Chapter 59

The unfamiliar awkwardness made Yuri lift only one corner of his mouth. Having this conversation with Alexei, of all people, felt strangely significant.

“Perhaps it’s because we’re friends.”

Alexei laughed again and turned the wheel. During their unexpected conversation, they had reached the Goodnight family’s seaside estate. A sign announcing private property appeared ahead, followed by a broad road entering woodland purchased by the family.

The high trees weakened the rainfall. Yuri had been unable to avoid anxiety earlier. Now, perhaps because Alexei’s words had lightened some weight within him, the command to be greedy for Cherriot continued circling his thoughts.

Benji’s warning returned. Then Cherriot’s voice on the phone the previous night swept over it: Oh, right. What did you eat today, Wolfie? You are eating properly, aren’t you? You did? Then tell me what. Judging by the way Wolfie usually cooks, I’m sure you threw together something bizarre.

Cherriot had remained on the phone until Yuri reached his hotel. Their conversation had been trivial and ordinary, but time passed with such cruelty that more than an hour disappeared before Yuri noticed. He had never spent that long on a call. Even after hanging up, Yuri looked at the duration repeatedly.

It had made him feel strangely special. Remembering the previous night tilted his heart slowly in one direction. Alexei’s words had not dramatically overturned Yuri’s decision. But the small desire to remain near Cherriot—perhaps he was allowed to follow that much.

“We’re here,” Alexei said. “I signed on as a server, so I’ll circulate through the party and observe everyone. You stay in the car. Tell me immediately if it looks as though those men have arrived.”

Alexei parked among thick brush a short distance from the main lot. The car would not be visible from the driveway.

“…I’m not going inside with you?”

“Why would you enter in that condition? There may be an all-out fight.”

The wound still ached because it had only recently been closed, but it did not prevent Yuri from moving or running. Calling him physically unfit was absurd. Yuri’s brows hardened in displeasure. Ignoring him, Alexei reached into the rear seat.

From one of the bags Yuri had assumed contained souvenirs, he removed a pistol and handed it over. “I prepared this in case. It has no owner, and the serial number has been filed off, so use it without worrying about it being traced.”

“Shouldn’t the goal be to avoid using it at all, Alyosha?”

“We’re dealing with men who treat human lives as worthless because of money. A few bullets won’t hurt them.”

After delivering the casually murderous remark, Alexei tossed Yuri the keys. Once Yuri caught them, Alexei shut the driver’s door and warned him once more. “Stay in the car.”

“…Call me if it becomes dangerous.”

“It would be better if I catch them before that.” Alexei muttered to himself, then gave Yuri a faint smile. “I must be getting old, Yuri.”

He was only thirty-two. Yuri dismissed the old man’s complaint with a jerk of his chin. Raindrops struck the roof intermittently, forming a steady rhythm. Alone inside the car, Yuri listened to them and studied the enormous cottage in the distance.

The photographs showed a path behind it leading down to the beach. The estate was divided between two buildings: one guest residence and one main house. Though built long ago, both were immaculately maintained. Even the gardens were extraordinary.

How much more money could someone born into a family this wealthy possibly need? Yuri had come here because someone wanted money badly enough to murder people linked to them by blood. Had they lived without greed and used what they already possessed wisely, Yuri and Cherriot might never have met.

If Yuri were given a choice—if he could ensure none of this ever happened to Cherriot—he would choose it without hesitation. Even if that meant the miracle called Cherriot never entered Yuri’s life. Yuri had survived somehow before him.

Continuing the pointless thought, Yuri checked the time. Twenty minutes had passed since Alexei left. Perhaps the attackers did not intend to strike immediately after the party began. For such a recklessly bold plan, they were being surprisingly cautious.

The IP used for the calls came from the company jointly run by the Goodnight family’s second and third sons. Anyone with access to the building could be suspected. As Yuri considered the problem without enough evidence, another thought struck him. Was Cherriot the only grandchild?

He sat upright with a dark premonition. He did not know whom Dolly and Alexei considered suspects, but if the second and third sons had children of their own, those children would benefit from the inheritance too. In other words—the parents and their children might be cooperating. Remembering Igor and his son committing crimes together, Yuri found the possibility entirely plausible.

If Cherriot had several cousins near his own age, they needed to be watched as well. No. They definitely did.

Yuri climbed from the car and called Benji. The phone rang several times, but Benji was probably too occupied inside to answer immediately. Yuri did not know Dolly’s number, so he moved on and called Alexei. Neither answered.

Concerned that chaos might already have begun, Yuri crossed the garden toward the estate. The rain, which had weakened briefly, grew heavy again and gradually soaked his hair. Though it was summer, the day seemed to darken early beneath the storm clouds. As he approached the main house, orchestral music drifted faintly through the open front doors.

Yuri remained away from the entrance and inspected the rooms through the first-floor windows. Servants moved busily inside. So far, everything appeared normal. After considering his options, Yuri decided to call Cherriot directly.

Benji would lose his temper if he learned of it, but… they could not hide the truth from Cherriot forever. Yuri understood that Dolly and Benji wanted to delay telling him as long as possible in order to protect him. But if the person in danger knew nothing about the threat, the situation could deteriorate in an instant.

Yuri called as he moved toward the guest residence opposite the main building. It seemed comparatively quiet, and therefore unlikely anyone would be there.

“Yuri?”

The most important person answered. Yuri released a breath of relief and adjusted his grip on the phone, now slick with rain. “Cherriot. Where are you?”

