened to him, but I understand him better now. I wouldn't have liked to be in her mother's place, nor would I have been in her place. Being a child and hearing your mother's family remind you of who you are as a child regardless of the fact that your mother was a victim just like you. Witnessing the abuse of these men on your mother to have something to put on your plate. To be alone in the world. This is what his childhood was all about. No normal person would come out of this kind of life unscathed.

Me, I had Uncle Mike to help me. I didn't know what it was like to be in need. I had everything a child could want and I thanked heaven for that.

Anton faces me and looks me in the eye. I lost myself in that gray gaze. He was maybe twice my age and I didn't think I would ever be able to love an "old man" but this man is the one who makes a good heart beat just by the thought.

Anton: I will never hurt you. And as long as you stay by my side, I assure you that nothing and no one will hurt you.

- I trust you.

Our lips meet for a soft and light kiss.

- Manuel Cabral is my mother's father, but I guess you already know that. My father and his companions had gone to Colombia for a mission. And it was there in a square in the village of Guane that he met my mother. She didn't know who he was, but he knew. He wanted information about my grandfather to plan his next mission. She fell in love with this handsome stranger who brought something else into her life than the danger she encountered on a daily basis. His dad found out about both of them and asked him to get away from my dad because he was an undercover soldier. She went to ask him to be clear and he didn't lie to her. He said he loved her and was ready to spend his life with her if she wanted to. She was happy, because the one she loved was making his declaration to her. Her father knew that they had met again and asked her to choose between him and my father. She chose to live with the one who was the father of her baby. When he learned that she was pregnant and was choosing his child over his family, my grandfather locked her in the basement of the house with more than twenty men. He said that this way she would never forget that neither she nor her unborn baby would be pure. He said my dad would throw her away when he finds out what happened to her. The day after her "punishment", he sent a doctor to her bedside to treat her. My grandmother paid the doctor to tell her husband that my mother had lost the baby and that it was impossible for her to give birth in the future. That same day, she helped my mother flee the house for the small forest nearby where my father was waiting for her. They returned together to America where she received treatment. They got married and I was born. Everything was going well until my dad started dating his co-worker. He was about to abandon his daughter and the woman who had sacrificed so much for him. That's why I hate them with rage. I can't be grateful enough to Uncle Mike for giving me his name. Because of this story, I have always felt impure and dirty.

Anton: Who told you this story?

- I read it in my mother's diary. I'd rather dine with the devil than meet Manuel Cabral. My mother died of uterine cancer and I can't get it out of my head that it's all his fault.