A Mafia's Letter

4

"Where did I get myself into?" he softly whispered.

Vadim was sitting on his couch in one of the many living rooms. He had his head in his hands, thinking about what happened in the last few hours. The adrenaline had worn off and reality had come crashing down.

Karina was peacefully sleeping in the room, that was now her nursery, next to his bedroom. It felt unreal, he just couldn't believe he was a father. Looking up he saw the letter Roksana had written him laying on the coffee table. Vadim had read it multiple times and now, as he was looking at it, he felt his fingertips tingle. He just wanted to read it one more time, to make sure he really was a father.

Vadim took a deep breath, he knew there would still be the same thing written on the paper. Still he felt the need to read it, he just couldn't believe it. Why didn't Roksana tell him? Turning his head to the left he saw the birth certificate, Karina Nabatova was written on it.

Gone was his bachelor life, the endless mistresses and alcohol. No, from now on he had to be responsible. At that moment he felt something he hadn't really felt in years, fear. Christ, he was 43 years old and he still had no idea how to take care of this baby. Not just any baby, his daughter.

Roksana, she had put her faith in him. She probably believed he could bring up Karina, otherwise she wouldn't have left her with him, right? Oh, who was he kidding, she was a drugs addict who had left her baby in the snow. If Vadim wouldn't have seen her from his office, it might have been a dead baby he had found on his doorstep.

Anger and protectiveness is what Vadim felt as he thought about the possibility of his little girl, the Nabatov princess, being dead. 'I'll protect her, I'll stop drinking and sleeping around. I have to, I'm a father now.' he thought, as he heard the doorbell ring.

A few minutes after that one of his maids came walking in, closing the door behind her. She was shaking with fear as her boss stared at her, with those terrifying eyes.

"Sir, madam Anastasia and her family are here. They wish to see you."

"Let them in." Vadim could hear the maid leave the room, he quickly dusted off his suit with his hand. Seconds later the door got opened again by a very excited Nickolai.

"Is it true, uncle? Do I have a little niece?!" Nickolai exclaimed as he ran towards his uncle. Seeing his nephews excitement, he couldn't help but smile as he pulled Nickolai on his lap.

"Yes it's true." Vadim said, ruffling his hand through his nephew's dark brown, almost black, hair. Looking up he saw that his sister and brother-in-law had entered the room.

"Vadim, I need to speak with you. Now."

"Come sister we'll talk in my office." Vadim said coldly, putting Nickolai down on the couch. He stood up and walked towards the door, he could hear the sound of his sister's heels following him.

Vadim stood before the door, ready to leave. His hand was lingering on the doorknob, before he turned around. He came face to face with Dimitri and Anastasia, both ready to follow him.

"You stay here." He demanded while staring at Dimitri with narrowed eyes. Dimitri gave him a cold stare in return before he spoke "Fine, I'll watch Nickolai."

Vadim turned back around and walked out of the living room, he hadn't even closed the door but Anastasia already started to talk.

"Why do you hate him so much?" She asked her brother, looking at him with a questioning look. Vadim continued to make his way to his office, as he spoke "He wasn't suppose to marry you. You're too good for him, he's a weakling."

Vadim was referring to Demitri's background, silencing his sister in the process. Dimitri was from a farmers family, the family had always been poor. Anastasia on the other hand was from Russia's biggest crime family, never having to worry about a thing in her life. They had met at a local charity event and had fallen head over heals for each other. Vadim, after all these years, still didn't like him, Dimitri wasn't able to properly protect his sister. He had much rather have seen Anastasia marry to a man from another powerful crime family.

As they entered the office, they both sat down. They sat in silence for a few minutes, just looking at each other, before Anastasia decided to start talking.

"You have a daughter?"