Broken Ties

VINCENZO VOLKOV ;

"Enough of this!" I shouted, pacing back and forth in my father’s office. The one thing I hate about the Volkov family is how they expect you to follow their footsteps, even if you don’t fit.

"Calm down, Vee," my twin brother Lorenzo said, and I scoffed, running my hands through my hair.

"Do you have no respect for me? Your father!" Don Roberto, my father, yelled, but I smirked, knowing I had no love left for him after what he did. He made me let go of the only person I ever loved.

"What is going on here? Have you lost your mind? Tell me!" My older brother, the one I sometimes wished I was as tough as, demanded. He was the perfect son, always following the family rules. My father pretended not to play favorites, but Nikolai always got 70% of everything, including the most powerful mafia organization, the Bravata.

"Tell him, Don! I don’t want any of this!" I said, frustration boiling inside me. Why couldn’t they just let me be? Why must I follow in their footsteps?

"Daddy, Daddy, up, up!" A little girl ran into the room, and my father, who had been fuming, immediately softened and smiled as he lifted his granddaughter, Sharon.

"Ah, my beautiful Sharon, how are you, baby? You’re so beautiful," he cooed.

"Dada!" she giggled, and Nikolai reached out to hold his 3-year-old daughter.

"See, Vincenzo? The most important thing is family. Look at me. I have two kids, a daughter and a son. How much better can it get? Why don’t you listen to us? Why must you be so stubborn?" He asked, his voice tinged with anger, but I said the one thing they didn’t want to hear.

"To hell with all of this! Who said I was ready to build a family? Everything I do feels wrong! You went ahead and married into our enemy’s family, the D’Angelos. And still, you get 70% of everything we worked for! What about me? Does anyone care that I’m a doctor? No, of course not! No one gives a damn."

"A doctor? How is that supposed to make you a billionaire? Do you think you'd be where you are without Nikolai? He built this family, the Bravata, the company, the international reputation—everything! And don't you dare insult Cassandra. She’s the one who begged to let you back into this family. Respect your brother or get ready to leave for good!"

"Oh, you should know I don’t give a damn about this family!" I yelled, my voice echoing through the room.

Before I could react, a stinging slap landed on my cheek—not from my father, but from my twin brother. I hadn’t seen it coming.

So I did the one thing no one expected. Grabbing him by the head, I slammed it down onto the desk, pulling a gun and aiming it at him.

"Drop the gun, Vee!" Nikolai shouted, but I ignored him, my focus locked on my brother. I was ready to pull the trigger, to show them I no longer cared—just as much as they didn't care about me.

“There’s a child in the room,” Lorenzo muttered, and my eyes shifted to Sharon. She was staring at me, her mouth open in shock. She must’ve been wondering what I was doing with a gun.

Not that she hadn’t seen violence before. In this family, being born meant growing up brutal and heartless from the start…

“Daddy what's Uncle Vee doing? He’s with a gun, is it going to shoot Lorenzo?” Sharon questioned and I exhaled deeply.

I put the gun back in my waistband and slowly turned to face Don Nikolai and my father, Don Roberto.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t what you wanted—that I didn’t fit into this family or live up to Nikolai’s standards. But I’m still your son, Don Roberto. Treating me like one didn’t have to be so difficult. But I’ve had enough. I want my name erased from the family records. I’m no longer your son, no longer part of the Volkov family. I denounce you all. And if any of you get in my way, I won’t hesitate to become the devil you’ve made me and destroy every one of you. Do you hear me?"

“What? Are you out of your mind!?” my father roared, chasing after me as I stormed out of his office. I ignored him, refusing to give him a second of my time. I was leaving this house, and the wife they’d handpicked for me, for good.

When I got to the sitting room, I saw the security guards had already locked the doors, blocking my way out.

“You’ve completely lost it, Vincenzo! You’ve gone mad! If I had known you’d turn out like this, I would’ve told your mother to abort you! You’re a disgrace to this family!” His voice was venomous, each word designed to tear me down.

“A doctor? You want to be a doctor? Do you think I built this empire by chasing dreams? If I had followed my dreams, we wouldn’t be where we are! Do you think you’d have the luxury to become who you are today without me? No! I worked my ass off for the Volkov name, for the respect we command. My father did the same, and so did his father before him. And now you, you want to throw it all away? Fine. But don’t think I won’t strip you of everything. I’ll erase you from this family!”

His words cut deep, hitting me where it hurt most.

“What’s going on here?” My mother’s voice came from the doorway as she entered the room, her eyes sad. She looked between us and sighed. “Roberto, you don’t need to speak to him like this. He’s your son. Whether you like it or not, you still have to love him.”

“I don’t need his love or anyone’s love!” I yelled back at her, my voice breaking. The moment she flinched, guilt stabbed through me. That look in her eyes, like she thought she’d failed me—it broke something inside of me.

“That’s enough.” Nikolai’s voice sliced through the tension. He stepped forward, his presence commanding the room.

“If you want to disrespect this family, you’ll do it over my dead body.” His voice was cold and sharp. “If you think you’re the one who’s been wronged, you’re delusional. You want to leave? Go ahead. But don’t act like you’ve sacrificed anything for us.

“When you ran off to California for two years, I had men watching over you. You used my black card, I paid for everything, and I did it all without the family knowing. You didn’t call me when I got married. You didn’t show up when I had my first child, Sharon. You didn’t visit, didn’t reach out—nothing. And now you stand here, talking about not being loved?

“You want to talk about building something? Don’t fool yourself. I built this empire. I made this name. Nikolai Greg Volkov.” He paused, his eyes narrowing. “You want to leave? Fine. But take your wife with you. And don’t ever come back.

“Whatever!” I said, my voice filled with anger. That was all I needed to say, as I turned my back on the Volkov family. I wanted to make a name for myself—not as a Mafia lord or by marrying someone I didn’t even know, but as a doctor.

As I opened the gate to leave, two security guards stopped me.

“Those cars belong to Don Nikolai. Your car is at the back, sir,” one of the bodyguards said, and I clenched my jaw in frustration.

That was right. My brother was the richest in the family, with almost a hundred cars in the Elite Fleet Pavilion and even private jets and robotic cars. It made me sick.

“Let him take any car! That’s the least he deserves!” Nikolai said as he came out. I grabbed the car keys from the bodyguards and got inside. That’s when I noticed someone following me.

“Aren’t you going to stay with them? Didn’t you get married for the family money?” I yelled, but she didn’t say anything. She just opened the back seat and sat down.

I drove away from the huge mansion that felt like a prison. It took at least forty minutes to get through the estate, and another thirty to reach the main road from the Volkov territory.

Finally, I was free. I was leaving Russia behind, ready to escape these people and build my own life.

“We're are we going?” Her tiny voice came and I growled annoyed. ..

“Shut up!!.. okay. Just shut the hell up!” I snapped, driving away.