pro u Aren Ches Pan
Chapter 349: A $10,000 Chess Piece
Damien looked at him.
There was something in the way Ken said it that told him he was about to uncover yet another layer of Viktor’s deception, and whatever carne next would likely be another reality he wasn’t going
to like.
“You and I both know Cassandra’s mental state was already fragile even before the accident,” Ken
continued.
“And the way she was living was only making it worse. Antidepressants, sleeping pills, alcohol, drugs. She was mixing things that never should have been mixed while already barely holding herself together.”
He paused and let out a heavy breath, shaking his head.
“She was hanging by a thread long before she got behind the wheel that night. The accident was
simply what finally snapped it.”
His expression grew somber.
“Cassandra Volkov was complicated. Reckless, self–destructive, and responsible for a great deal
of pain. I’m not excusing any of that.” His voice lowered. “But I sincerely believe she was never as
evil as her father.”
Damien remained silent.
“She felt guilty about what happened to the people in that car,” Ken continued. “And once that guilt began eating away at her, she wanted to do something for the family they left behind.”
His fingers rested against the documents on the desk.
“She wanted them supported. She wanted to know they had enough money to live comfortably
and that whatever they needed would be provided for. So she asked her father to make sure the
victims‘ family was properly taken care of, no matter what it cost.”
Ken’s expression turned colder.
“And Viktor promised his daughter that he would.”
His fingers moved to the page containing the recurring ten–thousand–dollar payments.
“But the father and daughter had very different definitions of what it meant to take care of
someone.”
18
An uneasy feeling settled in Damien’s gut.
Take care of them how?” he demanded. “Maya took care of both of them. Nobody else!”
“He paid someone to keep an eye on them,” Ken answered. “Not to give them a comfortable life, and sure as hell not to make things easier for them. He paid someone to make sure they were alive, breathing, and getting by. And most importantly, to make sure they never started asking questions about the accident.”
Damien stared at him in disbelief.
If that was true, then Viktor had kept eyes on Maya and Jaime from the very beginning.
“What? You mean to say…”
“Yes,” Ken cut in, already knowing where his mind had gone. “Viktor Volkov knew who Maya was long before you did. Back then, she was nothing more than part of a task he had promised his daughter he would handle. But the moment you came into the picture, that simple task became a threat.”
Damien slammed both palms against the desk.
“Son of a bitch!”
His hands curled into fists against the wood as fury tore through him.
Viktor had known.
All that time, the bastard had known exactly who Maya was while Damien himself had known
nothing about the connection between her and Cassandra.
His teeth ground together.
“Who’s the fucking dog Viktor paid to watch them?”
Ken gestured toward the folder.
“Everything is in there. The answer is on the last page.”
Damien snatched the folder from the desk. His grip tightened around it hard enough to bend the
edges as he rapidly flipped through the documents until he reached the final page.
It was a photograph.
The instant he saw the face staring back at him, his entire body went rigid.
He knew that face.
His expression darkened instantly.
00
18
Г
Damien pulled the photograph free and stared down at it, his fingers slowly tightening around the
paper
This is…” he said, his voice dangerously cold.
“Janice Torres,” Ken finished.
He let the name settle before continuing.
“Sixty years old. Widowed. Retired home–care aide. One daughter living overseas.”
Damien slowly lifted his eyes to Ken.
The photograph crumpled inside his tightening fist until the paper was crushed completely within his palm.
“It started shortly after Maya and Jaime moved into that low–income housing complex,” Ken
continued. “Viktor paid Janice ten thousand dollars a month to keep an eye on them.”
Damien’s expression turned murderous.
“Ten fucking thousand dollars a month?!” he roared, slamming his fist against the desk. “Then why
the fuck did Maya have to work herself to the bone just to keep them alive?! Why did she have to
work day and night, barely sleeping, barely eating, worrying about every goddamn bill while that bastard was throwing ten thousand dollars a month at someone to fucking watch her struggle?!”
His chest heaved as he glared at Ken, his fury spilling past the limits of his control.
“Why?!”
“Because Maya and Jaime were never supposed to see a single cent of that money,” Ken answered
coldly. “The ten thousand was Janice’s payment. Viktor wasn’t paying her to make their lives
easier. He was paying her to watch them.”
His voice hardened.
“Her job was to stay close and know what was happening in their lives. She wasn’t supposed to
pay their bills, ease Maya’s burden, or give them anything that could significantly improve their
circumstances.”
Ken held Damien’s furious stare and tapped the documents with one finger.
“Viktor wanted them alive, Damien. That was all. Alive, struggling, and too consumed with
surviving to start asking questions he didn’t want them asking.”
The muscles in Damien’s jaw tightened.
“So he was willing to spend ten thousand fucking dollars every month, but instead of using that
18
୮
374
Tigra 40 & 50000 beets Prese
money to actually help them like his daughter asked, he used it to protect her fucking secret?!
His fingers curled against the edge of the desk until his knuckles whitened.
“He could have made their lives easier! He could have compensated them for what Cassandra did! Instead, he paid someone to stand there and watch Maya struggle every fucking day just to make sure she never got close to the truth!”
His voice rose with every word, fury burning through whatever restraint he had left.
“That sick son of a bitch was fucking playing with their lives!”
Ken remained composed despite Damien’s fury.
“Viktor Volkov has never been the charitable type. Giving Maya and Jaime money would have done nothing for him. There was no power in simply making their lives easier.”
“He would rather spend ten thousand dollars a month playing his sick games, as you put it, because that allowed him to remain in control. He could keep them exactly where he wanted them.”
Ken paused.
“The irony is, choosing that particular woman to serve as one of his chess pieces eventually
backfired on him.”
Damien’s anger momentarily gave way to suspicion.
“What do you mean by that?”
Ken’s expression turned grim.
“She became a liability.”
Damien straightened.
“How?”
17
Comments
LUCK DRAW
E
4.9K
Vote
18
Thenjiwe Mofokeng