“I have a family event today, so I came outside the city for a while. What about Wolfie? Ah, wait.”

Cherriot asked him to hold and spoke to someone nearby. A man answered. From the sound of his voice, he appeared close to Cherriot’s age.

“Wolfie, I’m sorry, but I’ll call later. I was discussing something important with my cousin. Talk to you soon.”

“Wait, Cherriot!”

At Yuri’s sharp call, Cherriot answered again, “That’s strange. I thought I heard Wolfie’s voice nearby.”

“Yes. I’m close. Cherriot, tell me where you are.”

“You’re here? Since when?”

The instant Cherriot’s voice brightened, the call ended. Yuri immediately called again. The phone rang several times before an automated message announced that it had been turned off. Unless the battery had died at that precise moment, someone had taken the phone.

Rain ran through Yuri’s hair and down his forehead. He swept the irritating strands back and forced himself to think calmly.

Cherriot had left one clue.

When Yuri raised his voice, Cherriot thought he had heard it nearby. The only place close enough for Yuri’s voice to carry was—the guest residence he had already been approaching. Yuri ran toward the apparently quiet building.

The roar of the rain partially concealed his footsteps. Fortunately, the ground had not yet flooded. Instead of using the door, Yuri searched for an unlocked window. He needed to enter without alerting whoever was with Cherriot.

Yuri deliberately stepped on grass to muffle his movement. The windows could be pushed upward from outside unless locked from within. He circled the building quickly, testing them. Then his phone vibrated.

As though the vibration signaled the world itself, several events began at once. Yuri answered Alexei’s call and raised his head. Five black SUVs appeared in the distance, climbing the narrow road toward the estate.

“Alyosha. They’re here.”

—“Fuck. Understood. Are you still in the car?”

“No. I’m near the other building. I think Cherriot is inside.”

Yuri ducked and hid behind the corner as the SUVs cleared the driveway.

—“You’re there alone?”

“Alyosha, move. Call the police now. I’ll find Cherriot.”

They had to evacuate the guests and prepare to resist before those men entered with weapons. The moment Yuri ended the call, thunder rolled through the black clouds. As if answering it, the SUVs turned across the garden and blocked the entrance road. Men climbed out.

Some carried rifles.

Fuck.

Rifles were difficult to counter. The sight drove home the fact that they truly intended to destroy the entire household.

Yuri tested the remaining windows, but all were locked. He would have to circle around to the other side—

POP

A muffled gunshot cut through the thunder. Yuri jerked his head upward, searching for its source. It had come from the far side of the second floor. There was no longer time for caution.

He drew the pistol Alexei had given him, slammed the grip into a window, and shattered it. Glass fell inward. Yuri climbed through immediately. The moment his feet touched the wooden floor, his phone vibrated again.

He had no time even for a few seconds of conversation and was about to silence it when an unsaved number appeared on the screen. Cherriot’s number. Yuri had deliberately refused to save it. He feared that once he attached Cherriot’s name, he would stare at it constantly and feed his longing.

But after seeing the number so many times, Yuri had already memorized it. His eyes widened. He answered immediately.

—“Hah… Haa… Yuri…!”

Panicked breathing filled his ear.

“Cherriot. Where are you?”

—“Joseph… He’s completely lost his mind. He just—hah—tried to shoot me.”

Cherriot’s words spilled incoherently between ragged breaths. Yuri remembered the way he struggled to breathe during panic and felt his own urgency sharpen. He moved toward the central stairs, intending to reach the second floor where the shot had sounded. As Yuri looked upward, footsteps crossed a corridor above.

One floor higher.

“Cherriot, tell me which floor.”

—“Third. No, maybe fourth. Yuri, what do I do? I told him to stop, but he kept waving the gun around like a madman, so I pushed him and ran. I don’t want to hurt him.”

“I’m coming.”

—“All right.”

“Lock the door. Block it with whatever you have. Do not come out.”

Cherriot barely answered through his shaking breath and began to say Yuri’s name again. Then loud footsteps sounded outside. Someone rattled the front doors violently. At the same time, a man shouted from above.

“Just break it open!”

It was the same voice Yuri had heard beside Cherriot.

Certain the speaker was Joseph, Yuri kept the call connected and activated the phone’s recording function. He did not know what had happened in the main house or what evidence they had obtained there. But this recording could prove invaluable.

Bullets struck the lock almost immediately. Shots thundered against the door.

Using the noise as cover, Yuri climbed the stairs. He stepped carefully over the wooden floor to avoid creaks and reached the second level.

The guest residence had been built as a broad octagon, with four rooms on each floor. The mercenaries forced their way inside and began issuing orders.

“One to the third floor. One to the fourth. You follow me.”

Footsteps immediately approached the stairs. Yuri entered the nearest room. Counting the distinct sets of steps, he confirmed that four men had entered. Four was manageable if he rationed the bullets properly. The weapon Alexei had given him was the Glock 19 Yuri usually carried. Fifteen rounds. If none missed, there were enough to incapacitate all of them.

“Where’s the target?”

A mercenary spoke beyond the door.

Then Yuri heard the other man’s voice.

Joseph.

“I saw him go upstairs. If he’s hiding, he has to be on the third or fourth floor. Hah… We were almost finished. If he hadn’t suddenly answered that call…”

“Do we only need to kill him?”

“Hmm.” Joseph considered it, then said something revolting. “Put bullets through his whole body if you can. He slept with the boss’s lover. It would be disappointing if the corpse remained pretty.”