The Russian Billionaire

“But won’t that mean he could end up in prison?”

“Not necessarily. It will be up to his defense team to come up with an appropriate defense. You just won’t be supplying him with an alibi.” She leans forward. “He doesn’t deserve it. He promised to pay for your sister’s medical bills and now even though she has nothing to do with the mess he finds himself in, he is punishing her. I think that is despicable behavior.”

I nod slowly. “Yes, it is despicable behavior. I suppose I won’t really be telling a lie. I do sleep soundly and there could have been many instances during the night when he could have left to murder that poor man and got back into bed with me.”

I pause, as if I am considering my options. She says nothing.

“Um… when will I get the money?”

“As soon as you have testified at the trial.”

I widen my eyes. “I have to testify in court?”

“Of course.”

“Does that mean I will be cross examined?”

“Yes, but if you stick to your heavy sleeper story, there is not a thing they can do.”

“Won’t going to court take a very long time?”

“I am reliably informed Konstantin’s case will be expedited by the judge. He will stand trial in less than two months.”

I frown. “But my sister needs her treatment before that.”

“I have spoken to a specialist in the matter, your sister can easily survive for the next six months.”

“Okay. I’ll do it for Maddy.”

“Wonderful.” Her voice is full of triumph.

She thinks she’s got me.

Raine

"We are probably one of the last generation of homosapians. Within a century or two, earth will be dominated by entities that are more different from us than we are different from Neanderthals, or from chimpanzees. Because in the coming generations, we will learn how to engineer bodies, and brains, and minds."

* * *

– Yuval Noah Harari,

World Economic Forum,

When I get home I cook the chicken and Maddy and I eat together. As I watch her eat, I hope and pray I have made the right decision for her. It may all go wrong, but this is the right thing to do.

For the first time I’m doing what is right.

Maddy shows me a TikTok video she has found online. I smile at it. She takes the phone from me and starts scrolling through it and for a second, I feel strange fear grip me. The way she is staring at the screen, lost inside that world, makes me think of Konstantin’s words. They want us to be connected to the machine. My sister will be one of those people who will think it is a great idea to take something that will internally connect her. She will never have to worry about reception or her battery running out.

She has a terrible paranoia about that.

After we have eaten and the dishes have been washed, we sit in front of the TV in the living room watching Stranger Things. I find it impossible to concentrate. I keep thinking of Helena Barrington. I remember the way Lana almost shrank with fear when Konstantin told her husband she had a message for him. I must not underestimate Helena. She is not just a formidable opponent, but a fearful, ruthless, infinitely powerful one.

If she can strike fear in the hearts of her own son and daughter-in-law I have to tread very, very carefully. Eventually, the episode ends and Maddy goes off to bed. I sit staring at the TV until my mother comes in. She looks haggard today.

“Are you all right, Mom?”

“Yeah. It’ll be good when I can stop this job at the end of the month.”

I swallow. I gave them all hope and now I’m about to take it all away. I walk up to her and put my finger against my lips. I take her cell phone from her pocket and put it on the side table. She says nothing as I lead her towards the front door. We say nothing while we stand in the lift. She stares at me as if her heart is breaking. She already knows I have bad news for her.

We get to the street and start walking.

“What’s going on, Raine?” she asks.

I tell her everything. About Konstantin’s secret alliance and what they are doing, about the murder of the hacker, about him finding out my betrayal, his reneging on his offer to pay my sister’s medical bills, about Helena Barrington’s one million dollars. Her face becomes white as a ghost and her eyes are filled with horror.

Then I tell her my plan.

She clasps her hands together tightly. “Are you sure, Raine?”

I nod. “I have never been more sure of anything in my life.”

“But she sounds so dangerous… so evil.”

“Yes, she is very dangerous and evil, but this is the right thing to do. No matter what happens after, this is the right thing to do.”