The Devil's Redemption

Chapter:2

Vladislav Vuković.
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I leaned back against the leather seat, my fingers drumming a restless rhythm against the steering wheel. The winter air was biting, numbing the world outside the windows of my car. The city was encrusted in layers of shimmering white, a deceptive cover for the sins buried beneath. I stared out into the swirling snow, but my mind was trapped in the past few hours—an unexpected raid on my latest shipment. Anger bubbled within me, and with it, a haunting suspicion.

I am Vladislav Vuković, the leader of the Vuković family, the oldest and strongest of the five ruling crime families in this city—a fact I’ve never let anyone forget.

In a world governed by loyalty and betrayal, five families ruled the shadows of Russia: the Vuković, Romanova, Vasiliev, Olezka, and Igor. My family, the Vuković, was the oldest and strongest, holding sway over the others. For years, I took pride in being the master of my fate, exercising control, and ensuring the safety of my empire. I had claws that wrapped around the throats of our rivals and fingers that deftly maneuvered through alliances, but now I was losing my grip.

I sat in my black sedan, the engine rumbling like an angry beast, with heavy thoughts clouding my mind as I waited for my second in command. The night fog swirled outside the tinted windows, shrouding the moon's pale face, just as betrayal had shrouded my thoughts. My reflection stared back at me—heavy brows, sharp cheekbones, and a deep scowl that told tales of the ruthless world I commanded as the leader of the Vuković family, Russia's oldest and most respected family.

There are four crime families in Russia after mine.

Romanova, Vasiliev, Olezka, Igor.

The ruthless Romanovas were perhaps our closest rival. Victor, their head, commanded with a brutality I respected but did not fear. His wife, Yelena, stood beside him like a queen by a tyrant's side, and their children, Maxim and Katrina, were talented in manipulation and volatile. Maxim was the wild card—an unpredictable variable that could turn a strategy upside down and Katrina a manipulating bitch. A vale woman I hate with my everything and my fiancé.

Lucky me.

The Vasiliev, with Mikhail as their patriarch, were impulsive, relying on bravado over strategy. Their family was infamous for erratic decisions that often led to chaos. Mikhail's wife Zenovia was a force of nature, fierce and cunning, while their sons, Artom and Ivan, seemed wedged between their father's audacity and their mother’s calculated intelligence.

The Olezka family, oh, they were the true wildcards of this game. Headed by Nikolay, they thrived on chaos, each member well aware of their penchant for brinkmanship. His wife, Katia, was almost a ghost, a silent partner in the troubled waters they swam. Their children—Dorofey, Sergey, and Alisa—were wild, reckless spirits capable of inciting a firestorm without a moment’s thought.

And then, of course, there was the Igor family, led by Velerye, a man whose negotiation skills were legendary. That’s why Dimitri was my close friend and my second in command, perched on the edge of loyalty and ambition—the Igor blood ran deep, but he bore my trust like a badge of honor. His thoughts were unknown to me, but I understood that his motivations straddled the line of loyalty and a desire to carve a name outside of his family’s shadow.

The families—the Romanova, the Vasiliev, the Olezka, and ours—had coexisted for years, bound by an unspoken agreement to keep the peace while striving for power.

They are all smiling and pleasant in front of me but ready to stab in the back as soon as you turn your back on them expact The Igor because they are the closest to my family because Velerye was my father's right hand in his time, and now Dimitri is in his father's place.