- Let’s not dwell on that, Ms. Amanda. We are only interested in business and the statement on television. That’s all. And you can be alive and free. And if Mr. Kelly has any brains, he will agree to Mr. Lantsov’s terms, and we will let you go. You can go back to your London, run your architectural firm, and generally forget that anything happened to you here.
- Well, what are excellent conditions? Perhaps this proposal would seem wonderful to me if it weren’t for two buts: firstly, I will never submit to the pressure from two idiots. Secondly, I know that Adam would never give up his business, which he built, for which he lost so much, and into which he invested so much, even for his own life.
- I guess I will have to decline. The man who slapped me tightens his fists and approaches. I brace myself for another blow, but his voice from behind stops me.
- No need. I’ll handle this. - There’s something familiar about him; I don’t understand where I might know him from. He feels so close to me that it seems like I’ve heard about him every day.
The man steps into the light, aiming a gun at me. I raise my eyes and can’t believe what I see. This simply cannot be. It’s too much, even considering everything that has happened to me so far.
- Well, hello, daughter. Or are you no longer my daughter? - Mr. Vitvitsky stands there aiming a gun right at my forehead. The man I considered my father for 25 years now wants me dead. Or maybe not dead; maybe he wants the business, but it makes no difference. I look into the eyes of the man who comforted me in childhood when I scraped my knees, who was always there, who supported me even when mom was mad and wanted to punish me. I considered him my dad, I really did, and now I look into his eyes and see not a trace of kindness, tenderness, or love. These are the eyes of a man who hates me with all his heart, and I don’t even know why. I cried at his funeral; I was sure I had lost my dad, only to find out he was never truly my dad. Not because my biological dad is Korneyev, no.
- Now you are definitely not my father. - I spit this into his face. I don’t look at the gun barrel pressed against my head. And literally, one moment separates me from a bullet in my forehead. This man is incapable of showing love. Was he ever capable of it? Did he ever truly love me? Did he ever genuinely consider me his daughter? Or has he only wanted to find a way to take revenge on Korneyev all these years?
- I’m not even upset. You know, when I found out that your whore mother bore you and forced a stranger's child onto me, I was very angry. And when I found out that your real father is my boss, whom I hate, that blew my mind. I sensed something was off from the moment he came into our house and looked at you and then accidentally overheard their conversation. Then good people helped me learn the truth about their romance. That day, I specifically took your mother with me in the car. I knew Korneyev would try to get rid of me, but with her around, he couldn't do it. So I stayed alive, because I wasn’t in that car. That car had a different person in it, but good money, you know, solves a lot. So everyone was sure that the perfect loving family of Mr. and Mrs. Vitvitsky perished in that car. Their daughter mourned them at the cemetery. And even your mother’s former lover dared to show up there. I saw him there; I almost wanted to throw him into the third grave next to them. But I didn’t have to do that. The illness that punished him for all his sins did it for me. So, sweetheart, you have no options. Now you quickly call your assistant, she brings all the documents, you sign them, and you go into the free sea, forgetting entirely that you once knew this story.
- You want to say that Korneyev wasn’t behind that accident? - The man smiles, pressing the barrel even tighter.
- Of course not. He would never do anything to harm your mother. I orchestrated that accident. I needed to get rid of that treacherous liar and disappear at the same time to have the opportunity to take revenge on Korneyev. And here I learn a lot of interesting information about your romance with his stepson, and then it dawns on me that he confesses his paternity to you. And this wonderful family reunion played into my hands. I waited for the perfect moment to finally settle the score with all of you. I even got Nazar to play along, although he didn’t need much convincing. That little rat was even happy after finding out that his stepfather left him nothing and wrote everything off to the daughter he had never seen before meeting her just before his death. - I can't help but feel disgusted at him.
- I will never sign that contract. You can shoot me right now, but you still won’t get anything from my real father's business. - I see the last phrase really hits the man I once considered one of the closest people in this world.
- Well, you’re just as stupid as your mother. I dealt with her, and I will deal with you too. - He raises the gun and points it at my forehead.
- It’s time to say goodbye, sweetheart. Looks like, Ami, you’re going to die young. - I close my eyes and hear the gunshot. I realize that the bullet didn’t hit me.
I try to open my eyes to see what really happened. My would-be father is lying on the floor with a bullet wound in his leg, and the room is filled with armed men. The man who slapped me is immediately restrained and made to kneel beside Mr. Vitvitsky. I watch this and don’t know whether to be happy or not. Maybe Lantsov’s men decided to deal with me themselves, or perhaps it’s some game. Or maybe Adam found me. But when I hear the voice, I realize it’s not Adam. Although this voice makes me uneasy.
- I warned you, you bastard, to stay away from my daughter, - I try to squint my eyes to see the man stepping out of the shadows. And my heart stops. This simply cannot be. What kind of resurrection day is this?
Korneyev is holding a gun, aiming it at Vitvitsky. I gaze at two men who purportedly are my fathers. One biological, the other who raised me, and I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. He fires another bullet, but now it hits Vitvitsky in the shoulder, causing him to groan even louder and writhe in pain.
- And this one is for Amanda, you bastard. - He fires a third bullet, this time in the other leg. Korneyev approaches me, waving his guys to untie me from the chair, then kneels in front of me and looks at my swollen cheek and lip, blood dripping from it.
- Sweetheart, are you okay? - Finally, my emotions break free. I hug him around the neck and start to cry. I am overwhelmed with everything. I thought I could play the game; I thought I could take responsibility for all this dirty business. But it seems like I can’t. I am too weak for this. Or maybe it’s just a moment of weakness? Or maybe it’s just a moment that will pass? And I will return to being that Amanda who feels nothing.
Korneyev hugs me to him and strokes my back. He whispers:
- It’s alright, sweetheart, it’s alright. I’m here, and I’ll always be here. - I don’t know why, but I feel so calm right now. Why do I feel so safe with a man who is generally considered the very embodiment of danger?
- Amanda, sweetheart, we still need to resolve some issues. - I lift my gaze and look at Korneyev. He doesn’t look as exhausted as when I last saw him at the funeral.
I want to know what all this means and how such a thing even happened. But he doesn't give me the chance.
- Amanda, everything in due time. I understand you. But right now, we need to get to Adam before Lantsov does. Because otherwise, it will be too late...